Discrete Mathematics and Its Applications, Seventh Edition

Published by McGraw-Hill Education
ISBN 10: 0073383090
ISBN 13: 978-0-07338-309-5

Chapter 2 - Section 2.5 - Cardinality of Sets - Exercises - Page 176: 8

Answer

We move the current guests to the odd-numbered rooms. The new guests receive the even numbered rooms.

Work Step by Step

Since Hilbert's Grand Hotel has a countably infinite number of rooms, we can number the rooms by positive integers $Z^+: 1,2,3,4,...$ The hotel is fully occupied and a countably infinite number of guests arrive. We move the current guests to the odd-numbered rooms. This then means that the guest in room $1$ stays in room $1$,guest in room $2$ moves to room $3$, guest in room $3$ moves to room $5$, guest in room $4$ moves to room $7$. The new guests receive the even numbered rooms. The first new guest thus receives room $2$, the second new guest receives room $4$, the third new guest receives room $6$, etc We then note that all current guests will still have a room and all new guests will also receive a room, thus no current guests had to be evicted.
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