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STRUCTURE
, 3:1 Introduction
Objcctivcs
3.2 Modulus of a Real Number
RE^ Number .
' ~ro$rties of the Moduiw of a
' , 3.8
t Summary
' 3.9 AnswerslHintslSolutions
Thus 'topology' means the study of surfaces. Since the surfaces are directly related to ;
geometrical objects, therefore there is a close link between Geometry and Topology.
In Geometry, we deal with shapes like lines, circles, spheres, cubes, cuboids etc. and
I
their geometrical properties like lengths, areas, volumes, congruences etc. In
Topology, we study the surfaces of these geometrical objects and certain related I
properties which are called topological properties. What are these topological
properties of the surfaces of a geometrical figure? We shall not answer this question at
I this stage. However, since our discussion is confined to the real line, therefo~e, we
shall discuss this question pertaining to the topo\ogical properties of the real line. I
These properties are related to the points and subsets'of the real line such as I
neighbourhood of a point, open sets, closed sets, limit points of a set of the real line
I
etc. We shall, therefore, discuss these notions and concepts in this u ~ tHowver,
.
prior to all these, we discuss the modulus of a real number and its relationship with
the order relations or inequalities in Section 2.2.
\
WOBJECTIVES
After reading this unit, you should, therefore, be able to
* define the modulus of a real number and its connecthn with the order relations in
the real numbers
I
*describe the hotion of a neighbourhood of a point on%e line
+define an open set and give examples
-+ find the limit points of a set I
. ,* define a closed set and establish its relation with an open set
:- explain the meaning of an open covering of a subset of real numbers and that of a
compact set. .
50
3.2 MODULUS OF A REAL NUMBER
You know that a real number x is said to be positive if x is greater than 0.
Equivalently, if 0 represents a unique point 0 on the real line, then a positive real
number x lies on the right side of 0.Accordingly, we defined the inequality x > y (in
terms bf this positivity of real numbers) if x- y > 0. You will recall from Section 2.2
that for the validity of the properties of order relations or the inequalities. such as the
one concerning the multiplication of inequalities, it is essential to specify that some of
the numbers involved should be positive. For example, it is necessary that z> 0 so
that x > y implies xz > yz. Again, the fractional power of a number will not be real if
the number is negative, for instance x'" when x = -4. Many of the fundamental
inequalities, which you may come across in higher Mathematics, will involve such
fractional powers of numbers. In this context, the concept of the absolute value or the
modulus of a real member is important to which you are already familiar.
Nevertheless, in this section, we recall the notion of the modulus of a real number and
its related properties which we need for our subsequent discussion.
DEFINITION 1 : MODULUS OF A REAL NUMBER
Let x be any real number. The absolute value or the modulus of x denoted by I,xl. is
defined as follows :
1x1 = x i f x > O
=-xifx<O
=Oifx=O,
You can easily see that
I-xl = Ixl,IVx,ER.
Note that I - xl is different from - 1x1.
EXERCISE 1)
Prove that -1 XI = Min. Ex, - x] for any x E R . Deduce that - 1x1 5 x, for every
/x\€R. Illustrate it with an example.
-
4
Now consider the numbers 15I ', 1 - 4.5 1, 1;). It is easy to see that
and
1314 -
- -
4 and -!!! = i.e.
5 151 5
--
1-145 - I41
I5 1 '
All this leads us to the following properties:
PROPERTY 2: For any real number x
l X i 2 = x 2 = 1- x12
PROOF: We know that I xl = .x f0r.x 2'0. TJhps
lx12= 1x1 1x1 '=x.x = x2,,forx 2 0
Again for x < 0, we know that I xl = -x. 2
Therefore
lx21=JxI I x + = - x . - X = X . ,
! I
EXERCISE 2)
I Prove that I -xi2 = x2,for my xEB.
I
i , .
Also x 2 0, y 10 imply that xy 2 0 and hence
, lxyl = XY = 1x1 l ~ l
, 8
8 5
Since Ixy 1, I xl and 1y ( are non-negajjve, therefore we take the positive sign only and
'
I
we have
I lxyl = 1x1 IYI
which proves the property.
You can use any of the two methods to try the following exercise.
I
.Topologyof the Real Line
1; = #. - - --
-
The next property is related to the modulus of the sum of two real members. This is
. one of the most important properties and is known as Triangular hequ.lHty:
PROPERTY 4: TRIANGULAR INEQUALITY
FOP any two real numbem x and y, prove that
IX+Y/ 5 lxl+ IYI. I
:..
L.
PROOF : For any two real numbers x and y, the number x + y 2 0 or x + y < 0.
+
If x y L 0, then by definition
Ix+y(=x+y. (1)
Also, we know that
1x1 L x Y X ~ R
IYI Z Y W y€,R.
Therefore
EXERCISE 4):
Rove that
I X ~ Y I 2 I 1x1 - IYI I
for any real numbers x and y.
Now let us see another interesting relationship between the inequalities and the
modulus of a real number.
By definition, 1x1 is a non-negative real number for any x E R..Therefore, there
.. always exists R non-negative real number u SULXCthat
either 1x1 (:u or 1x1 > u or 1x1 = u.
Suppose 1x1 < u. Let us choose u = 2. Then
1 Ix 1 < 2/ +Max. {-x, x} < 2
+- x<(2, x < 2
*x>-2,x<2
I
==3 - 2 < x , x < 2
23 - 2 < x < 2 .
i.e. 1x1 < 2 - - 2 < x < 2
; Real Numbers and Functions Conversely, we have
i
-2<x<2q-2<x.x<2
j. 12>-x,x<2
+-x<2,x<2
*
Max.{-x, x} < 2
=+
1x1< 2 . '
i.e.
-2<x<2*1xy<f2
Thus, we have shown,'\hat
1x1 <2<*-2<x<2.
- -
This can be generalised as the following property.
I
W A W R b I U J 4 rl)
For any real numbers x, a and d,
.EXERCISE6)
(i) Write the inequality 2 < x < 7 in the modulus form
(il) Convert Ix - 21 < 3 into the corresponding inequality. .
3.3 NEIGHBOURHOODS
You are quite familiar with the word 'neighbourhood'. You use this word frequently
in your daily life. Loosely speaking, a neighbourhood of a given point c on the real line
is a set of all those points which are close to c. This is the notion which needs a precise
meaning. The term 'close to'& subjectve and therefore must be quantified. We should
9
clearly say how much 'close to .To elaborate this, let us first discuss the notion of a
neighbourhood of a point with respect to a (small) positive real number S.
k t c be any point on the real line and let 6 > 0 be a real number. A set consisting of
all those points on the real line which are at a distance of 6 from c is called a
neighbourhood of c. This set is given by
{xER: Ix-cl < 6 }
= { ~ E : R :c - 6 < x < c f 6)
=]c- 6, c + 6[
which is an open interval. Since this set depends upon the choice of the positive real
number 6,we call it a S-neighbourhood of the point c.
T ~ U Sa ,6-neighboured of a point c on the real line is an open interval ]c - 6, c + 6[, Topology of the Real Line
8 > 0 while c is the mid point of this neighbourhood. w e can give the general definition
of n e i g h b ~ ~ r hof~a~point
d in the following way.
DEFINITION 2: NEIGHBOuRHmD O F A POINT
A set P is said to be a Neighbourhood (NBD) of a point 'c' if there exists an open
interval which contains c and is contained in P.
This is equivalent to saying that there exists an open interval of the form ]c-6, c+6[, for
some 6 > 0,such that
]C - 6, c + 6[ c P.
EXAMPLE2: (i) Every open interval ]a, b[ is a NBD of each of its points.
(ii) A closed interval [a, b] is a NBD of each of its points except the end point i.e. [a, b]
is not a NBD of the points a and b, because it is not possible to find an open interval
containing a or b which is contained in [a, b]. For instance, consider the closed interval
[o, I]. It is a NBD of every point in 10, l[. But, it is not a NBD of 0 because for every
6 > 0, 1-6, 61 d [O, I]. Similarly [0, I ] is not a NBD of 1.
(iii) The null set 0 is a NBD of each of its point in the sense there is no point in 0 of
which it is not a NBD.
(iv) The set R of real numbers is a NBD of each real number x because for every
6 > 0, the open interval ]x - 6, x + 6 [ is contained in R.
(v) The set Q of rational numbers is not a NBD of any of its points x because any
open interval containing x will also contains an infinite number of irrational numbers
and hence the open interval can not be a subset of Q.
Now try the following exercise.
EXERCISE 7)
Examine the validity of the following statements. Justify your answer in each case.
(i) The interval [a, b[ is a neighbourhood of each of its points.
(ii) The unit interval 10, 11 is the neighbourhood of only of its end points.
(iii) The set {x E R: x 2 a) is not a neighbourhood of any of its points.
(i) The set {x E R: x ia) is a neighbourhood of each of its points.
(v) The singleton {x), for any x E R, is a neighbourhood of x.
(vi) A finite subset of R is not a neighbourhood of any of its points.
1
Now consider any two neighbourhoods of the point 0 say 1- 10,110[ and 1- 7,
1 1
3[as
shown in the Figure 1.
Fig. 1
The intersection, of these two neighbourhood is
- 1 1 1 1 1 1
l-lo.~
["l-y.~[=l-~.~[.
1 ,j
which is again a NBD of 0. The union of these two neighbourhoods is ] -7 1 [. which
SOLUTION : Let A and B be any two NBDS of a point c in R. Then there exist open
intervals ]c -6,, c + 6,] and ]c -a,, c+6,[ such that
d.
1~-6,,c+6,]cA,forsome6,~0,and]c-6,,c+6,[cB,forsome6,~0.
Real Numbers and Functions Let 6 = Min. {61, 62) = minimum of 81,Sz.
+
This implies that ]c -6, c 6[ C A n B
which shows that A n B is a NBD of c.
' EXAMPLE 4: Show that the superset of a NBD of a point is also a NBD of the
point.
.
. .
-I
- .-1
- ,-I '-
I '
5 10 10 5
I Fig. 1 .
Is a subset of a NBD of a point also a NBD of the point? Justify your answer. I
!
Now you can try the following exercise.
EXERCISE 8) \ ,
Prove that the Union of any two NBDS of a point is a NBD of the point.
n n I
EXERCISE 9)
Test which of the follov oing are open sets:
(i) An interval [a, b] f o r a ER, b E R , a < b
(ii) The intervals [O, l[r~nd]0,1[
(id) The set Q of ratio]ma1 numbers
(iv) The set N of natur rlnumbers and the set Z of integers.
1
(v) The set {- : n EiN)
n
(vi) The intervals ]a, a9 [and [a, 00 [for a ER.
EXAMPLE 7: Prove that the intersgction of any two open sets is an open set.
SOLUTION: Let A iind B be any tCo open sets. Then we have to show that A n B is
also an open set. If A , 0B = 4, then obviously A n B is an open set. Suppose A n B
=#4.
Let x be an arbitrary element of A n th then x € A n B => x E A and x E B.
Since A and B are o p n sets, therefore A and B are both NBDS of x. Hence A n B is
a NBD of x. But x E n B is chosen arbitrarily. Therefore A n B is a NBD of each
of its points and henr:e A n B is an open set. This proves the result.
In fact, you can prove that the intersection of a finite number of open sets is an open
set. However, the intersection of an infinite number of open sets may not be an open
set. Try the following /exercises:
EXERCISE 10)
Give an example to slnow that intersection of an infinite number of open sets need not
be an open set.
EXERCISE 11)
Prove that the uniolh of any two open sets is an open set.
In fact, you can show that the union of an arbitrary family of open sets is an open set.
I
+
every rational number r and 8 > 0, i.e.1 r - 6, r S ['has at least one rational number
: different from r. This is because of the reason that there are infinite rationals between
] I
any two real numbers. Now, you can easily see that every irrational number is 8 1 ~ 0P
limit point of the set Q for the same reason.
(iii) The set N of natural numbers has no limit point because for every real ~\:~nlber a,
+
you can always find 6 > 0 such that ]a - 6, a @ does not oontain a point of the set
N other than a.
(iv) Every point of the interval ]a, b] is its limit point. The end points a and b are also
the limit poiats of ]a, b]. But the limit point a does not belong to it whereas the limit
point b belongs to it.
(v) Every point of the set [a, =[ is a limit point of the sets. This is also true for
l-m,a[.
Now try the following exercise and justify your answer.
EXERCISE 12)
(i) Does the set Z possess a limit point?
'
(ii) Every point of R, the set of real numbers is a limit point of R. Is it true?
(iii) Is every point of an open interval ]a, b[ a limit point of ]a, b[? what about the
end points a and b? .
(iv) Is every point of a closed interval [a, b] is its limit point? what about the end
points a and b?
(v) Is every point of the sets ]a, oo[ and 1- 00, a] a limit poiqtWthe set? -
EXERCISE 13) I
Show that a given 'point p is a limit point of a set S if .and only if every
neighbourhood.of p contains an infinite number of members of S.
From the foregoing examples and exercises, you can easily observe that
(i) A limit point of set may or may not belong to the set,
(ii) A set may have no limit point,
(iii) A set may have only one limit point.
(iv) A set may have more than one limit point. ,
The question, therefore, arises: "How to know whether or not a set has a limit point?"
One obvious fact is that a finite set can not have a limit point. Can you givi a reason
for it? Try it. But then there are examples where even an infinite set may not have a
limit point e.g.'the sets N and Z do'not have a limit point even though they are
infinite 'sets. However, it is certainly clear that a set which has a limit point, must
necessarily be an infinite set. .Thus
. our question takes the following form:
58 , "What are the conditions for a set to have a limit point?"
. This question was first studied by a Czechoslovakian Mathematician, Bernhard Bulzano Topology of the R C ~ Linr
I
, {1781-1 8481 in 1817 and he gave some ideas.
unfortunately, his ideas were so far ahead of their time that the world could not
appreciatk the full significance of his work. It was only much later that Bulzano's work
was extended by Karl Weierstrass [I 815- 18971, a great German Mathematician, who is
known as the "father of analysis". It was in the year 1860 that Weierstrass proved a
fundamtntal result, now known as Bulzano-Weierstrass Theorem for the existence of the
limit points of a set. We state and prove this t h e ~ ~ eas
m follows.
3.5.1. BULZANO-WEIERSTRASSTHEOREM
THEOREM 1: Every infinite bounded subset of set K has a limit point (in K).
. .
P ROOF : Let S be an infinite and bounded subset of R. Since A is bounded, therefore
A has both a. lower bound as well as an upper bound. (Recall the definition of a
bounded set from Section 2.3.)
Let m be a lower bound and M be an upper bound of A. Then obviously
m<x<M,VxeA.
Construct a,set S in the following way:
'"S = (x E R: x exceeds.at most finite number of the elements of A}. Now, let us examine
the following two questions:
(i) 1's S a non-empty set?
(ii) Is S also a bounded set?
Indeed, S is non-empty because m S x , 'd x EA, implies that m ES. Also M is an upper
bound of S because no number greater than or equal to M can belong to S. Note that M
can not belong to S because it exceeds an infinite number of elements of A.
Since the set S is non-empty and bounded above, therefore, by the axiom of
completeness (see Section 2.3), S has its supremum in R. Let p be the supremum of S.
We claim that p is a limit point of the set A.
In order to show that p is a limit point of A, we must establish that every NBD of p has
at least one point of the. set A other than p. In other words, we have to show that every
NBD of p has an infinite number of.elements of A. For this, it is enough to show that
any open interval ]p - 6 , p + 6[, for 6 > 0, contains an infinite number of members of set
A. For this, y e pioceed as follows.
Since p is the supl'emum of S,. therefore, by the definition of the Supremum of a set'(see
Section 2.3), there is at least one element y in S such that y > p - 6, for 6 > 0. Also y is
a member of S, therefore, y exceeds at the most a finite number of the elements of A. In
other words, if you visualise it on the line as shown in the Figure.2 below, the number
-
of elements of A lying on the left of p 6 is finite at the most. But
Fig.3
certainly, the number of elements of A lying on the right side of the point p - 6 is
infmite.
Again since p is the supremum of S, therefore, by definition p + 6 can not belong to S.
In other Words, p + 6 exceeds an infinite number of elements of A. This means that there
lie an kfinite number of elements of A on the 16ft side of the point p + 6.
Thus we have shown that there lies, an infmite number of elements of 4 on the right
side of p - 6 and also there ia an infinite number of elements of A-on the left side of
p + 6 .What do you conclude from this? In other woids, what is the number of elements
-
of A in between (i.e., within) the interval ]p. 6, p + 6[? Indeed, this number is infinite
i.e., there is an infinite number of elements of A in the open interval
+
]p - 6, p I5 [.Hence the interval ] p - 8 , p 4-6[contains an infinite number of
elements of A for some 6 > 0. Since 6 > 0 is chosen arbitrarily, therefore every interval
]p - 8, p +6 [ has an infinite number of elements of A. Thus every N B E o f p contains
an i nite number of elements of A. Hence p is a limit point of the set A.
EXAMPLE 9 (i) The intervals [0, 11, 10, I[, ] 0, I], [ O , 1 [ are all infinite and bounded
sets. Therefore each of these intervals has a limit point. In fact, each of these intervals
has an b d i i t e number of limit points because every point in eacR interval is a limit
poiat
nfof
i the interval.
(4)The set [a, oc[ is W i i t e and unbounded set but has every point as a limit point.
This shows that the condition of boundedness of an infinite set is only sufficient in the
theorem.
EXERCISE 14)
Give examples of the following:
(i) At least four infmite bounded sets indicating their corresponding limit points.
(ii) At least three unbounded (and i n f i t e ) .sets each having a limit point.
(iii) An infinite and unbounded set haviag no Limit point.
-
From the previous examples and exercises, it is clear that it is not necessa for an
infinite set to be bounded to possess a limit point. In other words, a set ir.:*y be
unbounded and still may have a limit point. However for a set to have a limit point, it
is necessary that it is infinite.
Another obvious fact is that a limit poinf of a set may or may not belong to the set
and a set may have more than one limit point. In the next section, we s'hall further
study how sets can be characterized in terms of their limit points.
EXAMPLE 10:
(i) Every closed and bounded interval such as [a, b] and [0, 11is a closed set.
(ii) An open interval is not a closed set. Check Why?
(iii) The set R is a closed set because every real number is a limit point of R and it
belongs to R.
(iv) The null set I$ is a closed set.
1
(v) The set S = { - : n E N } is not a closed set. why?
n
(vi) he set ]a, m[ is not a closed set, but 1-00, a] is a closed set.
You can
, try the following exercise:
/
EXERCISE 15)
~ h & k . ~ h e t h eorr not the following sets are closed sets:
(i) ~ h e ' s ' e t .of~ rational numbers
(ii) The set N'& natural numqers
The set Z of integers. Topology of the Real Line
(iii)
) A finite set of real numbers.
(v) The set S = [x E R: a I x 5 b).
(vi) The sets [a, m[ and ]-a,a[.
you may be thinking that the word open and closed should be having some link. If you
are guessing some relation belween the two terms, then you are hundred per cent
correct. Indeed, there is a fundamental connection between open and closed sets. What
exactly is the relation between the two? Can you try to find out? Consider, ,the following
subsets of R:
(i) 10,4[
(ii) [-2,51
(iii) lo,*[
(iv) I-* $1.
The sets (i) and (iii) are open while (ii) and (iv) are closed. If you consider their
complements, then the complements of the open sets are closed while those of the
closed sets are open. In fact, we have the following concrete situation in the fonn of
following theorem.
THEOREM 2: A set is closed if and only if its complement is open.
PROOF : We assume that S is a closed set. Then we prove that its complement Sc is
open.
To show that S c is open, we have to prove that S c is a NBD of each of its points. Let
x E SC. Then, x E Sc d x E S. This means x is not a limit point of S because S is given
to be a closed set. Therefore, there exists a 6 > 0 such that ]x - 6, x + 6 [ contains no
points of S. This means that ]x - 6, x + 6[ is contained in Sc, This isrther implies that S c
is a NBD of x. In other words, S c is an open set, which proves the assertion.
Conversely, let a set $ be such that its complement Sc is open. Then we prove that S is
closed.
To show that S is closed, we have to prove that every limit point x of S belongs to S.
Suppose x ES. Then x E SC.
This implies that SC is a NBD of x because Sc is open. This means that there exists an
open interval ]x- 6, x + 6[, for some 6 > 0,such that
EXERCISE 16)
Give examples of two sets which are neither closed nor open.
In Section 3.4, 'we have discussed the behaviour of the union and intersection of open
sets. Since closed sets are closely connected with open sets, therefore, it is quite natural
that we should say something about the union and intersection of closed sets. In fact,
we have the following results.
EXAMPLE 11 : Prove that the union of two closed sets is a closed set.
SOLUTION : Let A and B be any two closed sets. Let S = A u B . we have to show
Real Numbers and F u t ~ c t ~ o n \ that S is a closed set. For tills, i l IS enough to prove that the co'rnplement S' is open.
Now ..
s c = ( ~ ~ ~ ) c = ~ c n ~ L = ~ c n ~ L
c
Since A and B are closed sets, therefore A" and B arp. open sets. Also, we have proved
in Section 3.4 that the intersection of any two bpen sets is open. Therefore A' n Bc is
an open set and hence S c is open.
This result can be extended to a finite number of closed sets. You can easily yerify
that the union of a finite number of closed sets is a closed set. But, note that the union
of an arbitrary family of closed sets may not be closed.
For example, consider the family of closed sets given as
1 1
'S1=[1,2],Sz= [ - , 2 . ] , S3= [ - , 2 ] ,....
and in general 2 3
1
S n = [ - , 2 ] .... f o r n Z 1 , 2 , 3 ,....
n
Then,
00
U s,=s,us2us3.... U S , U ....
n=l
= I 0321
which is not a closed set.
Now try the following exercise:
We discuss yet another concept of the so called compactness of a set. The concept of ,
cornpaqtness is formulated in terms of the notion bf an open cover of a set.
DEFINITION 8: OPEN COVER OF'A SE'F Topology of the Real Line
I
Let's be set and {Gal be a collection of some open subsets of R such that S c u Gas
Then {Go} is called an open cover of S.
EXAMPLE 13 : Verify that the collection Gn = {G}:, , where Gn= 1 - n, n[ is an open
cover of the set R.
As shown in the Figure 3 above, we see that every real number belongs to some G,,.
Hence
EXAMPLE 14 : Examine whether o r not the following collections are open covers of the
interval [l, 21.
SOLUTION : (i) Plot the subsets of GIon the real line as shown in the Figure 4.
{x
From above figure, it follows that every element of the set S = [1,'2] = : 1 5 x I; 2)
belongs to at least one of the subsets of G,. Since each of the subsets in G, is an open
i
I
1I
set, therefore G, is an open cover of S.
63
Real Numbers and Functions (ii) Again plot the subsets of G, on the real line as done in the case of (i).
5 3
You will find that none of the points in the interval [;i-, ,] belongs to any of the
subsets of G,. Therefore G, is not an open cover of S.
EXERCISE 18)
Verify whether the following collections are open covers of the corresponding sets
mentioned in each case:
(i) GI = {In, n + 2 [ : n EZ) of R;
(ii) G,={]n,n+l[:n~Z)ofR;
Now consider the set [O, 11 and two classes of open covers of this set namely G, and G,
given as
You can see that G , c G , . In this case, we say that G, is a subcover of G,. In general,
we have the following definition.
(i) E is contained in G.
(ii) E is a finite collection.
(iii) E is itself a cover of S.
EXERCISE 19)
Give an example of an infinite set S such tliat there is an open cover G of S which
admits of a finite subcover of G.
From the forgoing example and exercise, it follows that an open cover of a set may or
may not admit of a finite subcover. Also, there may be a set whose every open cover
contains a finite subcover. Such a set is called a compact set. We define a compact set in
the following way.
For example, consoder the finite set S = (1, 2, 3 ) and an open cover {Gal of S. Let GI,
GZ,G3, be the sets in G which contain 1, 2, 3 respectively. Then {GI, G2, G3} is a finite
subcover of S. Thus S is a compact set. In fact, you can show that every finite set in R
is a compact set.
3.8 SUMMARY
-
I . In Section 3.2, we have defined the absolute value or the modulus of a real number
and discussed certain related properties. The modulus of real number x is defined
as
Ixl=x i f x 2 0
=-x ifx<O.
Also, we have shown that
Ix-a1 < d a-d<x<a+d
2. In Section 3.3, we have discussed the fundamental notion of NBD of a point on the
real line i.e. first we have defined it as a 8 - neighbourhood and then, in general,
as a set containing,an open interval with the point in it,
3. With the help of NBD of a point we have defined, in Section 3.4, an open set in the
sense that a set is open if it is a NBD of each of its points.
4. We have introduced the notion of the limit point of a set in Section 3.4. A point p
is said to be a limit point of a set S if every NBD of p contains a point of S
different from p. This is equivalent to saying that a point p is a limit point of S if
every NBD of p contains an infinite number of the members of S. Also, we have
discussed Bulzano-Weiresstrass theorem which gives a sufficient condition for a set
to possess a limit point. It states that a,, infinite and bounded set must have a limit
point. This condition is not necessary in the sense that an unbounded set may have
a limit point.
5. The limit points of a set may or may not belong to the set. However, if a set is such
that every limit point of the set belongs to it, then the set is said to be a closed set.
The concept of a closed set has been discussed in Section 3.6. Here, we have also
shown a relationship between a closed set and an open set in the sense that a set is
closed if and only if its complement is open. Further, we have also defined the
Derived set of a set S as the set which consists of all the limit points of the set S.
The Union of a given set and its Deived set is cqlled the closure of the set. Note
the distinction between a closed set and the closure of a set S.
6. Finally, we have introduced another topological notion in Section 3.7. It is about
the open cover of a given set. Given a set S, a collection of open sets such that their
Union contains the set S is said to an open cover of S. A set S is said t d b e compact
if every open cover of S admits of a finite subcover. The criteria to determine
whether a given set is compsct or not, is given by a theorem named Heine-Bore1
Theorem wh'ich states that every closed and bounded subset of R is compact. An
immediate consequence of this theorem is that every bounded and closed interval is
compact.
E 1) If x 2 0 , then -x 5 0
Min (x, -x) = -X
Also 1x1 = x. Hence
-1 X I = -X = Min (x,- x).
If x < 0, -x > 0. Hence
Min (x, -x) = x. Also
r I xl = -x. Therefore
- 1x1 = x = Min (x, - x).
Real Numbers and Functions ~ 2 )Follow the method as explained in Property 2.
Yes the end points are also the limit points but they do not belong to it. ~ o p o l o g yof ths Real Liiie
(iii)
(iv) Yes. The end points, in this case, are also the limit points but they belong to
the interval.
(v) Yes. Elaborate it.
E 17) Consider an arbitrary family of closed sets such that their intersection is
nonempty. Let x be a limit point of this intersection. Then every NBD ]x -6, x + 6[ ,
6 > 0 , of x contains an infinite numbers of elements of this intersection and hence
of each member of the given family. Therefore x is a limit point of each member of
this family of closed sets. Hence x belongs to each member of the family and
therefore x belongs to the intersection. Hence the intersection is also a closed set.
E18) ( i ) G , = ] { .....,] -3,-I[,]-2,0[,]-1, 1[,10,2[ ,.....1.
Since every x ER belongs to at least one of the open interval in G,, therefore, GI
is an open cover of R.
Similarly verify (ii) and (iii).
E 19) Let S be an infinite open subset of R. Let G = {G,} be an open cover of S such
that S EG. Then G admits of a finite subcover of S. (HOW?)