Given an integer , exhibit an infinite set of sets of positive integers satisfying the two conditions below:
(a) The intersection of the members of every -element subset of is a singleton set; and
(b) The intersection of the members of every -element subset of is empty.
Solution
Biject the set of -element sets of positive integers with the set of positive integers to label the former . For every positive integer , set .
If and are distinct positive integers, there exist distinct positive integers and such that and . Consequently, and ; in particular, , so the 's form an infinite set .
Next, if are distinct positive integers, then , where is the index of the label of the set in the list . Consequently, satisfies (a).
Finally, if are distinct positive integers, then and have different labels in the list , so is empty. Consequently, satisfies (b).
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