Activity 1.

1
BASIC IDEAS ON SETS

Directions: The set {1} has two subsets, and {1}. The set {1, 2} has four subsets, ,

{1}, {2}, and {1, 2}. These are shown in the table below. Complete the table and find a

formula for the number of subsets of n elements.

Set Number of Subsets Number of

Elements Subsets

{1} 1 , {1} 2

{1, 2} 2 , {1}, {2}, {1,2} 4

{1, 2, 3}

{1, 2, 3, 4}

{1, 2, 3, 4, 5}

{1, 2, 3, } n

How many subsets does the set containing 20 elements have?