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5.1. Definitions and examples. Intuitively, a continuous function is one such that its graph is
an unbroken curve.
continuous
not continuous
whenever |x a| < .
f(x)=|x|
For all a R,
lim f (x) = lim|x| = |a| = f (a).
xa
xa
So f is continuous everywhere.
xa
So f is continuous on (0, ).
Example sin x and cos x are continuous on R.
Proof: Use two facts (see section 8.4 of text):
xy
x+y
sin x sin y = 2 sin
cos
for all x, y R.
2
2
| sin x| |x| and | cos x| 1 for all x R.
Let a R. Then
xa
x + a
| sin x sin a| = 2 sin
cos
2
2
Proof: This follows from the sequential criterion for limit of functions and the definition of
continuity.
1
= 0.
x
x,0
x sin
x
f (x) =
0
x = 0.
1 xQ
f (x) =
0 x < Q.
We have proved before that lim f (x) does not exist for any a R. So f is not continuous
xa
anywhere.
Exercise A slightly better function: Let
x xQ
f (x) =
0 x < Q.
Where is f continuous?
0 if x is irrational
f (x) =
p
1
if x = , p, q N and gcd(p, q) = 1.
q
q
Where is f continuous?
Solution. Claim: f is not continuous at all rational points.
In fact, if a Q and (xn ) is a irrational sequence in (0, 1) such that xn a, then f (xn ) = 0
0 , f (a).
Is f continuous at the irrational points?
Equivalently, let a be an irrational point in (0, 1). Is lim f (x) = f (a) = 0?
xa
Let > 0. We need to find > 0 such that f (x) < for all x (a , a + ).
Observation 1: The irrational xs do not cause any trouble.
Observation 2: f (p/q) is small if q is large.
Observation 3: There are only finitely many rational numbers in (0, 1) with small denominators, i.e. p/q with q 1/.
Observation 4: We can choose > 0 so small that the interval (a , a + ) will miss all the
rational numbers with small denominators.
Observation 5: is the we are looking for. Now convince yourself that all x (a , a + )
are such that f (x) < .
5.2. Combinations of continuous functions. .
Theorem 5.2.1. Suppose that f and g are continuous at x = a.
: (a) f g, f g and c f are also continuous at x = a, where c is a constant.
: (b) If g(a) , 0, then f /g is also continuous at x = a.
1
cos x = 0 if and only if x = (n + ) for some n Z.
2
1
Thus f is continuous on R\{(n + ) : n Z}.
2
x A.
Theorem 5.2.2. Suppose that f and g are such that g f is defined. If f is continuous at a,
and g is continuous at f (a), then g f is continuous at a.
Proof: Use sequential criterion.
Suppose xn a.
Since f is continuous at a, f (xn ) f (a).
Since g is continuous at f (a), g[ f (xn )] g[ f (a)], i.e. (g f )(xn ) (g f )(a). So g f is
continuous at a.
x A.
(g f )(x) = g[ f (x)] =
f (x) =
f (x),
x A.
p
If f is continuous at a, then by Theorem 5.2.2, pf is continuous at a.
If f is continuous on A, then by Theorem 5.2.3, f is continuous on A.
Some special cases:
Exercise Where is
f (x) =
(x 1)(x 2)
continuous?
5.3. Continuous functions on intervals. .
Definition If f is defined on the closed interval [a, b], then we say that f is continuous on
[a, b] if
: (i) f is continuous on (a, b) in the usual sense, ie. lim f (x) = f (c) for all c (a, b);
xc
: (ii) lim+ f (x) = f (a) and lim f (x) = f (b).
xa
xb
x A.
10
Definition Let f : A R.
: (i) We say f has an absolute maximum on A if there exists x0 A such that
f (x0 ) f (x),
x A.
x A.
Extreme-value Theorem. If f is continuous on [a, b], then f has an absolute maximum and
an absolute minimum on [a, b].
Proof: By Theorem 5.3.1, f is bounded on [a, b]. Let M = sup f ([a, b]).
Suppose f (x) < M for all x [a, b]. Let
1
,
x [a, b].
M f (x)
Since M f (x) , 0 for all x [a, b], by Theorem 5.2.1, g is continuous on [a, b]. By Theorem
5.3.1 again, there exists L > 0 such that
1
g(x) =
< L,
x [a, b].
M f (x)
g(x) =
11
It follows that
1
,
x [a, b].
L
Thus M 1/L is an upper bound of f ([a, b]), and this contradicts M = sup f ([a, b]). So there
exists x0 [a, b] such that f (x0 ) = M.
f (x) < M
Similar arguments shows that there exists x1 [a, b] such that f (x1 ) = inf f ([a, b]).
Remark See page 131 of the textbook for an alternative proof of the above theorem.
Lemma 5.3.2. Suppose that f is continuous on [a, b].
(a) If lim+ f (x) = f (a) < 0, then 1 > 0 such that
xa
f (x) < 0,
x [a, a + 1 ).
f (x) > 0,
x (b 2 , b].
Location of Roots Theorem. If f is continuous on [a, b], f (a) < 0 < f (b), then there exists
a point c in (a, b) such that f (c) = 0.
Proof: Let A = {u [a, b] : f (x) < 0 x [a, u]}.
Since a A, A , .
Since A is bounded, c = sup A exists.
By the previous lemma, 1 , 2 > 0 such that
f (x) < 0,
x [a, a + 1 ),
f (x) > 0,
x (b 2 , b].
2
1
A and b
< A, so that
Hence a +
2
2
1
2
a<a+
c<b
< b.
2
2
In particular, a < c < b.
Claim: f (c) = 0.
12
x (c , c + ).
c < x0 c.
So
f (x) < 0,
x [a, x0 ]
()
x [x0 , x1 ].
x (c , c + ).
13
So f (c) = k.
Exercise Let f be a continuous function on [a, b] and suppose that f (a) , f (b). Prove that
there is a number c in (a, b) such that
f (c) =
Hint:
1
4
f (a) + f (b).
5
5
1 4
+ = 1.
5 5
14
(c) f is decreasing on A if
x1 , x2 A and x1 x2 = f (x1 ) f (x2 ).
(d) f is strictly decreasing on A if
x1 , x2 A and x1 < x2 = f (x1 ) > f (x2 ).
(e) f is monotone if it is either increasing or decreasing.
(f) f is strictly monotone if it either strictly increasing or strictly decreasing.
It turns out that a monotone function defined on an interval always has one-sided limits.
Theorem 5.4.1. Let I R be an interval and f : I R be an increasing function. If c I
is not an end point of I, then lim f (x) and lim+ f (x) exit and they are given by
xc
xc
lim f (x) = sup{ f (x) : x I, x < c} and lim+ f (x) = inf{ f (x) : x I, x > c}.
xc
xc
Proof: Let S = { f (x) : x I, x < c}. If x I and x < c, then f (x) f (c). Thus f (c) is
an upper bound of S . By the Supremum property of R, L = sup S exists. We shall prove that
lim f (x) = L.
xc
Let > 0. Then since L is not an upper bound of S , there exists x I such that x < c
and
L < f (x ) L.
()
Let = c x . If c < x < c, then x > x , so that f (x) f (x ). This together with () gives
L < f (x ) f (x) L.
Hence
c < x < c = | f (x) L| < .
This proves lim f (x) = L. The proof for the other formula is similar.
xc
xc
xc
The difference
j f (c) = lim+ f (x) lim f (x)
xc
xc
15
yc
yc
yc
Then x0 I. (Why?)
yc
16
and again f 1 (y0 ) , x0 . We have also chosen x0 such that x0 , f 1 (c). Hence x0 , f 1 (y0 ) for
all y0 J, i.e. f (x0 ) < J. Since x0 I, this contradicts f (I) = J.
The nth root function:
We shall use the Continuous Inverse Theorem to show that the nth root
n
function y y is continuous on [0, ). Let f : [0, ) R be given by
f (x) = xn ,
x [0, ).
17
Moreover, it is continuous there and its range is also [0, ). By the Continuous Inverse Theorem, its inverse function f 1 is strictly increasing and continuous on [0, ). If y [0, ) and
x = f 1 (y), then
y = ( f f 1 )(y) = f [ f 1 (y)] = f (x) = xn .
Thus x is the nth root of y. So we can write
f 1 (y) = y1/n
or
f 1 (y) = n y.
18
1 1 |x a|
|g(x) g(a)| = =
.
x a
a|x|
If |x a| < a/2, then x > a/2 and
|x a|
2
|g(x) g(a)| =
< 2 |x a|.
a|x|
a
!
a 1
If we take = min , a2 , then
2 2
|x a| < = |g(x) g(a)| < .
x, a I,