TITLE: Given a convergent series of positive rationals, how many subseries can converge to the same number?
QUESTION [25 upvotes]: Let us have a sequence $a_n$ of positive rational numbers, for which $\sum a_n = R \in \mathbb R$. Now suppose $b_n$ is a subsequence of $a_n$ such that $\sum b_n = r < R$. The question is "Can there be an uncountable number of subsequences of $a_n$ whose sum is $r$, for some sequence of positive rationals $a_n$ and some $r\in\mathbb R$?"
To be clear on definitions, a sequence and all its subsequences must be mappings from $\mathbb N\to X$, where in this case $X$ is the set of positive rational numbers.

REPLY [24 votes]: Hmm... Why so complicated?
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$\dfrac12 + \dfrac12 + \dfrac14 + \dfrac14 + \dfrac18 + \dfrac18 + \cdots = 2$.
$\dfrac12 + \dfrac14 + \dfrac18 + \cdots = 1 < 2$. (Just pick one of each pair.)

Better still, for every positive real $r < 2$, there are uncountably many subseries that converge to it! Here is a sketch of the proof. First pick some subseries converging to $r$. If it is finite, replace the last term $\lfrac1{2^k}$ by $\lfrac1{2^{k+1}}+\lfrac1{2^{k+2}}+\lfrac1{2^{k+3}}+\cdots$. So we can assume the subseries has infinitely many terms. Now if the subseries omits some term from infinitely many pairs of the original series, then we are clearly done. If not, the subseries includes every term from some point onwards, but must omit some term before that, and hence we can change the subseries to use the last omitted term in place of one of every pair after that. We now have a subseries with infinitely many terms that do not come in pairs, and hence as before we are done!

If you want a sequence with distinct terms, that is easy to obtain from the above. Simply replace each pair $(\lfrac1{2^k}+\lfrac1{2^k})$ by $(\lfrac1{2^k}+\lfrac1{2^k·7}+\lfrac6{2^k·7})$. By basic number theory, no two rationals of the form $\lfrac{6^a}{2^k·7^b}$ can be the same unless $k,a,b$ are the same. Then use the same argument as above, treating $(\lfrac1{2^k·7}+\lfrac6{2^k·7})$ the same as $\lfrac1{2^k}$ in the original.