It isn't a small interval, is it?

The set of real numbers in the open interval ( 0 , 1 ) (0, 1) which have more than one decimal expansion is

non-empty but finite uncountable countably infinite empty

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1 solution

Zico Quintina
Jun 18, 2018

The real numbers which have more than one decimal representation are the ones ending in an infinite string of 9 9 's, e.g.

0. 9 = 0.99999.... = 1.00000.... = 1 0.32 9 = 0.32499999.... = 0.32500000.... = 13 40 7. 9 = 7.19999.... = 7.200000.... = 36 5 0.\overline{9} = 0.99999.... = 1.00000.... = 1 \\ 0.32\overline{9} = 0.32499999.... = 0.32500000.... = \dfrac{13}{40} \\ 7.\overline{9} = 7.19999.... = 7.200000.... = \dfrac{36}{5}

Every one of these numbers can be thought of as a terminating decimal with an infinite string of 9 9 's "attached"; therefore there is a one-to-one correspondence between the set of real numbers with more than one decimal representation and the set of terminating decimals. The set of terminating decimals in the interval ( 0 , 1 ) (0, 1) is clearly infinite, and as a subset of the rational numbers Q \mathbb{Q} must also be countable; thus the set of real numbers in ( 0 , 1 ) (0, 1) with more than one decimal representation must also be infinite and countable.

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