151k views
3 votes
Identify the following set as finite or infinite.

x
Choose the correct answer below.
O A. The set is finite because there are no elements
the set.
OB. The set is finite because the number of elements in the set is a whole number.
OC. The set is infinite because the number of elements in the set is not a whole number.
OD. The set is infinite because the elements of the set are not listed between the braces, separated by commas.

User Ben Pye
by
3.8k points

2 Answers

4 votes

Final answer:

The set x is a real number is an infinite set because it consists of all possible real numbers on the continuous number line, which has no end and contains an uncountable number of elements.

Step-by-step explanation:

The set described as x consists of all possible real numbers. This is an infinite set because real numbers include all the numbers on the continuous number line, and there is no end to the numbers on this line. Since there are an uncountable number of elements between any two real numbers, the set cannot be finite.

The correct answer is: OD. The set is infinite because the elements of the set are not listed between the braces, separated by commas. However, a more precise reason the set is infinite is that real numbers form a continuum, and there is an infinite number of real numbers between any two distinct real numbers. Hence, the option OC could also be considered correct if it referred to the real nature of the numbers rather than their count being a whole number or not. In regular set notation, whether the elements are listed or not does not determine if a set is finite or infinite.

User Timo Willemsen
by
3.1k points
1 vote

The answer is OC because the list will be infinite and the elements of the set are not whole numbers. They are real numbers.

User Nidhoegger
by
3.4k points