2

Topology of the Real Line

In this chapter, we introduce some of the basic concepts fundamental to the

study of limits and continuity, and study the structure of point sets in R. The
branch of mathematics concerned with the study of these topics–not only for
the real numbers but also for more general sets–is known as topology. Modern
point set topology dates back to the early part of the 20th century; its roots,
however, date back to the 1850s and 1860s and the studies of Bolzano, Can-
tor, and Weierstrass on sets of real numbers. Many important mathematical
concepts depend on the concept of a limit point of a set and the limit process,
and one of the primary goals of topology is to provide an appropriate setting
for the study of these concepts.
One of the first topics encountered in the study of calculus is the concept
of limit, which requires the notion of closeness, or the distance between points
becoming small. On the real line or in the euclidean plane, the distance be-
tween points is usually measured as the length of the straight line segment
joining the points. However, in many instances in subsequent chapters our
points will not be points on the line or in the plane, but rather functions de-
fined on some set. For this reason we introduce the concept of distance on an
arbitrary set and study metric spaces in general. In many instance, the proofs
of the results are such that they are valid in any metric space, and will be
stated as such. These more general results about arbitrary metric spaces will
prove useful not only in subsequent chapter but also in other courses.
Even though we introduce abstract metric spaces, our primary emphasis in
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this chapter will be on the topology of the real line. A thorough understand-
ing of the topics on the real line and the plane will prove invaluable when
they are encountered again in more abstract settings. On first reading, the
concepts introduced in this chapter may seem difficult and challenging. With
perseverance, however, understanding will follow.

2.1 Metric Spaces

We begin our study of metric spaces with a review of distance between points
in the real numbers or its geometric interpretation as the real line.

51
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 52 Introduction to Real Analysis

DEFINITION 2.1.1 For a real number x the absolute value of x, denoted

|x|, is defined by (
x, if x > 0,
|x| =
−x, if x ≤ 0.

For example, |4| = 4 and | − 5| = 5. From the definition, |x| ≥ 0 for all
x ∈ R and |x| = 0 if and only if x = 0. This last statement follows from the fact
that if x 6= 0, then −x 6= 0 and thus |x| > 0. The following theorem, the proof
of which is left to the exercises, summarizes several well known properties of
absolute value.

THEOREM 2.1.2 (a) | − x| = |x| for all x ∈ R.

(b) |xy| =√|x||y| for all x, y ∈ R.
(c) |x| = x2 for all x ∈ R.
(d) If r > 0, then |x| < r if and only if −r < x < r.
(e) −|x| ≤ x ≤ |x| for all x ∈ R.

The following inequality is very important and will be used frequently

throughout the text.

THEOREM 2.1.3 (Triangle Inequality) For all x, y ∈ R, we have

|x + y| ≤ |x| + |y|.

Proof. The triangle inequality is easily proved as follows: For x, y ∈ R,

0 ≤ (x + y)2 = x2 + 2xy + y 2
≤ |x|2 + 2|x||y| + |y|2 = (|x| + |y|)2 .

Thus by Theorem 2.1.2(c),

p p
|x + y| = (x + y)2 ≤ (|x| + |y|)2 = |x| + |y|. 
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As a consequence of the triangle inequality we obtain the following two

useful inequalities, the proofs of which are left to the exercises.

COROLLARY 2.1.4 For all x, y, z ∈ R we have

(a) |x − y| ≤ |x − z| + |z − y|, and
(b) ||x| − |y|| ≤ |x − y|.

In the following example we illustrate how properties of absolute value can

be used to solve inequalities.

EXAMPLE 2.1.5 Determine the set of all real numbers x that satisfy the
inequality |2x + 4| < 8. By Theorem 2.1.2(d), |2x + 4| < 8 if and only if
−8 < 2x + 4 < 8, or equivalently, −12 < 2x < 4. Thus the given inequality is
satisfied if and only if −6 < x < 2.

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 Topology of the Real Line 53

Geometrically, |x| represents the distance from x to the origin 0. More

generally, for x, y ∈ R, the euclidean distance d(x, y) is defined by

d(x, y) = |x − y|.

For example, d(−1, 3) = | − 1 − 3| = 4 and d(5, −2) = |5 − (−2)| = 7. The

distance d may be regarded as a function on R × R which satisfy the following
properties: d(x, y) ≥ 0, d(x, y) = 0 if and only if x = y, d(x, y) = d(y, x), and

d(x, y) ≤ d(x, z) + d(z, y)

for all x, y, z ∈ R. We now extend the notion of distance to sets other than R.

DEFINITION 2.1.6 Let X be a nonempty set. A real valued function d

defined on X × X satisfying
(1) d(x, y) ≥ 0 for all x, y ∈ X,
(2) d(x, y) = 0 if and only if x = y,
(3) d(x, y) = d(y, x),
(4) d(x, y) ≤ d(x, z) + d(z, y) for all x, y, z ∈ R,
is called a metric or distance function on X. The set X with metric d is
called a metric space, and is denoted by (X, d).

Before we continue, let us reflect on properties (1) to (4) in the definition of

a metric. The first two combined simply state that distance is nonnegative and
that the distance between two points is zero if and only if they are the same.
Property (3) is symmetry; namely the distance between x and y is the same
as the distance between y and x. Property (4) is again called the triangle
inequality for the metric d. This inequality simply states that the distance
between x and y is less than or equal to the distance between x and z, and z
and y, for any other point z in the space X. All of these properties are what
we intuitively expect a distance function to satisfy.
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EXAMPLES 2.1.7 We now provide several examples of metrics and metric

spaces, including the standard metrics on the euclidean plane R2 . For some of
the examples we prove that the functions as defined are indeed metrics, the
others are left as exercises.
(a) The real numbers R with the euclidean metric d(x, y) = |x − y| is
certainly a metric space. The metric is referred to as the usual metric on R.

(b) Let X be any nonempty subset of R. For x, y ∈ X define

d(x, y) = |x − y|.

The distance between the points x and y is just the usual euclidean distance
between x and y as points in R. However, it is important to remember that
our space is the set X, and not R.

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 54 Introduction to Real Analysis

(c) Let X be any nonempty set with

(
1, if p 6= q,
d(p, q) =
0, if p = q.

This metric is usually referred to as the trivial metric on X.

(d) In this example, we consider euclidean space

R2 = R × R = {(x1 , x2 ) : x1 , x2 ∈ R}.

For convenience we denote a point (p1 , p2 ) ∈ R2 by p. For such a point p

define q
kpk2 = p21 + p22 .
The quantity kpk2 is called the euclidean norm of p. Given two points
p = (p1 , p2 ) and q = (q1 , q2 ) set
p
d2 (p, q) = kp − qk2 = (p1 − q1 )2 + (p2 − q2 )2 .

By the Pythagorean theorem d2 (p, q) is the euclidean distance between the

points p and q.
Since the square root is nonnegative, d2 (p, q) ≥ 0 for all p, q ∈ R2 . Also,
from the definition it follows immediately that d2 (p, q) = 0 if and only if
p = q. Clearly, d2 (p, q) = d2 (q, p). Hence d2 satisfies properties (1)–(3) of a
metric. For the proof of property (4) we need that k k2 satisfies the triangle
inequality, namely
kp + qk2 ≤ kpk2 + kq2 k.
Assuming that k k2 satisfies the triangle inequality, given any three points
p, q, r ∈ R2 , we have

d2 (p, q) = kp − qk2 = k(p − r) + (r − q)k2

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≤ kp − rk2 + kr − qk2 = d2 (p, r) + d2 (r, q).

A geometric proof of the triangle inequality follows from the simple fact
that in a triangle, the length of any one side does not exceed the sum of the
lengths of the other two sides. This inequality can also be proved algebrically
(Exercise 9)
(e) Again we let X = R2 . In the previous example the distance between
points was measured as the length of the straight line segment joining the
two points. This metric however is of little use if one is in a city, such as New
York, where the streets are laid out in a rectangular pattern. In such a setting
a more appropriate way to measure distance is along the actual path one needs
to traverse to get from one point to another. Specifically, for p, q ∈ R2 set

d1 (p, q) = |p1 − q1 | + |p2 − q2 |.

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 Topology of the Real Line 55

Another metric often encountered in R2 is the metric d∞ which for p, q ∈

2
R is defined as

d∞ (p, q) = max{|p1 − q1 |, |p2 − q2 |}.

That d1 and d∞ are indeed metrics on R2 is left to the exercises (Exercise 10).

(f ) In the previous two examples we restricted our discussion to R2 pri-

marily for purposes of illustration. It is easier to visualize these concepts in
the plane as opposed to higher dimensional space. All three of these metrics
however have natural extensions to Rn , where for n ∈ N, n ≥ 2,

Rn = {(x1 , . . . , xn ) : xi ∈ R, i = 1, . . . , n}.

Here (x1 , . . . , xn ) denotes the ordered n-tuple of real numbers x1 , . . . , xn . As

for ordered pairs, two n-tuples (x1 , . . . , xn ) and (y1 , . . . , yn ) are equal if and
only if xi = yi for all i = 1, . . . , n. The euclidean metric d2 for Rn is defined
as follows: if p, q ∈ Rn with p = (p1 , . . . , pn ) and q = (q1 , . . . , qn ), then
p
d2 (p, q) = (p1 − q1 )2 + · · · + (pn − qn )2 .

In the miscellaneous exercises we outline how to prove that d2 is a metric on

Rn . An alternate proof will be provided in Chapter 7. The metrics d1 and d∞
also have analogous extensions to Rn .
(g) For this example we let X = {p ∈ R2 : kpk2 ≤ 1}. For p, q ∈ X,
define
(
kp − qk2 , if p, q are co-linear through 0,
d(p, q) =
kpk2 + kqk2 , otherwise.

This metric space is sometimes referred to as the Washington D. C. space or

the French Railway space. To see the connection one has to be familiar with
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how the main roads run in Washington or how the railroads run in France
with regard to the city of Paris. In Washington (excluding the beltway) all
the major roads run to the city center. Similarly in France, all the major rail
lines run through Paris. Thus if one travels between points p and q on the
same line, the distance is just the usual distance between the points. However,
if p and q are on different lines, then the distance between p and q is the
distance from p to Paris plus the distance from Paris to q. By computing
the distance between the points in Exercise 11 one can verify that this is
how distance is measured in this metric. Plotting the points in the plane will
further illustrate this metric.
(h) Let A be any nonempty set. A real-valued function f is bounded on
A if there exists a positive constant M such that |f (x)| ≤ M for all x ∈ A. Let
X be the set of all bounded real-valued functions on A. For f, g ∈ X define

d(f, g) = sup{|f (x) − g(x)| : x ∈ A}.

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 56 Introduction to Real Analysis

Clearly, since f and g are bounded, {|f (x) − g(x)| : x ∈ A} is bounded above,
and thus d(f, g) < ∞.
Since this is our first example of a space where the elements are functions
we proceed to show that d is a metric. Clearly d is nonnegative. Furthermore,
since |f (x)−g(x)| ≤ d(f, g) for all x ∈ A, d(f, g) = 0 if and only if f (x) = g(x)
for all x ∈ A. That d(f, g) = d(g, f ) follows from the fact that |f (x) − g(x)| =
|g(x)−f (x)|. It only remains to be shown that d satisfies the triangle inequality.
Let f, g, h be bounded functions on A. Then for x ∈ A

|f (x) − g(x)| = |f (x) − h(x) + h(x) − g(x)|

≤ |f (x) − h(x)| + |h(x) − g(x)| ≤ d(f, h) + d(h, g).

Therefore d(f, h)+d(h, g) is an upper bound for the set {|f (x)−g(x)| : x ∈ A},
and as a consequence,

d(f, g) ≤ d(f, h) + d(h, g).

This then proves that d is a metric on X. 

Exercises 2.1
1. Prove Theorem 2.1.2.
2. *Prove Corollary 2.1.4
3. Prove that for x1 , . . . , xn ∈ R, |x1 + · · · + xn | ≤ |x1 | + · · · + |xn |.

4. If a, b ∈ R, prove that |ab| ≤ 21 (a2 + b2 ).

5. Determine all x ∈ R that satisfy each of the following inequalities.
*a. |3x − 2| ≤ 11, b. |x2 − 4| < 5,
*c. |x| + |x − 1| < 3, d. |x − 1| < |x + 1|.
6. Determine and sketch the set of ordered pairs (x, y) in R × R that satisfy
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the following:
a. |x| = |y|, b. |x| ≤ |y|,
c. |xy| ≤ 2, d. |x| + |y| ≤ 1.
7. Determine which of the following are metrics on R.
p
a. d(x, y) = (x − y)2 . b. d(x, y) = 3 |x − y|
*c. d(x, y) = ln(1 + |x − y|).
d. d(x, y) = |3x − y|.
p
e. d(x, y) = |x − y|3 .
8. If d is a metric on X, prove that |d(x, z) − d(z, y)| ≤ d(x, y).
9. For p = (p1 , p2 ) ∈ R2 , let kpk2 be defined as in Example 2.1.7(d). Prove
algebraically that
kp + qk2 ≤ kpk2 + kqk2 for all p, q ∈ R2 .
10. Prove that d1 and d∞ as defined in Example 2.1.7(e) are metrics on R2 .

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 Topology of the Real Line 57

11. Let d be the metric on R2 defined in Example 2.1.7(g).

a. Compute the distance in this metric between each of the following pair
of points: *i. ( 12 , 41 ), (− 21 , − 14 ) *ii. ( 12 , 12 ), (0, 1) iii. ( 12 , 23 ), ( 14 , 13 )
b. Prove that d is a metric on R2 .
12. Let A = [0, 1] and let X denote the bounded functions on A. Let d be
the metric on X defined in Example 2.1.7(h). Compute d(f, g) for each
of the following pairs of functions f and g.
a. f (x) = 1, g(x) = x. *b. f (x) = x, g(x) = x2 .
(
0, 0 ≤ x < 21 ,
c. f (x) = x, g(x) = 1 1
2
, 2
≤ x ≤ 1.
13. Let ρ and σ be metrics on a set X. Show that each of the following are
also metrics on X.
i. 2ρ ii. ρ + σ iii. max{ρ, σ}.
14. *Prove that d defined by
|x − y|
d(x, y) = , x, y ∈ R, is a metric on R.
1 + |x − y|
15. Let X = (0, ∞). For x, y ∈ X, set
1 1
ρ(x, y) = − . Prove that ρ is a metric on X.
x y

2.2 Open and Closed Sets

In Chapter 1 we have used the terms open and closed in describing intervals
in R. The purpose of this section is to give a precise meaning to the adjectives
open and closed, not only for intervals, but also for arbitrary subsets of R or
a metric space (X, d). Before defining what we mean by an open set we first
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define the concept of an interior point of a set.

DEFINITION 2.2.1 Let (X, d) be a metric space and let p ∈ X. For  > 0,
the set
N (p) = {x ∈ X : d(p, x) < }
is called an -neighborhood of the point p.

Whenever we use the term neighborhood, we will always mean an

-neighborhood with  > 0.

EXAMPLES 2.2.2 In the following examples we consider the -neighborhoods

of the metric spaces given in Examples 2.1.7
(a) Consider R with the usual metric d(x, y) = |x − y|. Then for fixed
p ∈ R and  > 0,
N (p) = {x : p −  < x < p + }

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 58 Introduction to Real Analysis

In this case, N (p) is the open interval (p − , p + ) centered at p with radius

.
(b) Let X = [0, ∞) with d(x, y) = |x − y|. With  = 21 and p = 41 ,

N 12 ( 41 ) = {x ∈ [0, ∞) : |x − 14 | < 12 }
= {x ∈ [0, ∞) : − 14 < x < 43 } = [0, 34 ).

On the other hand, N 14 ( 14 ) = (0, 21 ). If p = 0, then for any  > 0,

N (0) = {x ∈ [0, ∞) : |x| < } = [0, ).

Thus an -neighborhood of 0 is the half-open interval [0, ). It is important to

remember that in this example our space is the interval [0, ∞) and not R.
(c) Consider R2 with the metric d2 of Example 2.1.7(d). For fixed a =
(a1 , a2 ) and  > 0,

N (a) = {x ∈ R2 : kx − ak2 < }

= {(x1 , x2 ) : (x1 − a1 )2 + (x2 − a2 )2 < 2 }.

This is easily recognized as the interior of a circle with center a and radius .
(Figure 2.1) Although -neighborhoods in the plane R2 are typically drawn as
circular regions, this is only the case for the metric d2 . For other metrics this
need not be the case as is illustrated in Exercise 5 of this section.
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FIGURE 2.1
N (a) for the metric d2

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 Topology of the Real Line 59

(d) Let A = [a, b] and X the set of real-valued functions on A with the
metric as given in Example 2.1.7(h). For a fixed f ∈ X and  > 0,

N (f ) = {g ∈ X : sup |f (x) − g(x)| < }.‘

Thus if g ∈ N (f ), then |g(x) − f (x)| <  for all x ∈ A, or equivalently

f (x) −  < g(x) < f (x) + . 

In the following definitions we will assume that X is a nonempty set with a

metric d. If X = R, unless otherwise specified d will denote the usual euclidean
metric on R.

DEFINITION 2.2.3 Let E be a subset of X. A point p ∈ E is called an

interior point of E if there exists an  > 0 such that N (p) ⊂ E. The set of
interior points of E is denoted by Int(E), and is called the interior of E.

EXAMPLES 2.2.4 (a) Let X = R and let E = (a, b] with a < b. Every p
satisfying a < p < b is an interior point of E. If  is chosen such that

0 <  < min{|p − a|, |b − p|},

then N (p) ⊂ E. The point b however is not an interior point. For every  > 0,
N (b) = (b − , b + ) contains points which are not in E. Any x satisfying
b < x < b +  is not in E. This is illustrated in Figure 2.2. For this example,
Int(E) = (a, b).
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FIGURE 2.2
Epsilon neighborhoods of p and b in Example 2.2.4(a)

(b) Let E denote the set of irrational real numbers, i.e., E = R \ Q. If

p ∈ E, then by Theorem 1.5.2, for every  > 0 there exists r ∈ Q ∩ N (p).
Thus N (p) always contains a point of R not in E. Therefore no point of E
is an interior point of E, i.e., Int(E) = ∅. Using the fact that between any
two real numbers there exists an irrational number, a similar argument also
proves that Int(Q) = ∅.
(c) This example will illustrate that the space X itself is crucial in the
definition of interior point. Let E = [0, 1) with d(x, y) = |x−y|. We claim that
every point of E is an interior point of E. Certainly every p ∈ E, 0 < p < 1, is

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 60 Introduction to Real Analysis

an interior point of E. The only point about which there may be some doubt
is p = 0. However, if 0 <  < 1, then as in Example 2.2.2(b)

N (0) = {x ∈ [0, ∞) : |x| < } = [0, ),

which is a subset of E. Therefore 0 is an interior point of E. Even though

this appears to contradict our intuition, it does not violate the definition of
interior point.
(d) Let X = R2 with metric d2 , and let

E = {(p1 , p2 ) : 1 < p1 < 3, 1 < p2 < 2}.

Given a point p = (p1 , p2 ) ∈ E, if we choose  such that

0 <  < min{|p1 − 1|, |p1 − 3|, |p2 − 1|, |p2 − 2|},

then N (p) ⊂ E. Therefore every point of E is an interior point of E. 

Open and Closed Sets

Using the notion of an interior point we now define what we mean by an open
set.

DEFINITION 2.2.5
(a) A subset O of R is open if every point of O is an interior point of O.
(b) A subset F of R is closed if F c = R \ F is open.

Remark. From the definition of an interior point it should be clear that a set
O ⊂ R is open if and only if for every p ∈ O there exists an  > 0 (depending on
p) so that N (p) ⊂ O. Both the definition of interior point and open depend
on the metric of the given set. In situations where there is more than one
metric defined on a given set, we will use the phrase open with respect to d to
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emphasize the metric.

EXAMPLES 2.2.6 (a) The entire set R is open. For any p ∈ R and  > 0,
N (p) ⊂ R. Since R is open, by definition the empty set ∅ is closed. However,
the empty set is also open. Since ∅ contains no points at all, Definition 2.2.5(a)
is vacuously satisfied. Consequently R is also closed.
(b) Every -neighborhood is open. Suppose p ∈ R and  > 0. If q ∈ N (p),
then |p − q| < . Choose δ so that 0 < δ ≤  − |p − q|. If x ∈ Nδ (q), then

|x − p| ≤ |p − q| + |x − q|
< |p − q| + δ ≤ |p − q| +  − |p − q| = .

Therefore Nδ (q) ⊂ N (p) (see Figure 2.3) Thus q is an interior point of N (p).
Since q ∈ N (p) was arbitrary, N (p) is open.

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 Topology of the Real Line 61

FIGURE 2.3
A delta neighborhood of q in Example 2.2.6(d)

(c) Let E = (a, b], a < b, be as in Example 2.2.4(a). Since the point b ∈ E
is not an interior point of E, the set E is not open. The complement of E is
given by
E c = (−∞, a] ∪ (b, ∞).
An argument similar to the one given in Example 2.2.4(a) shows that a is not
an interior point of E c . Thus E c is not open and hence by definition E is not
closed. Hence E is neither open nor closed.
(d) Let F = [a, b], a < b. Then

F c = (−∞, a) ∪ (b, ∞),

and this set is open. This can be proved directly, but also follows as a conse-
quence of Theorem 2.2.9(a) below.
(e) Consider the set Q. Since no point of Q is an interior point of Q
(Example 2.2.4(b)), the set Q is not open. Also, Q is not closed. 

The use of the adjective open in describing the intervals (a, b), (a, ∞), (−∞, b)
and (−∞, ∞) is justified by the following theorem:

THEOREM 2.2.7 Every open interval in R is an open subset of R.

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Proof. Exercise 1. 

THEOREM 2.2.8 Every -neighborhood is open.

Proof. The proof is identical to the proof given in Example 2.2.6(b). 

THEOREM 2.2.9 Let (X, d) be a metric space. Then S

(a) for any collection {Oα }α∈A of open subsets of X, α∈A Oα is open,
and Tn
(b) for any finite collection {O1 , ..., On } of open subsets of X, j=1 Oj is
open.

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 62 Introduction to Real Analysis

Proof. The proof of (a) is left as an exercise (Exercise 2).

Tn
(b) If j=1 Oj = ∅, we are done. Otherwise, suppose
n
\
p∈O= Oj .
j=1

Then p ∈ Oi for all i = 1, ..., n. Since Oi is open, there exists an i > 0 such
that
Ni (p) ⊂ Oi .
Let  = min{1 , ..., n }. Then  > 0 and N (p) ⊂ Oi for all i. Therefore
N (p) ⊂ O, i.e., p is an interior point of O. Since p ∈ O was arbitrary, O is
open. 
For closed subsets we have the following analogue of the previous result.

THEOREM 2.2.10 Let (X, d) be a metric space. Then T

(a) for any collection {Fα }α∈A of closed subsets of X, α∈A Fα is closed,
and
Sn
(b) for any finite collection {F1 , ..., Fn } of closed subsets of X, j=1 Fj is
closed.

Proof. The proofs of (a) and (b) follow from the previous theorem and De-
Morgan’s laws:
!c  c
\ [ n
[ n
\
Fα = Fαc ,  Fj  = Fjc . 
α∈A α∈A j=1 j=1

Remark. The fact that the intersection of a finite number of open sets is
open is due to the fact that the minimum of a finite number of positive num-
bers is positive. This guarantees the existence of an  > 0 such that the
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-neighborhood of p is contained in the intersection. For an infinite number

of open sets, the choice of a positive  may no longer be possible. This is
illustrated by the following two examples.

EXAMPLES 2.2.11 We now provide two examples to show that part (b)
of Theorem 2.2.9 is in general false for a countable collection of open sets.
Likewise, part (b) of Theorem 2.2.10 is in general also false for an arbitrary
union of closed sets (Exercise 15).
(a) For each n = 1, 2, ..., let On = (− n1 , n1 ). Then each On is open, but
∞
\
On = {0},
n=1

which is not open.

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 Topology of the Real Line 63

(b) Alternately, if we let Gn = (0, 1 + n1 ), n = 1, 2, ..., then again each Gn

is open, but
∞
\
Gn = (0, 1],
n=1

which is neither open, nor closed. 

Limit Points

DEFINITION 2.2.12 Let E be a subset of a metric space X.

(a) A point p ∈ X is a limit point of E if every -neighborhood N (p) of
p contains a point q ∈ E with q 6= p.
(b) A point p ∈ E that is not a limit point of E is called an isolated point
of E.

Remark. In the definition of limit point it is not required that p is a point of

E. Also, a point p ∈ E is an isolated point of E if there exists an  > 0 such
that N (p) ∩ E = {p}.

EXAMPLES 2.2.13 (a) E = (a, b), a < b. Every point p, a < p < b, is a
limit point of E. This follows from the fact that for any  > 0 there exists a
point x ∈ (a, b) satisfying p < x < p + . These however are not the only limit
points. Both a and b are limit points of E, but they do not belong to E.
(b) E = { n1 : n = 1, 2, . . . }. Each n1 is an isolated point of E. If  is chosen
so that
1 1 1
0<< = − ,
n(n + 1) n n+1
Then N ( n1 ) = { n1 }. Hence no point of E is a limit point of E. However, 0 is
a limit point of E which does not belong to E. To see that 0 is a limit point,
given  > 0 choose n ∈ N so that 1/n < . Such a choice of n is possible by
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Theorem 1.5.1. Then 1/n ∈ N (0) ∩ E, and thus 0 is a limit point of E.

(c) Let E = Q ∩ [0, 1]. If p ∈/ [0, 1] then p is not a limit point of E. For if
p > 1, then for  = 12 (p − 1) we have N (p) ∩ E = ∅. Likewise when p < 0.
On the other hand, every p ∈ [0, 1] is a limit point of E. Let  > 0 be given.
Suppose first that 0 ≤ p < 1. Then by Theorem 1.5.2 there exists r ∈ Q such
that p < r < min{p + , 1}. When p = 1, Theorem 1.5.2 also guarantees the
existence of an r ∈ Q ∩ [0, 1] with p −  < r < p. Thus for every  > 0, N (p)
contains a point r ∈ E with r 6= p. The same argument also proves that every
point of R is a limit point of Q. 

The following theorem provides a characterization of the closed subsets of

a metric space (X, d).

THEOREM 2.2.14 A subset F of a metric space X is closed if and only if

F contains all its limit points.

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 64 Introduction to Real Analysis

Proof. Suppose F is closed. Then by definition F c is open and thus for every
p ∈ F c there exists  > 0 such that N (p) ⊂ F c , that is, N (p) ∩ F = ∅.
Consequently no point of F c is a limit point of F . Therefore F must contain
all its limit points.
Conversely, let F be a subset of X that contains all its limit points. To
show F is closed we must show F c is open. Let p ∈ F c . Since F contains all
its limit points, p is not a limit point of F . Thus there exists an  > 0 such
that N (p) ∩ F = ∅. Hence N (p) ⊂ F c and p is an interior point of F c . Since
p ∈ F c was arbitrary, F c is open and therefore F is closed. 

THEOREM 2.2.15 Let E be a subset of a metric space X. If p is a limit

point of E, then every -neighborhood of p contains infinitely many points of
E.

Proof. Suppose there exists an -neighborhood of p that contains only finitely

many points of E, say q1 , . . . , qn with qi 6= p. Let

 = min{d(qi , p) : i = 1, . . . , n}.

Then N (p) contains at most p. Thus p is not a limit point of E. 

COROLLARY 2.2.16 A finite set has no limit points.

Closure of a Set

DEFINITION 2.2.17 If E is a subset of a metric space X, let E 0 denote

the set of limit points of E. The closure of E, denoted E is defined as

E = E ∪ E0.

THEOREM 2.2.18 If E is a subset of a metric space X, then

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(a) E is closed.
(b) E = E if and only if E is closed.
(c) E ⊂ F for every closed set F ⊂ X such that E ⊂ F .
c
Proof. (a) To show that E is closed, we must show that E is open. Let
c
p ∈ E . Then p 6∈ E and p is not a limit point of E. Thus there exists an  > 0
such that
N (p) ∩ E = ∅.
We complete the proof by showing that N (p) ∩ E 0 is also empty and thus
c c
N (p) ∩ E = ∅. Therefore N (p) ⊂ E , i.e., p is an interior point of E .
Suppose N (p) ∩ E 0 6= ∅. Let q ∈ N (p) ∩ E 0 , and choose δ > 0 such that
Nδ (q) ⊂ N (p). Since q ∈ E 0 , q is a limit point of E and thus Nδ (q) ∩ E 6= ∅.
But this implies that N (p) ∩ E 6= ∅, which is a contradiction. Therefore,
N (p) ∩ E 0 = ∅, which proves the result.

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 Topology of the Real Line 65

(b) If E = E, then E is closed. Conversely, if E is closed, then E 0 ⊂ E

and thus E = E.
(c) If E ⊂ F and F is closed, then E 0 ⊂ F . Thus E ⊂ F . 

DEFINITION 2.2.19 A subset D of a metric space X is dense in X if

D = X.

The rationals Q are dense in R. By Example 2.2.13(c), every point of R

is a limit point of Q. Hence Q = R. This explains the comment following
Theorem 1.5.2. The rationals are not only dense; they are also countable. The
existence of countable dense subsets play a very important role in analysis.
They allow us to approximate arbitrary elements in a set by elements chosen
from a countable subset of R. Since the rationals are dense in R, given any
p ∈ R and  > 0, there exists r ∈ Q such that |p − r| < . Additional examples
of this will occur elsewhere in the text.

Characterization of the Open Subsets of R1

If {In } is any
S finite or countable collection of open intervals, then by Theorem
2.2.9, U = n In is an open subset of R. Conversely, every open subset of R
can be expressed as a finite or countable union of open intervals (see Exercise
22). However, a much stronger result is true. We now prove that every open
set can be expressed as a finite or countable union of pairwise disjoint open
intervals. A collection {In } of subsets of R is pairwise disjoint if In ∩ Im = ∅
whenever n 6= m.

THEOREM 2.2.20 If U is an open subset of R, then there exists a finite

or countable collection {In } of pairwise disjoint open intervals such that
[
U= In .
n
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Proof. Let x ∈ I. Since U is open, there exists an  > 0 such that

(x − , x + ) ⊂ U.

In particular (s, x] and [x, t) are subsets of U for some s < x and some t > x.
Define rx and lx as follows:

rx = sup{t : t > x and [x, t) ⊂ U }, and

lx = inf{s : s < x and (s, x] ⊂ U }.

Then x < rx ≤ ∞ and −∞ ≤ lx < x. For each x ∈ U , let Ix = (lx , rx ). Then

(a) Ix ⊂ U ,
1 This topic can be omitted upon first reading of the text. The structure of open sets will

only be required in Chapter 10 in defining the measure of an open subset of R.

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 66 Introduction to Real Analysis

(b) If x, y ∈ U , then either Ix = Iy or Ix ∩ Iy = ∅.

The proofs of (a) and (b) are left as exercises (Exercise 21).
To complete the proof, we let I = {Ix : x ∈ U }. For each interval I ∈ I,
choose rI ∈ Q such that rI ∈ I. If I, J ∈ I are distinct intervals, then rI 6= rJ .
Therefore the mapping I → rI is a one-to-one mapping of I into Q. Thus the
collection I is at most countable and therefore can be enumerated as {Ij }j∈A ,
where A is either a finite subset of N, or A = N. Clearly
[
U= Ij ,
j∈A

and by (b), if n 6= j, then In ∩ Ij = ∅. Thus the collection {Ij }j∈A is pairwise

disjoint. 

Relatively Open and Closed Sets

One of the reasons for studying topological concepts is to enable us to study
properties of continuous functions. In most instances, the domain of a function
√
is not all of R but rather a proper subset of R as is the case with f (x) = x for
which Dom f = [0, ∞). When discussing a particular function we will always
restrict our attention to the domain of the function rather than all of R. With
this in mind we make the following definition.

DEFINITION 2.2.21 Let Y be a subset of a metric space X.

(a) A subset U of Y is open in (or open relative to) Y if for every p ∈ U ,
there exists  > 0 such that N (p) ∩ Y ⊂ U .
(b) A subset C of Y is closed in (or closed relative to) Y if Y \ C is open
in Y .

EXAMPLE 2.2.22 Let X = [0, ∞) and let U = [0, 1). Then U is not open
in R but is open in X. (Why?) 
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The following theorem, the proof of which is left as an exercise (Exercise

24), provides a simple characterization of what it means for a set to be open
or closed in a subset of X.

THEOREM 2.2.23 Let Y be a subset of a metric space X.

(a) A subset U of Y is open in Y if and only if U = Y ∩ O for some open
subset O of X.
(b) A subset C of Y is closed in Y if and only if C = Y ∩ F for some
closed subset F of X.

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 Topology of the Real Line 67

Connected Sets2
Our final topic of this section involves the notion of a connected set. The idea
of connectedness is just one more of the many mathematical concepts which
have their roots in the studies of Cantor on the structure of subsets of R. When
we use the term connected subset of R, intuitively we are inclined to think of
an interval as opposed to sets such as the positive integers N or (0, 1) ∪ {2}.
We make this precise with the following definition.

DEFINITION 2.2.24 A subset A of a metric space X is connected if

there do not exist two disjoint open sets U and V such that
(a) A ∩ U 6= ∅ and A ∩ V 6= ∅, and
(b) (A ∩ U ) ∪ (A ∩ V ) = A.

The definition for a connected set differs from most definitions in that it
defines connectedness by negation; i.e., defining what it means for a set not
to be connected. According to the definition, a set A is not connected if there
exist disjoint open sets U and V satisfying both (a) and (b). As an example of
a subset of R which is not connected, consider the set of positive integers N.
If we let U = ( 21 , 32 ) and V = ( 32 , ∞), then U and V are disjoint open subsets
of R with
U ∩ N = {1} and V ∩ N = {2, 3, ....}
that also satisfy (U ∩ N) ∪ (V ∩ N) = N. That the interval (a, b) is connected
is a consequence of the following theorem, the proof of which is left to the
exercises (Exercise 27).

THEOREM 2.2.25 A subset of R is connected if and only if it is an interval.

Exercises 2.2
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1. Prove Theorem 2.2.7.

2. *Prove Theorem 2.2.9(a).
3. *a Show that every finite subset of R is closed.
b. Show that the intervals (−∞, a] and [a, ∞) are closed subsets of R.
4. Let X be the metric space of Example 2.1.7(g). Let p = ( 12 , 0). Describe
the -neigborhoods of p for each of the following values of :  = 14 ,  =
1
2
,  = 34 .

2 This concept, although important and used implicitly in several instances in the text,

will not be required specifically in subsequent chapters except in a few exercises. Thus the
topic of connectedness can be omitted upon first reading of the text.

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 68 Introduction to Real Analysis

5. For j = 1, 2, ∞, let dj denote the metrics given in Examples 2.1.7 (d)

and (e). For each j and  > 0, let Nj (p) denote the -neighborhood of
the point p ∈ R2 .
a. For p = (0, 0) and  = 1, sketch the -neighborhoods Nj (p) for
j = 1, ∞.
*b. Prove that for  > 0,
N1 (P ) ⊂ N2 (P ) ⊂ N∞ (P ) ⊂ N2
1
(P ).
c. Using the results of (b), prove that a set U is open with respect to
one of the metrics d1 , d2 , d∞ if and only if it is open with respect to the
other two.
6. If U and V are open subsets of R, prove that U × V is an open subset of
R2 .
7. Consider the metric space (X, d) of Example 2.1.7(c). Prove that every
subset of X is open.
8. For the following subsets E of R, find each of the following: Int(E), E 0 ,
Isolated points of E, if any, and E. Determine whether the set E is open,
closed, or neither.
*a. (0, 1) ∪ {2} b. (a, b) c. (a, b] *d. { n1 : n ∈ N} e. Q ∩ [0, 1].
9. Let E ⊂ R. A point p ∈ R is a boundary point of E if for every  > 0,
N (p) contains both points of E and points of E c . Find the boundary
points of each of the following sets,
*a. (a, b) b. E = { n1 : n ∈ N} c. N d. Q
10. a. Prove that a set E ⊂ R is open if and only if E does not contain any
of its boundary points.
b. Prove that a set E ⊂ R is closed if and only if E contains all its
boundary points.
11. For each of the following subset E of R2 , find Int(E) and E.
a. E = (1, 2) × [−1, 1] b. E = {(x, y) : −1 < x ≤ 2, y ∈ R}
c. E = {(x, y) : y = x} d. E = {(x, y) : y ≤ x + 1}
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e. E = {p ∈ R2 : 0 < d2 (p, 0) < 1}

12. a. Construct a set with exactly two limit points.
b. Find an infinite subset of R with no limit points.
c. Construct a countable subset of R with countably many limit points.
d. Find a countable subset of R with uncountably many limit points.
13. Let X = (0, ∞). For each of the following subsets of X determine whether
the given set is open in X, closed in X, or neither.
*a. (0, 1] b. (0, 1) *c. (0, 1] ∪ (2, 3) d. (0, 1] ∪ {2}
14. For each of the following subsets of Q, determine whether the set is open
in Q, closed in Q, both open and closed in Q, or neither.
a. A = {p ∈ Q : 1 < p < 2}. b. B = {p ∈ Q : 2 < p2 < 3}. c. N.

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 Topology of the Real Line 69

15. a. Prove Theorem 2.2.10(a).

∞
S∞ of a countable collection {Fn }n=1 of closed subsets
b. Give an example
of R such that n=1 Fn is not closed.
16. *Let A be a nonempty subset of R that is bounded above, and let α =
sup A. If α ∈
/ A, prove that α is a limit point of A
17. Let (X, d) be a metric space, and E ⊂ X.
*a. Prove that Int(E) is open.
b. Prove that E is open if and only if E = Int(E).
c. If G ⊂ E and G is open, prove that G ⊂ Int (E).
18. Let A, B be subsets of R.
a. If A ⊂ B, show that Int(A) ⊂ Int(B).
b. Show that Int(A ∩ B) = Int(A) ∩ Int(B).
c. Is Int(A ∪ B) = Int(A) ∪ Int(B)?
d. Are the results of (a) and (b) still true if A and B are subsets of a
metric space X ?
19. Let A, B be subsets of a metric space X.
*a. Show that (A ∪ B) = A ∪ B.
b Show that A ∩ B ⊂ A ∩ B.
c. Give an example for which the containment in (b) is proper.
20. Let D0 = {0, 1}, and for each n ∈ N, let
∞
Dn = {a 2n : a ∈ N, a is odd, 0 < a < 2n }. Let D =
 S
Dn .
n=0

Prove that D is a countable dense subset of [0, 1].

21. Prove statements (a) and (b) of Theorem 2.2.20.
22. *Prove that there exists a countable collection I of open intervals such
that if U is an open subset
S of R, there exists a finite or countable collection
{In } ⊂ I with U = In .
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23. *If U is an open subset of R, prove that E ⊂ U is open in U if and only

if E is an open subset of R.
24. Prove Theorem 2.2.23.
25. For each of the following, use the definition to prove that the given set is
not connected.
*a. (0, 1)∪{2} b. { n1 : n = 1, 2, ....} c. {p ∈ Q : p > 0 and 1 < p2 < 3}.
26. *If A is connected, prove that A is connected.
27. *Prove Theorem 2.2.25.

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 70 Introduction to Real Analysis

2.3 Compact Sets

In this section, we introduce the concept of a compact set in the setting of

metric spaces. A characterization of the compact subsets of R is provided in
Section 2.4. The notion of a compact set is very important in the study of
analysis, and many significant results in the text will depend on the fact that
every closed and bounded interval in R is compact. The modern definition of
a compact set given in 2.3.3 dates back to the second half of the nineteenth
century and the studies of Heine and Borel on compact subsets of R.

DEFINITION 2.3.1 Let E be a subset of a metric space (X, d). A collection

{Oα }α∈A of open subsets of X is an open cover of E if
[
E⊂ Oα .
α∈A

An alternate definition is as follows: The collection {Oα }α∈A of open sets

is an open cover of E if for each p ∈ E, there exists an α ∈ A such that
p ∈ Oα .

EXAMPLES 2.3.2 (a) Let E = (0, 1) and On = (0, 1 − n1 ), n = 2, 3, ....

Then {On }∞n=2 is an open cover of E. To see this, suppose x ∈ E. Then since
x < 1, there exists an integer n such that x < 1 − 1/n. Thus x ∈ On , and as
a consequence
[∞
E⊂ On ,
n=2

which proves the assertion. In fact, since On ⊂ E for each n, we have E =

S ∞
n=2 On .
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(b) Let F = [0, ∞) and for each n ∈ N let Un = (−1, n). Then {Un }n∈N
is an open cover of F . 

DEFINITION 2.3.3 A subset K of X is compact if every open cover of

K has a finite subcover of K; that is, if {Oα }α∈A is an open cover of K, then
there exists α1 , ..., αn ∈ A such that
n
[
K⊂ Oαj .
j=1

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 Topology of the Real Line 71

EXAMPLES 2.3.4 (a) Every finite set is compact. Suppose E =

{p1 , ..., pn } is a finite subset of R and {Oα }α∈A is an open cover of E. Then
for each j, j = 1, ..., n, there exists αj ∈ A such that pj ∈ Oαj . But then
{Oαj }nj=1 is a finite sub-collection which covers E.
(b) The open interval (0, 1) is not compact. For the open cover {On }∞ n=2
of (0, 1) in Example 2.3.2(a), no finite sub-collection can cover (0, 1). Suppose
on the contrary that a finite number, say On1 , ..., Onk , cover (0, 1). Let N =
max{n1 , ..., nk }. Then
k
[ N
[
1
(0, 1) ⊂ Onj ⊂ On = (0, 1 − N ),
j=1 n=2

which is a contradiction.
(c) The closed set F = [0, ∞) is not compact. For the open cover U =
{(−1, n)}n∈N of F , no finite sub-collection can cover F . If there exist a finite
number of sets in U which cover F , then there exists N ∈ N such that F ⊂
(−1, N ). (Why?) This however is a contradiction. 

Properties of Compact Sets

Before we provide a characterization of the compact subsets of R, we first
prove several properties of compact sets that require only the definition of
compactness. As a consequence, all three of the following theorems are true in
more general settings; e.g. in n−dimensional space Rn as well as in a general
metric space (X, d).

THEOREM 2.3.5
(a) Every compact subset of a metric space is closed.
(b) Every closed subset of a compact set is compact.
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Proof. (a) To show that K is closed, we need to show that K c is open. Let
p ∈ K c be arbitrary. For each q ∈ K, choose q > 0 such that

Nq (q) ∩ Nq (p) = ∅.

Any q satisfying 0 < q < 12 d(p, q) will work. Then {Nq (q)}q∈K is an open
cover of K. Since K is compact, there exists q1 , ..., qn such that
n
[
K⊂ Nqj (qj ).
j=1

Let  = min{qj : j = 1, ..., n}, which is positive. Then

N (p) ∩ Nqj (qj ) = ∅ for all j = 1, ..., n.

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 72 Introduction to Real Analysis

Thus N (p) ∩ K = ∅, i.e., N (p) ⊂ K c . Therefore p is an interior point of K c

and thus K c is open.
(b) Let F be a closed subset of the compact set K and let {Oα }α∈A be an
open cover of F . Then
{Oα }α∈A ∪ {F c }
is an open cover of K. Since K is compact, a finite number of these will cover
K, and hence also F . 

COROLLARY 2.3.6 If F is closed and K is compact, then F ∩ K is com-

pact.

As a consequence of the previous theorem, the open interval (0, 1) is not

compact since it is not closed. However, being closed is not sufficient for a set
to be compact. The half-open interval [0, ∞) is closed in R, but as shown in
Example 2.3.4(c) is not compact. In Theorem 2.4.2 we will provide necessary
and sufficient conditions for a subset of R to be compact.
Remark. In proving that the compact set K was closed, compactness allowed
us to select a finite subcover from the constructed open cover of K. Finiteness
then assured that the  as defined was positive. This method of first construct-
ing an open cover possessing certain properties and then using compactness
to assure the existence of a finite subcover will be used on other occasions in
the text.

THEOREM 2.3.7 If E is an infinite subset of a compact set K, then E has

a limit point in K.

Proof. If no point of K is a limit point of E, then for each q ∈ K, there exists

a neighborhood Nq of q so that Nq contains at most one point of E, namely
q if q ∈ E. Since E is infinite, no finite sub-collection of {Nq }q∈K can cover
E, and consequently no finite sub-collection of {Nq }q∈K can cover K, which
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is a contradiction. 
Another useful consequence of compactness is the following analogue of
what is known as the nested intervals property (see Exercise 3 of Section 2.4).

THEOREM 2.3.8 If {Kn }∞ n=1 is a sequence of nonempty compact subsets

of X with Kn ⊃ Kn+1 for all n, then
∞
\
K= Kn
n=1

is nonempty and compact.

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 Topology of the Real Line 73
T∞
Proof. We first show that n=1 Kn 6= ∅. Let On = Knc . By Theorem 2.3.5
Kn is closed and thus On is open. Furthermore,
∞
\ ∞
[
Kn = ∅ if and only if On = X.
n=1 n=1
T∞
Thus if n=1 Kn = ∅, then {On }∞ n=1 is an open cover of X, and thus also of
K1 . But K1 is compact. Therefore there exists n1 < · · · < nk such that
k
[
K1 ⊂ Onj .
j=1

But then K1 ∩ Kn1 ∩ · · · ∩ Knk = ∅. This however is a contradiction, since

the
T intersection is equal to Knk , which by hypothesis is nonempty. Thus K =
Kn 6= ∅. By Theorem 2.2.10 K is closed, and hence by Theorem 2.3.5(b),
K is compact. 

Exercises 2.3
1
1. Let A = n
: n = 1, 2, ... .
a. Show that the set A is not compact.
*b. Prove directly (using the definition) that K = A ∪ {0} is compact.
2. Show that (0, 1] is not compact by constructing an open cover of (0, 1]
that does not have a finite subcover.
3. Suppose A and B are compact subsets of a metric space X.
*a. Prove (using only the definition) that A ∪ B is compact.
b. Prove that A ∩ B is compact.
4. *Let K be a nonempty compact subset of R. Prove that sup K and inf K
exist and are in K.
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5. Construct a compact subset K of R with an infinite number of isolated

points. Justify that your set K is compact.
6. Suppose K is an infinite compact subset of a metric space (X, d). Prove
that there exists a countable subset D of K such that D = K.

2.4 Compact Subsets of R

We now turn to our goal of providing a characterization of the compact sub-
sets of the real line R. The first of the two main results is attributed to Eduard
Heine (1821–1881) and Emile Borel (1871–1956), whereas the second is due
to Bernhard Bolzano (1781–1848) and Karl Weierstrass (1815–1897). The two

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 74 Introduction to Real Analysis

theorems rank very high among the many important advances in the foun-
dations of analysis during the nineteenth century. The importance of these
results will become evident in later chapters. As is to be expected, the least
upper bound property of R will play a crucial role in the proofs of these
theorems.

THEOREM 2.4.1 (Heine-Borel) Every closed and bounded interval [a, b]

is compact.

Proof. Let U = {Uα }α∈A be an open cover of [a, b] and let

E = {r ∈ [a, b] : [a, r] is covered by a finite number of the sets Uα }.

The set E is bounded above by b, and since a ∈ Uα for some α ∈ A, E is

nonempty. Thus by the least upper bound property the supremum of E exists
in R. Let α = sup E. Since b is an upper bound of E, α ≤ b.
We first show that α ∈ E, i.e., [a, α] is covered by a finite number of sets
in U. Since α ∈ [a, b], α ∈ Uβ for some β ∈ A. Since Uβ is open, there exists
 > 0 such that (α − , α + ) ⊂ Uβ . Furthermore, since α −  is not an upper
bound of E, there exists r ∈ E such that α −  < r ≤ α. But then [a, r] is
covered by a finite number, say Uα1 , ..., Uαn , of sets in U. But then the finite
collection {Uα1 , ..., Uαn , Uβ } covers [a, α]. Therefore, α ∈ E.
To conclude the proof we show that α = b. Suppose α < b. If we choose
s < b such that α < s < α + , then the collection {Uα1 , ..., Uαn , Uβ } also
covers [a, s]. Thus s ∈ E which contradicts that α = sup E. Hence α must
equal b. 
The statement of the Heine-Borel theorem was initially due to Heine, a
student of Weierstrass, who used the result implicitly in the 1870s in his
studies on continuous functions. The theorem was proved by Borel in 1894
for the case where the open cover was countable. For an arbitrary open cover
the result was finally proved in 1904 by Henri Lebesgue (1875–1941). Using
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the Heine-Borel theorem we now prove the following characterization of the

compact subsets of R.

THEOREM 2.4.2 (Heine-Borel-Bolzano-Weierstrass) Let K be a sub-

set of R. Then the following are equivalent:
(a) K is closed and bounded.
(b) K is compact.
(c) Every infinite subset of K has a limit point in K.

Remark. A subset E of R is bounded if it is bounded both above and below,

i.e., there exists a constant M such that |x| ≤ M for all x in E.

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 Topology of the Real Line 75

Proof. (a) ⇒ (b). Since K is bounded, there exists a positive constant M so

that K ⊂ [−M, M ]. Since [−M, M ] is compact and K is closed, by Theorem
2.3.5(b) K is compact.
(b) ⇒ (c). This is Theorem 2.3.7.
(c) ⇒ (a). Suppose the set K is not bounded. Then for every n ∈ N there
exists pn ∈ K with pn 6= pm for n 6= m such that |pn | > n for all n. Then
{pn : n = 1, 2, ...} is an infinite subset of R with no limit point in R, and hence
none in K, which is a contradiction. Thus K is bounded.
Let p be a limit point of K. By definition of limit point, for each n ∈ N
there exist pn ∈ K with pn 6= p such that
1
|pn − p| < .
n
Then S = {pn : n = 1, 2, ...} is an infinite subset of K, and p is a limit point
of S. To complete the proof we must show that p is the only limit point of S,
and hence by hypothesis must be in K, i.e., K is closed.
Suppose q ∈ R with q 6= p. Let  = 12 |p − q| and choose N ∈ N such that
1/N < . Then for all n ≥ N
1
|p − q| ≤ |pn − q| + |pn − p| < |pn − q| + < |pn − q| + .
n
Therefore, for all n ≥ N ,

|pn − q| > |p − q| −  = 21 |p − q|.

Thus N (q) contains at most finitely many pn , and as a consequence q cannot

be a limit point of S. Therefore no q ∈ R with q 6= p is a limit point of S. 
Statement (c) of the previous theorem is basically what is referred to as
the Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem, which we state for completeness. The proof
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of the result follows immediately from Theorems 2.3.7 and 2.4.2.

THEOREM 2.4.3 (Bolzano-Weierstrass) Every bounded infinite subset

of R has a limit point.

The theorem was originally proved by Bolzano, and modified slighly in

the 1860s by Weierstrass. This result can also be proved directly using the
nested interval property (Exercise 7). Although we restricted ourselves to R,
the analogous statement of Theorem 2.4.2 is also true in Rn . The proof of the
following theorem, for n = 2, is left as an exercise. The proof for n > 2 is
identical to the case n = 2.

THEOREM 2.4.4 A subset E of Rn is compact if and only if E is closed

and bounded.

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 76 Introduction to Real Analysis

As in the Remark following Theorem 2.4.2, a subset E of Rn is bounded

if and only if there exists a positive constant M such that d2 (p, 0) ≤ M for
all p ∈ E. This is equivalent to

|pi | ≤ M, i = 1, . . . , n

for all p = (p1 , . . . , pn ) ∈ E.

Exercises 2.4
1. *
S∞Find a countable collection {Kn }∞
n=1 of compact subsets of R such that

n=1 Kn is not compact.

2. a. Suppose I and J are closed and bounded intervals in R. Prove that
I × J is a compact subset of R2 .

b. Prove that a subset E of R2 is compact if and only if it is closed and

bounded.
3. *(Nested Intervals Property) Let {In } be a countable family of
nonempty closed and bounded intervals satisfying In ⊃ In+1 for all n.
Prove that there exists a ≤ b in R such that
\∞
In = [a, b].
n=1

4. Let d denote the usual metric on R and let ρ be the metric on R given
by
|x − y|
ρ(x, y) = .
1 + |x − y|
a. Prove that a subset of R is open with respect to the metric d if and
only if it is open with respect to ρ.
b. Show that [0, ∞) is closed and bounded in the metric ρ but that [0, ∞)
is not a compact subset of the metric space (R, ρ).
5. Let X = Q with metric d(p, q) = |p − q|. Let E = {p ∈ Q : p ≥ 0, p2 < 2}.
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Show that E is closed and bounded in Q, but not compact.

6. This exercise outlines an alternate proof of the Heine-Borel Theorem.
Suppose [a, b] is not compact. Then there exists an open cover U =
{Uα }α∈A of [a, b] such that no finite sub-collection of U covers [a, b]. We
now proceed to show that  this leads toa+b
a contradiction. Divide [a, b] into
two closed subintervals a, a+b

2
and 2 , b each of length (b − a)/2. At
least one of these, call it I1 cannot be covered by a finite number of the
Uα . Repeating this process obtain a sequence {In } of closed and bounded
intervals satisfying (a) [a, b] ⊃ I1 ⊃ I2 ⊃ · · · ⊃ In ⊃ · · · , (b) length of
In = (b − a)/2n , and (c) for each n, In is not covered by a finite number
of the Uα . Now use Exercise 3 to obtain a contradiction.
7. Prove the Bolzano-Weierstrass Theorem using the nested intervals prop-
erty.

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 Topology of the Real Line 77

2.5 The Cantor Set

In this section, we will construct a compact subset of [0, 1], known as the
Cantor set, that has a number of interesting properties. This set is constructed
by induction, the first two stages of which are illustrated in Figure 2.4.
Let P0 = [0, 1]. From P0 remove the middle third open interval ( 13 , 23 ). This
leaves two disjoint closed intervals
J1,1 = 0, 13 , J1,2 = 23 , 1 .
   

Set P1 = J1,1 ∪ J1,2 .

From each of J1,1 and J1,2 remove the middle third open intervals
1 2 7 8



32 , 32 and 32 , 32

of length 312 . This leaves 22 disjoint closed intervals J2,1 , J2,2 , J2,3 , J2,4 of
length 312 ; namely
 1 2 3 6 7 8 9
0, 32 , 32 , 32 , 32 , 32 , 32 , 32 .

Set P2 = J2,1 ∪ J2,2 ∪ J2,3 ∪ J2,4 . In Figure 2.4, the shaded intervals indicate
the open intervals that are removed at each stage of the construction.

FIGURE 2.4
Construction of the Cantor set
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We continue this process inductively. At the nth step, each Pn is the union
of 2n disjoint closed intervals each of length 1/3n , i.e.,
n
2
[
Pn = Jn,j ,
j=1

where for each j, Jn,j is a closed interval of the form

 
xj xj + 1
Jn,j = n , .
3 3n
Since each Pn is a finite union of closed intervals, Pn is closed and bounded,
hence compact. Furthermore, since Po ⊃ P1 ⊃ P2 ⊃ · · · , by Theorem 2.3.8,
∞
\
P = Pn
n=0

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 78 Introduction to Real Analysis

is a nonempty compact subset of [0, 1]. The set P is called the Cantor ternary
set.
We now consider some of the properties of the set P .
Property 1 P is compact and nonempty.
Property 2 P contains all the endpoints of the closed intervals {Jn,k },
n = 1, 2, ..., k = 1, 2, ..., 2n .
Property 3 Every point of P is a limit point of P .
Proof. Let p ∈ P and let  > 0 be given. Choose m ∈ N such that 1/3m < .
Since p ∈ Pm , p ∈ Jm,k for some k, 1 ≤ k ≤ 2m . But
 
xk xk + 1
Jm,k = m , .
3 3m
Since length of Jm,k = 1/3m < , Jm,k ⊂ N (p). Thus both endpoints of Jm,k
are in P ∩ N (p), and at least one of these is distinct from p. 
Property 4 The sum of the lengths of the intervals removed is 1.
Proof. At step 1, we removed one interval of length 1/3. At the second step,
we removed two intervals of length 1/32 . At the nth step, to obtain Pn , we
removed 2n−1 intervals of length 1/3n . Thus we obtain that
1 1 1
Sum of the lengths of the intervals removed = + 2 2 + · · · + 2n−1 n + · · ·
3 3 3
∞ ∞  n
X 2n−1 1 X 2
= =
n=1
3n 3 n=0 3
1 1
= 2 = 1. 
3 1− 3

As a consequence of Property 4,
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Property 5 P contains no intervals.

For x ∈ [0, 1] let x = .n1 n2 n3 ... be the ternary expansion. As we indicated
in Section 1.6, this expansion is unique except when
a
x= , a∈N with 0 < a < 3m ,
3m
where 3 does not divide a. In this case x has two expansions: a finite expansion
a1 am
x= + ··· + m, am ∈ {1, 2}
3 3
and an infinite expansion. If am = 2, we will use the finite expansion. If
am = 1, we will use the infinite expansion
∞
a1 0 X 2
x= + ··· + m + .
3 3 3k
k=m+1

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 Topology of the Real Line 79

With this convention we have

Property 6 If for each x ∈ [0, 1], x = .n1 n2 n3 .... is the ternary expansion
of x, then
x∈P if and only if nk ∈ {0, 2}.

Proof. Exercise 2. 
As a consequence of Property 6 and Theorem 1.7.18,
Property 7 P is uncountable.
For each n, the set Pn has only a finite number of endpoints. As a con-
sequence, the set of points of P which are endpoints of some open interval
removed in the construction is countable. Since P is uncountable, P contains
points other than endpoints. By Exercise 1 of Section 1.6, the ternary expan-
sion of 41 is
1
= .020202.....
4
1 1
Thus 4 ∈ P , but 4 is not an endpoint of P .
Remark. By Property 4, the sum of the lengths of the intervals removed is 1.
This seems to imply that P is in some sense very “small.” On the other hand,
by Property 7 P is uncountable, which seems to imply that P is “large.”

Exercises 2.5
1
1. Determine whether 13
is in the Cantor set.
2. Prove Property 6 of the Cantor set.
3. Let 0 < α < 1. Construct a closed subset F of [0, 1] in a manner similar
to the construction of the Cantor set such that the sum of the lengths of
all the intervals removed is α.
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4. *Prove that the Cantor set P is equivalent to [0, 1].

Notes
Without a doubt, the most important concept of this chapter is compactness. The
fact that every open cover of a compact set has a finite subcover will be crucial in
the study of continuous functions, especially uniform continuity. As we will see in
many instances, the applications of compactness depend on the ability to choose a
finite subcover from a particular open cover. A good example of this is the proof of
Theorem 2.3.5. Other instances will occur later in the text.
Since compactness is the most important concept, Theorems 2.4.1 and 2.4.2
are the two most important results. In the Heine-Borel theorem we proved that

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 80 Introduction to Real Analysis

every closed and bounded interval is compact, whereas in the Heine-Borel-Bolzano-

Weierstrass theorem we characterized the compact subsets of R. In Theorem 2.3.7
we proved that if K is a compact set then every infinite subset of K has a limit point
in K. The converse of this result is also true, not only in R (Theorem 2.4.3), but
also in the more general setting of metric spaces. A proof of this important result is
outlined in the Miscellaneous Exercises.

Miscellaneous Exercises
The first two exercises involve the geometric and euclidean metric structure of Rn .
For n ≥ 2, Rn = {(x1 , ..., xn ) : xi ∈ R, i = 1, ..., n}. For p = (p1 , ..., pn ), q =
(q1 , ..., qn ) in Rn and c ∈ R, define

p + q = (p1 + q1 , ..., pn + qn ), and

cp = (cp1 , ..., cpn ).

Also, let 0 = (0, ..., 0). For p, q ∈ Rn , the inner product of p and q, denoted
hp, qi, is defined as
hp, qi = p1 q1 + · · · pn qn .

1. Prove each of the following: for p, q, r ∈ Rn ,

a. hp, pi ≥ 0 with equality if and only if p = 0.
b. hp, qi = hq, pi.
c. hap + bq, ri = ahp, ri + bhq, ri for all a, b ∈ R.
p p
d. |hp, qi| ≤ hp, pi hq, qi.
This last inequality is usually called the Cauchy-Schwarz inequality.
As a hint on how to prove (d), for λ ∈ R, expand hp − λq, p − λqi and
then choose λ appropriately. Note that by (a), hp − λq, p − λqi ≥ 0 for
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all λ ∈ R.
p p
2. For p = (p1 , ..., pn ) ∈ Rn , set kpk2 = hp, pi = p21 + · · · + p2n . The
quantity kpk2 is called the norm or the euclidean length of the vector
p.
a. Use the result of 1(d) to prove that kp + qk2 ≤ kpk2 + kqk2 for all
p, q ∈ Rn .
b. Using the result of (a), prove that d2 (p, q) = kp − qk2 is a metric on
Rn .
3. If E is an uncountable subset of R, prove that some point of E is a limit
point of E.
The following exercise is designed to prove the converse of Theorem 2.3.7;
namely, if K is a subset of a metric space (X, d) having the property that
every infinite subset of K has a limit point in K, then K is compact.

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 Miscellaneous Exercises 81

4. Let K be a subset of a metric space (X, d) that has the property that
every infinite subset of K has a limit point in K.
a. Prove that there exists a countable subset D of K which is dense
in K. (Hint: Fix n ∈ N. Let p1 ∈ K be arbitrary. Choose p2 ∈ K, if
possible, such that d(p1 , p2 ) ≥ n1 . Suppose p1 , ..., pj have been chosen.
Choose pj+1 , if possible, such that d(p1 , pj+1 ) ≥ n1 for all i = 1, ..., n. Use
the assumption about K to prove that this process must terminate after
a finite numberS of steps. Let Pn denote this finite collection of points,
and let D = n∈I Pn . Prove that D is countable and dense in K.)
b. Let D be as in (a), and let U be an open subset of X such that U ∩K 6=
∅. Prove that there exists p ∈ D and n ∈ N such that N1/n (p) ⊂ U .
c. Using the result of (b), prove that for every open cover U of K, S there
exists a finite or countable collection {Un }n ⊂ U such that K ⊂ n Un .
d. Prove that every countable open cover of K has a finite subcover.
(Hint: SIf {Un }∞n=1 is a countable open cover of K, for each n ∈ N let
Wn = n j=1 Uj . Prove that K ⊂ Wn for some n ∈ N. Assume that the
result is false, and obtain an infinite subset of K with no limit point in
K which is contradiction.)

Supplemental Reading

Asic, M. D. and Adamovic, D. D., tory of the Cantor set and Cantor func-
“Limit points of sequences in met- tion,” Math. Mag. 67 (1994), 136–140.
ric spaces,” Amer. Math. Monthly 77 Geissinger, L., “Pythagoras and
(1970) 613–616. the Cauchy Schwarz inequality,” Amer.
Corazza, P., “Introduction to met- Math. Monthly 83 (1976) 40–41.
ric preserving functions,” Amer. Math. Kaplansky, I., Set Theory and Met-
Monthly 106(1999) 309–323. ric Spaces Chelsea Publ. Co., New York,
Copyright © 2021. CRC Press LLC. All rights reserved.

Dubeau, F., “Cauchy-Bunyakowski- 1977

Schwarz inequality revisited,” Amer. Labarre, Jr., A. E., “Structure the-
Math. Monthly 99 (1990) 419–421. orem for open sets of real numbers,”
Espelie, M. S. and Joseph, J. E., Amer. Math. Monthly 72 (1965) 1114.
“Compact subsets of the Sorgenfrey Nathanson, M. B., “Round met-
line,” Math. Mag. 49 (1976) 250–251. ric spaces,” Amer. Math. Monthly 82
Fleron, Julian F., “A note on the his- (1975) 738–741.

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Copyright © 2021. CRC Press LLC. All rights reserved.

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