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Pigeonhole principle and inclusion, exclusion

Two counting ideas that prove things without listing anything.

Pigeonhole: more pigeons than holes means some hole holds two. Inclusion, exclusion: |A ∪ B| = |A| + |B| − |A ∩ B|, and the alternating sum continues for more sets. Picture it: a Venn diagram; the overlap is what you counted twice. Think it: inclusion, exclusion is the Möbius function of the subset lattice.

ნამდვილი ასლი · {1,2,3,4} union {3,4,5,6}

Set-Theory · Sets

{1,2,3,4} union {3,4,5,6}

Step by step

  1. A = \left\{1, 2, 3, 4\right\},\quad B = \left\{3, 4, 5, 6\right\}

    The two sets.

  2. A \cup B = \left\{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6\right\}

    Keep everything in either set.

  3. |A| = 4,\ |B| = 4,\ |A \cup B| = 6

    Cardinalities. Note |A ∪ B| = |A| + |B| − |A ∩ B|.

Reveal the answer
A \cup B = \left\{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6\right\}

Now you Pick a problem, or type or draw your own. Every step, a picture, the answer hidden until you ask.

Keep your own working

უფასო ანგარიშის გამოყენებისას, ყველა გაკვეთილზე დამატებით ჩანაწერებს ნახავთ, დასრულებული და გადაწყვეტილი ამოცანების ჩანაწერებს ერთ ადგილას და მასწავლებელს, რომელსაც ამ გვერდის შესახებ შეკითხვა შეგიძლიათ გაუწიოთ. მათემატიკა ყველასთვის ხელმისაწვდომია, ანგარიშის შექმნის შემდეგაც კი.

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როგორ: Pigeonhole principle and inclusion, exclusion

  1. The two sets.
  2. Keep everything in either set.
  3. Cardinalities. Note |A ∪ B| = |A| + |B| − |A ∩ B|.

Questions people ask

Permutation or combination?

Ask whether order matters. A lock code is a permutation (order matters); a hand of cards is a combination (it does not).

What is a graph in this sense?

Dots (vertices) joined by lines (edges), not a plot. Road maps, social networks and molecules are graphs; questions like "is there a route" and "how few colours" are graph theory.

მეტი Combinatorics & Graph Theory

The counting principlesBinomial coefficients and Pascal's triangleRecurrences and generating functionsGraphs: vertices, edges, degreesPaths, cycles, trees, Euler and HamiltonColouring and planar graphs