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The Number of Subsets of a Finite Set with n Elements 📂Lemmas

The Number of Subsets of a Finite Set with n Elements

Formula

Sum of Binomial Coefficients 1

The sum of binomial coefficients is as follows.
2n=k=0n(nk) 2^{n} = \sum_{k=0}^{n} \binom{n}{k}

Corollary: Cardinality of the Power Set

If the cardinality of a finite set SS is n=Sn = |S|, then the cardinality of its power set 2S2^{S} is 2n2^{n}.

Derivation

Binomial Theorem:
(x+y)n=k=0n(nk)xkynk (x+y)^{n} = \sum_{k=0}^{n} \binom{n}{k} x^{k} y^{n-k}

Substituting x=y=1x = y = 1 gives 2n=k=0n(nk)1k1nk2^{n} = \sum_{k=0}^{n} \binom{n}{k} 1^{k} 1^{n-k}.


  1. Bóna, M. (2025). Introduction to enumerative and analytic combinatorics: p28. ↩︎