The number of subsets of a set of cardinality $n$

Think of how you could go about constructing a subset of $A$. For each element, you choose to either include it or exclude it from the subset you are building. That gives you 2 choices for each of the $n$ elements of $A$. Multiplying your choices together, you get $2^n$ total possibilities. That is, there are $2^n$ different subsets you can build from $A$.


HINT:

Suppose I am choosing elements to put in some subset of the power set. Then each element can either be in, or not be in, my subset. So this means that altogether...


Number the elements of $A$ as $a_1, a_2, \dots, a_n$. Consider the map $\chi:P(A) \to \{0,1\}^n$ given by $\chi(X)=(x_1,x_2,\dots,x_n)$, where $x_i=1$ iff $a_i \in X$. Then $\chi$ is a bijection.