The formula is 2number of elements in the set This set {1,2,3} has 3 elements, so the number of subsets is gotten by substituting 3 for the number of elements in the set: 2number of elements in the set = 23 = 2x2x2 = 8 So there are 8 subsets. They are 1. { } or ∅, the empty set, sometimes called the "null" set. 2. {1} 3. {2} 4. {3} 5. {1,2} 6. {1,3} 7. {2,3} 8. {1,2,3} The last one is the entire set, which is considered to be a subset of itself, although it is not considered to be a PROPER subset. Edwin