Set Theory Solutions 5
1 Checking irreexivity and transitivity of P ow(a) is straightforward. Assume that b is a set such that a b and let f : a b be a bijection. Dene h : P ow(a) P ow(b) by h(u) = {y b | (x u) y = f (x)} = f [u] for u P ow(a)
(f [u] is the notation from Example sheet 1). h is a function, a bijection and since for u1 , u2 P ow(a), u1 u2 f [u1 ] f [u2 ], h is an isomorphism. (Please check.) Consequently, (P ow(a), ) and (P ow(b), ) are isomorphic. (P ow(a), ) is totally ordered only when a = or a is a singleton. (If a contains two distinct elements, x and y then {x}, {y } P ow(a) but none of {x} = {y }, {x} {y }, {y } {x} holds.)
(ii) Take c = {b x | x b} and f : b c the function dened by f (x) = bx for x b. f is clearly surjective, and also injective since if x, y b and bx = by then since x b y and y x so x = y (by Proposition x and y by we must also x 36(i)). The result now follows by Proposition 37.
2 (i) If any of Z, Q, R was well-ordered by the usual ordering, the sets themselves would have to have least elements, but that is not the case since for any integer, rational or real number there is a strictly smaller number of the same kind. (ii) Using Proposition 42, since is clearly irreexive on N N, it suces to check (T) and (W). If n1 , m1 , n2 , m2 N N then there are ve (exclusive) possibilities n1 n2 n1 n1 n1 < n2 < n1 = n2 & m1 < m 2 = n2 & m2 < m 1 = n2 & m1 = m2
The rst and the third correspond to n1 , m1 n2 , m2 , the second and the fourth correspond to n2 , m2 n1 , m1 and the fth corresponds to n1 , m1 = n2 , m2 , so (T) holds. It remains to check that every non-empty subset of N N has a least element. Let b N N be a nonempty subset of N N and let b1 = {n N | (m N) n, m b}. b1 is a nonempty subset of N so by the least number principle it has a least element, n0 . Dene b2 = {m N | n0 , m b}. b2 is a nonempty subset of N so (as with b1 ) it has a least element, m0 . It is easily veried that n0 , m0 is the least element of b with respect to . 1
3 is clearly irreexive on {0, 1}N . Assume f, g, h {0, 1}N and f g , g h. Let n be the least such that f (n) = g (n) and let m be the least such that g (m) = h(m). We must have f (n) = 0, g (n) = 1, g (m) = 0, h(m) = 1 so m cannot equal n and one of m < n or n < m must hold. In the former case m is the least such that f (m) = h(m) and f (m) = g (m) = 0, h(m) = 1 and in the latter case n is the least such that f (n) = h(n) and f (n) = 0, g (n) = h(n) = 1. Hence f h, so is transitive. is total, since for any f, g {0, 1}N either f = g or there is a least n such that f (n) = g (n), and one of f (n), g (n) must be 0 and the other one 1. It is not a well-ordering since e.g. if for n N we dene fn to be the function fn : N {0, 1} such that fn (k ) = 0 if k n, 1 if k > n
then {fn | n N} does not have a least element. 4 (i) There are 5 possible non-isomorphic posets with three elements, with Hasse diagrams1 :
Only the last one corresponds to a well-ordering. (ii) Let < be the usual ordering on N and let k > 0. Dene <k to be [ < ((Nk Nk ) (N \ Nk N \ Nk ))] { n, m | n N \ Nk & m Nk } (<k takes the rst k numbers in their proper order and puts them after all the remaining natural numbers, left in their proper order). Checking that <k is a well ordering of N is left as an exercise. If for some k2 < k1 there was an isomorphism f from N, <k1 to N, <k2 then clearly f (k1 1) = k2 1 since k1 1 is the greatest elements with respect to <k1 and k2 1 is the greatest elements with respect to <k2 so similarly f (k1 2) = k2 2 etc so f (k1 k2 ) = 0 and f (k1 k2 1) should be the greatest element with respect to <k2 in N \ Nk2 but there is no such element, so no such isomorphism can exist. (iii) Assume that f : N Z is an isomorphism and consider f (0) 1 Z . f is a bijection, so there must be some n N for which f (n) = f (0) 1 and since f (n) = f (0) 1 < f (0), it must satisfy n < 0 but there is no such n N.
1 Hasse diagram for a poset a, represents each element of a by a vertex and draws a line upward from u to v i u < v and there is no z a such that u < z < v .
