Thread: cardinal numbers

Help, I'm drowning!! In proofs. I am sooooo lost in this class.

Questions:
1. Prove that the set of positive real numbers has cardinal number c. (Hint: try the map x --> e^x.

2. Prove that the open unit interval 9the set of all real x with 0 < x < 1) has cardinal number c. (Hint: Use ex. 1 and the map x --> x/(1 + x), defined on all positive real numbers).

3. Whatis the cardinal number of the closed unit interval (all x with 0 < x < 1)? Of the half open interval (all xx with0 < x < 1)?

Originally Posted by gatordeb

Help, I'm drowning!! In proofs. I am sooooo lost in this class.

Questions:
1. Prove that the set of positive real numbers has cardinal number c. (Hint: try the map x --> e^x.

2. Prove that the open unit interval 9the set of all real x with 0 < x < 1) has cardinal number c. (Hint: Use ex. 1 and the map x --> x/(1 + x), defined on all positive real numbers).

3. Whatis the cardinal number of the closed unit interval (all x with 0 < x < 1)? Of the half open interval (all xx with0 < x < 1)?

If I'm understanding correctly, you are being to asked to show there exists a bijection between (1) the set of reals and the set of positive reals, (2) the set of reals and the open unit interval, (3) etc.

Can you prove f(x) = e^x defined on the reals is a bijection?

I don't know how. I'm telling you, I'm lost.
If it helps, the book we're using is Kaplansky's Set Theory and Metric Spaces.

Originally Posted by gatordeb

I don't know how. I'm telling you, I'm lost.
If it helps, the book we're using is Kaplansky's Set Theory and Metric Spaces.

Define

First show f is injective (one-to-one), then show f is surjective (onto).

Intuitively/geometrically, f being injective means it passes the horizontal line test.

f being surjective means that the codomain equals the image.

Injective, Surjective and Bijective