How to show f : <mrow class="MJX-TeXAtom-ORD"> <mi mathvariant="double-struck

Lexi Chandler

Lexi Chandler

Answered question

2022-05-13

How to show f : Z + Z + , f ( n ) = n ! is one-to-one?
How to show f : Z + Z + ,, f ( n ) = n ! is one-to-one?
I'm quite sure the function is one-to-one as 0 is not an element of the domain, so f ( 0 ) = f ( 1 ) is not a concern. However doing something like setting f ( m ) = f ( v ) where m,v are arbitrary elements of the domain doesn't really work, since n! doesn't have an inverse.
I was able to get something working algebraically by also doing f ( m + 1 ) = f ( v + 1 ), but I'm quite sure it is circular to do something like that.
Any nudge in the right direction would be greatly appreciated.

Answer & Explanation

nelppeazy9v3ie

nelppeazy9v3ie

Beginner2022-05-14Added 22 answers

Step 1
Suppose without loss of generality that there exist integers m,n, such that m > n > 1 and m ! = n !. This implies:
1 × 2 × 3 × × n × ( n + 1 ) × × m = 1 × 2 × 3 × × n
Step 2
which in turn implies 1 < n × ( n + 1 ) × × m = 1 a clear contradiction. Hence for all m , n Z + such that m n, we have m ! n !, as desired.

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