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is a finite set with five elements. The number of elements of a finite set is a natural number (possibly zero) and is called the cardinality (or the cardinal number) of the set. A set that is not a finite set is called an infinite set. For example, the set of all positive integers is infinite:
Any set X with cardinality less than that of the natural numbers, or | X | < | N |, is said to be a finite set. Any set X that has the same cardinality as the set of the natural numbers, or | X | = | N | = , is said to be a countably infinite set. [10]
Sets with cardinality less than or equal to that of are called countable sets; these are either finite sets or countably infinite sets (sets of the same cardinality as ); some authors use "countable" to mean "countably infinite". Sets with cardinality strictly greater than that of are called uncountable sets.
In ZF, a set is infinite if and only if the power set of its power set is a Dedekind-infinite set, having a proper subset equinumerous to itself. [4] If the axiom of choice is also true, then infinite sets are precisely the Dedekind-infinite sets. If an infinite set is a well-orderable set, then it has many well-orderings which are non-isomorphic.
The definition of a finite set is given independently of natural numbers: [3] Definition: A set is finite if and only if any non empty family of its subsets has a minimal element for the inclusion order. Definition: a cardinal n is a natural number if and only if there exists a finite set of which the cardinal is n. 0 = Card (∅)
Two sets have the same cardinality if, and only if, there is a one-to-one correspondence (bijection) between the elements of the two sets. In the case of finite sets, this agrees with the intuitive notion of number of elements. In the case of infinite sets, the behavior is more complex.
In mathematics, a set is countable if either it is finite or it can be made in one to one correspondence with the set of natural numbers. [a] Equivalently, a set is countable if there exists an injective function from it into the natural numbers; this means that each element in the set may be associated to a unique natural number, or that the elements of the set can be counted one at a time ...
A set of real numbers (hollow and filled circles), a subset of (filled circles), and the infimum of . Note that for totally ordered finite sets, the infimum and the minimum are equal. A set A {\displaystyle A} of real numbers (blue circles), a set of upper bounds of A {\displaystyle A} (red diamond and circles), and the smallest such upper ...