is my proof that the union of countable sets is countable correct ?
If A1,A2,A3,…,An is a collection of countable sets, then the union
A1∪A2∪A3∪…An
is countable as well.
Proof. Base case: Consider the set
B=A2∖A1
Clearly, B⊆A2(B is countable) and A1∪B = A1∪A2.
If B is finite, then
B={b1,b2,b3,b4,…,bj}j∈N0
and so we can construct a bijection
f(n)={bnn≤jan−jn>j
If B is infinite, then we can construct a bijection
f(n)={bn2n evenan+12n odd
Now, suppose the statement holds for n=k≥2, that is,
A1∪A2∪A3∪…Ak
is a countable set. Observe that
(A1∪A2∪A3∪…Ak)∪Ak+1
is a union of two countable sets which, by the base case, is also countable. Thus, by induction, the statement holds for all n∈N.◻
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