Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2017 iii Paper 135 1 1 Solution 2026-10-05
Let denote the finite repetition-free sequences, including the empty sequence. The map is injective, so this set is infinite when is infinite. Suppose, for a contradiction, that it contains a countably infinite subset. Fix its given injective enumeration ; this is part of the supposition, not a choice from a family of sets.
Enumerate all pairs with by their natural-number pairing codes, recording the corresponding entries . If the union of entries were infinite, recursively selecting the first new entry would give an injection , contradicting Dedekind-finiteness. Therefore the union is a finite set , say of size . A repetition-free sequence over has length at most , and there are exactlysuch sequences, with the empty product equal to one. All would belong to this finite set, contradicting their distinctness. Finite counting and the least-code construction use no axiom of choice. This proves finite repetition-free sequences preserve Dedekind-finiteness and the required infinitude: