Difference between revisions of "Finite"
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| − | + | Informally, a [[set]] is said to be '''finite''' if it does not go on for ever. That is, any set whose elements could (theoretically) be named, one by one, in a finite amount of time is finite. Finite sets include the [[empty set]], which has zero elements, and every set with a [[positive integer]] number of elements. | |
| − | + | Formally, a set is finite if it is the empty set or it can be put into bijection with a set <math>\{0, 1, 2, \ldots, n\}</math> for some [[nonnegative]] [[integer]] <math>n</math>. | |
==See also== | ==See also== | ||
* [[Infinite]] | * [[Infinite]] | ||
Latest revision as of 09:11, 7 July 2006
Informally, a set is said to be finite if it does not go on for ever. That is, any set whose elements could (theoretically) be named, one by one, in a finite amount of time is finite. Finite sets include the empty set, which has zero elements, and every set with a positive integer number of elements.
Formally, a set is finite if it is the empty set or it can be put into bijection with a set 
for some nonnegative integer 
.
