Mathematics I

Part 2: Single Variable Calculus

Week 9

1. Introduction
We fix certain notations for this course:
N := {1, 2, 3, . . .}, the set of natural numbers,
Z := {0, ±1, ±2, ±3, . . .}, the set of integers,
 
p
Q := : p, q ∈ Z, q ̸= 0 , the set of rational numbers,
q
R := the set of real numbers.
The set of real numbers R is generally described geometrically by setting up a one-
to-one correspondence with points on a straight line that stretches infinitely in both
directions. We begin the lectures with certain essential preliminary properties of real
numbers.

Field Axioms: The set of real numbers R is associated with two binary operations
addition ‘ + ‘ and multiplication ‘ · ‘ that satisfies the following properties:
(1) a + b ∈ R for all a, b ∈ R.
(2) a + (b + c) = (a + b) + c for all a, b, c ∈ R.
(3) for any given a ∈ R, there exists 0 ∈ R such that a + 0 = a = 0 + a.
(4) for any given a ∈ R, there exists −a ∈ R such that a + (−a) = 0 = (−a) + a.
(5) a + b = b + a for all a, b ∈ R.
(6) a · b ∈ R for all a, b ∈ R.
(7) a · (b · c) = (a · b) · c for all a, b, c ∈ R.
(8) for any given a ∈ R, there exists 1 ∈ R such that a · 1 = a = 1 · a.
(9) for any given a ∈ R with a ̸= 0, there exists a1 ∈ R such that a · a1 = 1 = a1 · a.
(10) a · b = b · a for all a, b ∈ R.
(11) a · (b + c) = a · b + a · c and (a + b) · c = a · c + b · c for all a, b, c ∈ R.
As a consequence of the field axioms of R, one can prove that R is a real vector space
with respect to the addition as the vector addition and the multiplication as the scalar
multiplication.

Order Axioms: There is a nonempty subset R+ , set of positive real numbers, of

R such that
(1) a + b ∈ R+ for all a, b ∈ R+ .
(2) a · b ∈ R+ for all a, b ∈ R+ .
(3) For any a ∈ R, exactly one of the following holds:
a ∈ R+ , a = 0, −a ∈ R+ .
Definition 1. Let a, b ∈ R. If a − b ∈ R+ , then we write a > b. If a − b ∈ R+ ∪ {0},
then a ≥ b.
1
2

Using Order Axiom (3) and the above definition, we have the following law.

Law of Trichotomy: For any a, b ∈ R, exactly one of the following holds:

a > b, a = b, a < b.
Definition 2 (Absolute value). The absolute value of a real number x, denoted by |x|,
is defined as 
 x, if x > 0;
|x| = 0, if x = 0;
 −x, if x < 0.

For example, |7| = 7, | − 3| = 3. Also | − x| = |x| for all x ∈ R.

Properties: For any a, b ∈ R, we have

(1) |ab| = |a| · |b|.
(2) |a + b| ≤ |a| + |b|.
(3) ||a| − |b|| ≤ |a − b|.

Note: Geometrically, |a − b| denotes the distance between the real numbers a and b.
In particular, |a| denotes the distance of the real number a from the origin. Infact, if
we consider R as a inner product space, with inner product as ⟨x, y⟩ = xy. Then the
above properties with respect to absolute values are just the properties of norm.

Note: The inequality |x − a| < ε easily translates to a − ϵ < x < a + ε and the
inequality |x − a| > ε translates to x > a + ε or x < a − ε.
Definition 3. Let S be a nonempty subset of R.
• Bouded above and upper bound: The set S is said to be bounded above if
there exists a real number M such that x ≤ M for all x ∈ S. In this case, such
an M is said to be an upper bound of S.
• Bouded below and lower bound: The set S is said to be bounded below if
there exists a real number m such that x ≥ m for all x ∈ S. In this case, such
an m is said to be a lower bound of S.
• Bounded set: The set S is said to be bounded if S is both bounded above and
bounded below. Otherwise, the set S is said to be unbounded.
If S is a bounded subset of R, then there exists a real number K such that |x| ≤ K
for all x ∈ S. Consider the following sets:
A = {5, 8, 10, 11, 12, 15, 19, 37, 99}.
B = {x ∈ R : x < 2} = (−∞, 2).
C = {x ∈ R : x ≥ 5} = [5, ∞).
D = {x ∈ R : 1 < x < 3} = (1, 3).
√ √
E = {x ∈ R : 1 ≤ x ≤ 2} = [1, 2].
The sets A, D, and E are bounded. The set B is bounded above but not bounded
below. The set C is bounded below but not bounded above. In a similar way, N is
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bounded below but not bounded above. However, Z, Q, and R are neither bounded
above nor bounded below.

Note: We say that M is the maximum of S if M is an upper bound of S and M ∈ S,

and we say that m is the minimum of S if m is a lower bound of S and m ∈ S.
√
Thus 99 and 2 are maximum of A and E, respectively. However, B, C, and D do not
have a maximum. Similarly, 5 is the minimum of both A, C, and 1 is the minimum of
E, but B, D have no minimum.
Definition 4. Let S be a nonempty subset of R.
• Least Upper Bound (lub) or Supremum: If S is bounded above, then a
real number ℓ is said to be a supremum (or a least upper bound) of S if ℓ is an
upper bound of S and ℓ ≤ v for any upper bound v of S.
• Greatest Lower Bound (glb) or Infimum: If S is bounded below, then a
real number g is said to be an infimum (or a greatest lower bound) of S if g is
a lower bound of S and g ≥ v for any lower bound v of S.
Note: The supremum and infimum of a subset S of R are unique, if it exists. If the
supremum or the infimum of a set S exists, we will denote them by
sup(S) and inf(S),
respectively.
√
The supremum of A, B, D, and E is 99, 2, 3, and 2, respectively. However, C does
not have a supremum as it is not bounded above. In a similar way, the infimum of
A, C, D, and E is 5, 5, 1, and 1, respectively. It is easy to note that 1 is the infimum of
N with no supremum. However, Z, Q, and R have neither supremum nor infimum.
n n
o
Example: For the set (−1) n
: n ∈ N , we have the infimum −1 and the supremum
n o
1 1+(−1)n
2
. In a similar way, the supremum and infimum of n
: n ∈ N are 1 and 0,
respectively.

Completeness Property of R: Every nonempty subset of real numbers that has

an upper bound also has a supremum in R.

It is easy to see that the set of rational numbers Q is a field and satisfies the or-
der axioms. However, the completeness property is not satisfied by Q. Consider the
set
S = {x ∈ Q : x2 ≤ 2}.
This subset S of Q is bounded
√ above in Q with one of the upper bound 2. However,
the supremum of S is 2, which is not a rational number. Thus there is a nonempty
subset S of Q that is bounded above but does not have supremum in Q.
√
Exercise: Prove that 2 is not a rational number.
4
√
Proof. If possible, let 2 be a rational number. Then there exists p, q ∈ Z with q ̸= 0
and gcd(p, q) = 1 such that
√ p
2= .
q
This implies
p2 = 2q 2 ,
and hence 2 divides p. Thus p = 2p1 . Using this, we have
4p21 = 2q 2 or q 2 = 2p21 ,

√ 2 divides q. As a result, gcd(p, q) ≥ 2, which contradicts our assumption.

and hence
Thus 2 must be irrational. □
Note: It is easy to see that m = [x] implies x−1 < m ≤ x as well as m ≤ x < m+1.

Consequences of Completeness Property of R:

• A nonempty subset S of R that is bounded below has an infimum, that is, a
greatest lower bound.
Proof. Let T := {−x : x ∈ S}. Since S is bounded below, we must have that
T is bounded above. Thus T has a supremum in R, which will be the infimum
of S (verify that !). □
• Archimedean Property: Given x ∈ R, there is a n ∈ N such that n > x.
Proof. If possible, let there be no n ∈ N such that n > x for a given x ∈ R. Thus
x ≥ n for all n ∈ N. As a result, x is an upper bound for N. By completeness
property, we must have that N has a supremum, let s = sup (N). In this case,
s − 1 is not an upper bound of N, and hence, there exists n0 ∈ N such that
n0 > s − 1,
which implies
n0 + 1 > s.
Since n0 ∈ N implies n0 + 1 ∈ N, therefore s is not an upper bound of N. This
is a contraction. Thus there must exist a n ∈ N such that n > x. □
• Between any two real numbers, there is a rational number as well as an irrational
number.
1
Proof. Let a and b be two real numbers with a < b, then b−a
∈ R. By
Archimedean property, there exists n ∈ N such that
1
n> .
b−a
This implies nb − na > 1. As a result, there is an integer m such that
na < m < nb.
m m
Thus a < n
< b and n
∈ Q.
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√ √
Note that a + 2 and b + 2 are two real numbers, therefore, there exists a
rational number c such that
√ √
a + 2 < c < b + 2.
√
As a result, a − 2 is an irrational number such that
√
a < c − 2 < b,
completing proof of the result. □