Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2019/ia/paper-4/8e/a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2019 ia Paper 4 8E a Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
A set is countable if it is finite or admits an injection into the natural numbers; equivalently, its elements can be listed by a finite list or a sequence.
The product of two countable sets is countable: after choosing enumerations, its elements are indexed by pairs , and these pairs can be listed diagonally. Thus an injection followed by an injection proves that is countable.
The integers are listed as , so is countable. Every rational number is represented by a pair , so is countable as the image of a countable set.
Finally, if are countable, choose listings , allowing repetitions for finite sets. The diagonal listing of the pairs lists every , proving that a countable union of countable sets is countable.
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