PRINCIPLES OF MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS.

WALTER RUDIN

Disclaimer: these solutions were typed at warp speed, often with little or
no preparation. And very little proofreading. Consequently, there are bound to be
loads of mistakes. Consider it part of the challenge of the course to find these errors.
(And when you do find some, please let me know so I can fix them!)

7. Sequences and Series of Functions

1. Prove that every uniformly convergent sequence of bounded functions is uni-
formly bounded.
{fn } is uniformly
Cauchy, so |fn (x) fm (x)| < 1, for n, m bigger than some

large N . Then |fn (x)| |fN (x)| |fn (x) fN (x)| < 1, so
|fn (x)| < |fN (x)| + 1.
Let M be a bound for fN . Then
|fn (x)| < M + 1,
so {fn }
n=N is uniformly bounded by M + 1. Define

K := max{sup |f1 |, sup |f2 |, . . . , sup |fN 1 |, M + 1}.

Then {fn }
n=1 is uniformly bounded by K.

2. Show that {fn }, {gn } converge uniformly on E implies {fn + gn } converges

uniformly on E. If, in addition, {fn }, {gn } are sequences of bounded functions,
prove that {fn gn } converges uniformly.

sup{|(fn + gn )(x) (f + g)(x)|} = sup{|fn (x) f (x) + gn (x) g(x)|}

xE xE
sup{|fn (x) f (x)| + |gn (x) g(x)|}
xE
sup |fn (x) f (x)| + sup |gn (x) g(x)|
xE xE
n
0 + 0.
When {fn }, {gn } are bounded sequences,
sup{|(fn gn )(x) (f g)(x)|}
xE

March 23, 2006. Solutions by Erin P. J. Pearse.

1
 Principles of Mathematical Analysis Walter Rudin
= sup{|fn gn (x) f gn (x) + f gn (x) f g(x)|}
xE
sup{|fn (x) f (x)||gn (x)| + |f (x)||gn (x) g(x)|}
xE
sup |fn (x) f (x)||gn (x)| + sup |f (x)||gn (x) g(x)|
xE xE
sup |fn (x) f (x)| Mg + sup Mf |gn (x) g(x)|.
xE xE
We can introduce the uniform bounds Mf and Mg by problem 1 and the
additional hypothesis. Then it is clear that the last line goes to 0 as n .

3. Construct sequences {fn }, {gn } which converge uniformly on a set E, but such
that {fn gn } does not converge uniformly.
Work on I = (0, 1). Let fn (x) = x1 + nx and gn (x) = 1x 1
1x
n
so that
gn is the horizontal reflection of fn , translated 1 to the right. (Graph them to
see it.)
1 x n 1
fn (x) = x
+ n
x
= f (x) sup |fn f | = sup nx = 1
n
0
0x1 xI
1 1x n 1
gn (x) = 1x n
1x = g(x) sup |gn g| = sup 1x
n
= 1
n
0
0x1 xI

(n + (x 1)2 )(n + x2 ) n 1
fn gn (x) = 2
= f g(x)
n x(x 1) x x2
2
x (x 1)2 + n + 2nx(x 1)
sup |fn gn f g| = sup = , for any n.
0x1 xI n 2 x(x 1)
To see the sup is infinite, check x = 0, 1.

4. Consider the sum

X 1
f (x) = .
n=1
1 + n2 x
For what x does the series converge absolutely? On what intervals does it
converge uniformly? On what intervals does it fail to converge uniformly? Is
f bounded?
For xk = k12 , we get

X 1
f (xk ) = n 2 .
n=1 1 k
The k term of the sum is undefined, so f is undefined at xk = k12 , k =
th

1, 2, . . .
To be completed.

2
 Solutions by Erin P. J. Pearse

5. Define a sequence of functions by

1
0 x < n+1
1
,

fn (x) = sin2 x < x 1
,

0 n+1
1
n

n
<x .
Show that the series {fPn } converges to a continuous function, but not uni-
formly. Use the series fn to show that absolute convergence, even for all x,
does not imply uniform convergence.
For x 0, fn (x) = 0 for every n, so lim fn (x) = 0. For x > 0,

n > N := x1 = n1 < x = fn (x) = 0.
pw
Thus fn (x) f (x) := 0 for x R.
To see that the convergence is not uniform, consider

fn0 (x) = 2 sin x cos x x2 .
fn0 (x) = 0 when
sin x = 0, in which case x = k1 for some k Z, or
cos x = 0, in which case x = 2k+1
2
for some k Z.
For each fn , only a few of these values occur where fn is not defined to be 0,
so checking these values of x,

fn n1 = sin(n) = 0
1
fn n+1 = sin((n + 1)) = 0
2
fn 2n+1 = sin 2n+1 2
= 1.
So Mn = supxP {|fn (x) f (x)|} = 1 for each n, and clearly Mn 1 6= 0.
The series n=1 fn (x) converges absolutely for all x R: for any fixed x,
there is only one
P nonzero term in the sum.
The series n=1 fn (x) does not converge uniformly: check partial sums.

X N N
X +1

sup fn (x) fn (x) = sup |fN +1 (x)| = 1,
x x
n=1 n=1

so the sequence of partial sums is not Cauchy (in the topology of uniform
convergence), hence cannot converge.

6. Prove that the series

X x2 + n
(1)n
n=1
n2
converges uniformly in every bounded interval, but does not converge abso-
lutely for any value of x.
To see uniform convergence on a bounded interval,
nX o
n x2 +n
sup {|fN (x) f (x)|} = sup (1) n2
a<x<b a<x<b n=N +1

3
 Principles of Mathematical Analysis Walter Rudin
nX o
2
= (1)n c n+n
2 (7.1)
n=N +1
where c := max{|a|, |b|}. We will use the alternating series test to show
P n c2 +n
n=1 (1) n2
converges. From this, it will follow that (7.1) goes to 0 as
N .
2
(i) For all x R, x n+n
2 > 0. So the sum alternates.
x2 +n 1
(ii) For fixed x, lim n2 = lim 2n = 0. (LHop)
(iii) To check monotonicity, prove
x2 + n + 1 x2 + n

(n + 1)2 n2
by cross-multiplying.

x
7. For n = 1, 2, 3, . . . , and x R, put fn (x) = 1+nx2 . Show that {fn } converges

uniformly to a function f , and that the equation f 0 (x) = limn fn0 (x) is
correct if x 6= 0 but false if x = 0.

8. If (
0 (x 0),
I(x) =
1 (x > 0),
P
if {xn } is a sequence of distinct points in (a, b), and if |cn | converges, then
prove that the series
X
f (x) = cn I(x xn ) (a x b)
n=1
converges uniformly, and that f is continuous for every x 6= xn .

4
 Solutions by Erin P. J. Pearse

unif
9. {fn } are continuous and fn f on E. Show lim fn (xn ) = f (x) for every
sequence {xn } E with xn x.
Pick N1 such that
n N1 = sup |fn (x) f (x)| < /2.
xE

Then surely |fn (xn ) f (xn )| < /2 holds for each n N1 . By Thm. 7.12, f
is continuous, so pick N2 such that
n N2 = |f (xn ) f (x)| < /2.
Then we are done because
|fn (xn ) f (x)| |fn (xn ) f (xn )| + |f (xn ) f (x)|.

11. {fn }, {gn } are defined on E with:

P unif
(a) { N n=1 fn } uniformly bounded,
P (b) gn g on E, and (c) gn (x)
gn1 (x) x E, n. Prove fn gn converges uniformly on E.
Define a := supxE |fn (x)| and bn := supxE |gn (x)|. Then

X X
X

sup fn (x)gn (x) sup |fn (x)gn (x)| an bn 0,
xE xE
N +1 N +1 N +1

by Thm. 3.42.

13. {fn } is monotonically increasing on R, and 0 fn (x) 1

(a) Show f, {nk } such that f (x) = limk fnk (x), x R.
By Thm. 7.23, we can find a subsequence {fni } such that {fni (r)} con-
verges for every rational r. Thus we may define f (x) := suprx f (r),
where the supremum is taken over r Q. It is clear that f is monotone,
because
x < y = {r x} {r y}
and the supremum can only increase on a larger set. Thus, f has at most
a countable set of discontinuities, by Thm. 4.30, pick x such that f is
continuous at x.
We want to show fni (x) f (x). Fix > 0. Since f is continuous at x,
choose such that |x y| < = |f (x) f (y)| < /3. Now pick a
rational number r [x 3 , x]. Then
|fni (x) f (x)| |fni (x) fni (r)| + |fni (r) f (r)| + |f (r) f (x)|. (7.2)
On the RHS of (7.2): the last term is less than /3 by the choice of ;
and the middle term is less than /3 whenever i N1 for some large N1 ,
because the subsequence converges on the rationals. It remains to show
the first term gets small.

5
 Principles of Mathematical Analysis Walter Rudin

Pick some rational s [x, x + /3]. Then r x s and the continuity

of f at x shows

|r s| < = |f (r) f (s)| < /3.

Also, since the fni are monotone,

fni (r) fni (x) fni (s). (7.3)

With

|fni (r) fni (s)| |fni (r) f (r)| + |f (r) f (s)| + |f (s) fni (s)|,

some large N2 , i N2 gives |fni (r) fni (s)| < . By (7.3), this shows
|fni (r) fni (x)| < .

(b) If f is continuous, show fnk f uniformly on compact sets.

Let K be compact. Fix > 0. Since f is uniformly continuous on
K, pick such that |x y| < = |f (x) f (y)| < /3. Since K
S
is compact, we can find {x1 , . . . xJ } such that K Jj=1 B (xj ), where
B (xj ) := (xj , xj + ).

pw
16. {fn } is equicontinuous on a compact set K, fn f on K. Prove {fn }
converges uniformly on K.
Define f by f (x) := lim fn (x). Fix . From equicontinuity, find such that

|x y| < = |fn (x) fn (y)| < /3, n, x, y.

Letting n , this gives

|x y| < = |f (x) f (y)| < /3, x, y.

Since K is compact, we can choose a finite set {x1 , . . . , xJ } such that

[J
K B (xj )
j=1

where B (xj ) := (xj , xj + ). For each xj , we know fn (xj ) f (xj ), so

pick N big enough that

n N = |fn (xj ) f (xj )| < /3, j = 1, . . . , J.

For any x K, x B (xj ) for some j. Thus for all x K,

|fn (x) f (x)| |fn (x) fn (xj )| + |fn (xj ) f (xj )| + |f (xj ) f (x)|.

6
 Solutions by Erin P. J. Pearse
Rx
18. Let {fn } be uniformly bounded and Fn (x) := a f (t) dt for x [a, b]. Prove
{Fnk } which converges uniformly on [a, b]
We need to show {Fn } is equicontinuous. Then by Thm. 6.20, each Fn is
continuous; and by Thm. 7.25(b), were done. So fix > 0, let x < y, and let
M be the uniform bound on the {fn }.
Z y Z y

|Fn (x) Fn (y)| = fn (t) dt |fn (t)| dt M (y x)
x x
Then pick any < /M and
|x y| < = |Fn (x) Fn (y)| n,
so {Fn } is equicontinuous.

7
 Principles of Mathematical Analysis Walter Rudin
R1
20. f is continuous on [0, 1] and 0 f (x)xn dx = 0, n = 0, 1, 2, . . . . Prove that
f (x) 0.
Let g be any polynomial. Then g(x) = a0 + a1 x + a2 x2 + + aK xK . By
linearity of the integral,
Z 1 K
X Z 1 K
X
k
f (x)g(x) dx = ak f (x)x dx = 0 = 0.
0 k=0 0 k=0

By the Weierstrass theorem, let {fn }n=1 be a sequence of polynomials which

converge uniformly to f on [0, 1]. Then
Z 1 Z 1
2
f (x) dx = lim f (x)fn (x) dx = lim 0 = 0.
0 n 0 n

Then by Chap. 6, Exercise 2, f 2 (x) 0. Thus f (x) 0.

21. Let K be the unit circle in C and define

( N
)
X
i in ..
A := f (e ) = cn e . cn C, R .
n=0

To see that A separates points and vanishes at no point, note that A con-
tains the identity function f (ei ) = ei .
To see that there are continuous functions on K that are not in the uniform
closure of A, note that
Z 2
f (ei )ei d = 0 f A, (7.4)
0

and hence for g = lim gn (uniform limit) with gn A,

Z 2 Z 2
i i
g(e )e d = lim gn (ei )ei d = 0,
0 n 0

by Thm. 7.16. Thus, all functions in the closure of A satisfy (7.4). However,
if we choose an h which is not in A, like

h(ei ) = ei ,

then h is clearly continuous on K, and

Z 2 Z 2
i i
h(e )e d = 1 d = 2.
0 0

Thus h is not in the uniform closure of A.

8
 Solutions by Erin P. J. Pearse

22. Assume f R() on [a, b] and prove that there are polynomials Pn such that
Z b
lim |f Pn |2 d = 0.
n a
n
We need to find {Pn } such that kf Pn k2 0. Fix > 0. By Chap. 6,
Exercise 12, we can find g C[a, b] such that kf gk2 < /2. Note that
Z b Z b
2
|g P | sup |g P |2 = sup |g P |2 (b a).
a a
Then by the Weierstrass theorem, we can find a polynomial P such that
kg P k2 sup |g P |(b a) < /2.
By Chap. 6, Exercise 11, this gives kf P k2 < .

23. Put P0 = 0 and define Pn+1 (x) := Pn (x) + (x2 Pn2 (x)) /2 for n = 0, 1, 2, . . . .
Prove that limn Pn (x) = |x| uniformly on [1, 1].
Note that if Pn is even, the definition will force Pn+1 to be even, also. Now
2
P1 = x2 , so assume 0 Pn1 1 for |x| 1. Then
2

x2 Pn1 x2 Pn1
Pn = Pn1 + = + Pn1 1 .
2 2 2 2
By elementary calculus,
0y1 = f (y) = y(1 y2 ) takes values in [0, 21 ]. (7.5)
x2
Since |x| 1 also implies 2
[0, 1], this gives 0 Pn 1. Then
|x| + Pn (x)
0 1
2
|x| + Pn (x)
01 1. (7.6)
2
To see Pn (x) |x|, consider that for x 0, the inequality
x P1 (x) = x x2 /2 0
holds in virtue of the positivity of f in (7.5). Then by the symmetry of even
functions, this is true for |x| 1. Now suppose Pn1 |x|, i.e., |x|Pn1 (x)
0. Then the given identity, and (7.6), give

|x| Pn = (|x| Pn1 ) 1 12 (|x| + Pn1 ) 0.
We have established
0 Pn (x) Pn+1 (x) |x| for 1 x 1. (7.7)
Now, for n = 1, it is clear that
1
|x|2 |x|
|x| P1 (x) = |x| 2
|x| 1 2
.

9
 Principles of Mathematical Analysis Walter Rudin
n1
|x|
So suppose |x| Pn1 (x) |x| 1 2
. Then, multiplying each side by

1 |x|
2
Pn12 (x) and using the identity, we get
n1
|x| Pn1 (x) |x| |x| Pn1 (x)
(|x| Pn1 (x)) 1 2 2 |x| 1 2 1 2 2
n1
|x| |x|
|x| Pn (x) |x| 1 2 1 2
n
|x| Pn (x) |x| 1 |x|2
.
n n1
Now consider gn (x) = x 1 x2 on [0, 1]. gn (x) = 1 x2 1 (n+1)x
2
2
shows that gn has extrema at 2 and n+1 ; only the latter is in [0, 1]. Then for
n
|x|
fn (x) = |x| 1 2 , fn has extrema
2 2
n n 2
fn n+1 = n+1 n+1
< n+1 .
We have established
n
2 |x|2
|x| Pn (x) |x| 1 < n+1 .x
(7.8)

2 n unif
Now sup |x| Pn (x) < n+1 0 and Pn |x|.

10
 Solutions by Erin P. J. Pearse

8. Some Special Functions

7. If 0 < x < 2 , prove that 2 < sinx x < 1.
To see the first inequality, suppose x0 (0, 2 ) with 2 sinxx0 0 . Since
limx0 sinx x = 1, IVT gives an y with 2 = siny y . Define g(x) = sin x 2 x so
g(y) = 0. Then g 0 (x) = cos(x) 2 and g 00 (x) = sin x < 0 for x in the
interval. By IVT again, there is a point z (0, y) with g 0 (z) = 0, so g 0 (x) < 0
<
for x (y, 2 ). Then g(y) = 0 implies that g( 2 ) < 0. .
To see the second inequality, put f (x) = x sin x. Then f 0 (x) = 1 cos x
shows f 0 (0) = 0 and f 0 (x) > 0 for 0 < x < 2 .

8. For n = 0, 1, 2, . . . and x R, prove | sin nx| n| sin x|.

This is clearly true (with equality) for n = 0, 1, so induct on n; suppose
| sin nx| n| sin x|. We could use this assumption, to say
| sin(n + 1)x| = | sin(nx + x)| | sin nx| + | sin x| = (n + 1)| sin x|,
if we could prove the central inequality. From the definitions of C(x) and S(x)
given in (46),
sin(x + y) = sin x cos y + cos x sin y.
Applying this,
| sin(nx + x)| | sin nx cos x| + | cos nx sin x|
| sin nx| + | sin x|,
since | cos x| 1 for all x.

9. (a) Put sN = 1 + 12 + + N1 . Prove that = limN (sN log N ) exists.

Note that
X N Z
1 1 1
= lim log N = dx.
N
k=1
k 1 [x] x
The following sum telescopes:
XN
1
(log(k + 1) log k) = sN log(N + 1),
k=1
k
so rewrite the summand as

1 1
ak := log 1 + .
k k
We will bound ak by 12 x2 . Note that for
x2
f (x) = x + log(1 + x),
2

11
 Principles of Mathematical Analysis Walter Rudin
1 1
we have f 0 (x) = x 1 + 1+x and f 00 (x) = 1 = (1+x) 0
2 . This gives f (0) = 0

and f 00 (x) > 0 for all x > 0, so that f is always positive for x > 0 and
x2
0 x log(1 + x) .
2
P 1
In particular, this is true for x = k1 . Since k2
converges, this shows
N
X
lim ak = lim sN log(N + 1)
N N
k=1

exists. Finally,

1 N
log(N + 1) log N = log 1 + log 1 = 0
N
shows that limN (sN log N ) = 0.

(b) Roughly how large must m be such that N = 10m satisfies sN > 100?
From the above, and problem #13, we have
2 2
0 sN log N = log N sN log N + .
6 6
m
Then m 43.43 will ensure log 10 > 100.

12. Suppose that f is periodic with f (x) = f (x + 2), and for (0, ),
(
1, |x| ,
f (x) =
0, < |x| < .

(a) Compute the Fourier coefficients of f .

Z
1 1 in sin n
cn = einx dx = e ein = .
2 2in n

(b) Conclude that

X sin n
= , (0 < < ).
n=1
n 2

X X sin n
=
nZ nZ
n

X 1 X sin n
2 cn = .
n=1
nZ n

12
 Solutions by Erin P. J. Pearse

(c) Deduce from Parsevals theorem that

X
sin2 n
2
= .
n=1
n 2
Parsevals theorem gives equality between
Z Z
1 2 1
|f (x)| dx = 1 dx =
2 2
and
X X sin2 n X sin2 n
2
|cn | = = 2 .
nZ nZ
2 n2 nZ n2
Then

X
2 1
|cn | = c0 =
n=1
2

Note that c0 =
also.

(d) Let 0 and prove that

Z 2
sin x
dx = .
0 x 2

(e) Put = /2 in (c). What do you get?

2 X sin2 ( 2 n) X 1 2
= = = .
n=0 n2 4 k=0
(2k + 1)2 8

13. Put f (x) = x for 0 x < 2, and apply Parsevals Theorem to conclude
X
1 2
2
= .
n=1
n 6
Apply it to the 2-periodic function f (x) = x on (, ) instead. Integra-
tion by parts gives
Z
1 (1)n
cn = xeinx dx = ,
2 in
so with Parsevals theorem,
X 1 X Z
2 1 2 2
2
= |c n | = |f (x)| dx = .
nZ
n nZ
2 3
Since we have |cn | = |cn |, we find the desired series by subtracting
Z
1
c0 = x dx = 12 [x2 ] = 0
2

13
 Principles of Mathematical Analysis Walter Rudin

from each side, and dividing the remainder by 2.

!
X 1 1 X 1 2 2
2
2
= |cn | c0 = 0 = .
n=1
n 2 nZ
2 3 6

9. Functions of Several Variables

5. Prove that to every A L(Rn , R) there corresponds a unique y Rn such
that Ax = x y.
For N = {x Rn ... Ax = 0}, N is a closed subspace by Problem 4. If
N = Rn , then Ax = 0 x x, and were done. So suppose N 6= Rn . Then
there is a nonzero vector
x0 N = {u Rn ... u v = 0, v N }.
We check Ax = yA x for yA defined by
Ax0
yA = x0 .
kx0 k2
First, if x N , then Ax = 0 = yA x. Next, if x = x0 , then
Ax0
Ax = A(x0 ) = Ax0 = x0 x0 = yA x0 .
kx0 k2
Since the functions A(x) and yA x are linear functions of x and agree on N
and x0 , they must agree on the space spanned by N and x0 . But N and x0
span Rn , since every element y Rn can be written

Ay Ay
y= y x0 + x0 .
Ax0 Ax0
Thus Ax = yA x for all x Rn . If Ax = y 0 x also, then
ky 0 yA k2 = A(y 0 yA ) A(y 0 yA ) = 0.
So y 0 = yA is unique. Equality of the norms comes from the inequalities:
kAk = sup |Ax| = sup |yA x| sup kyA kkxk = kyA k, and
kxk1 kxk1 kxk1

y
kAk = sup |Ax| A
A = yA yA = kyA k.
kxk1 kyA k kyA k

6. If f (0, 0) = 0 and
x1 x2
f (x1 , x2 ) = , for (x1 , x2 ) 6= 0,
x21
+ x22
prove that D1 f (x1 , x2 ) and D2 f (x1 , x2 ) exist for every point (x1 , x2 ) R2 ,
although f is not continuous at (0, 0).

14
 Solutions by Erin P. J. Pearse

First, the derivatives are

x2 (x22 x21 ) x1 (x21 x22 )
D1 f (x1 , x2 ) = , and D2 f (x1 , x2 ) = ,
(x21 + x22 )2 (x21 + x22 )2
and so clearly exist wherever (x, y) 6= (0, 0). To check the origin, consider that
along the axes,
0 0
D1 f (x1 , 0) = 4 = 0, and D2 f (0, x2 ) = 4 = 0.
x1 x2
However, for f to be continuous at (0, 0), we must have
f (0, 0) = lim f (x, y),
(x,y)(0,0)

no matter how (x, y) (0, 0)! Define (t) : R R2 by

(t) = (x(t), y(t)) = (t, t),
so that we approach the origin along the diagonal. Then
t2 1 1
lim f (x(t), y(t)) = lim f (t, t) = lim 2
= lim = 6= 0.
t0 t0 t0 2t t0 2 2

7. Suppose that f is a R-valued defined in an open set E Rn , and that the

partial derivatives D1 f, . . . , Dn f are bounded in E. Prove that f is continuous
in E.
Take m = 1 as in 9.21. Pick x E and consider the ball of radius r
B(x, r) E. Choose h Rn such that khk < r. Define vk Rn by
vk = (h1 , . . . , hk , 0, . . . , 0) for k = 1, . . . , n.
Then as in (42),
n
X
f (x + h) f (x) = [f (x + vj ) f (x + vj1 )] .
j=1

Since |vk | < r for 1 k n, and since B = B(x, r) is convex, the segments
with endpoints x + vj1 and x + vj lie in B. Then vj = vj1 + hj ej , where
hj ej = (0, . . . , 0, hj , 0, . . . , 0).
Then the Mean Value Theorem applies to the partials and shows that the j th
summand is
hj (Dj f )(x + vj1 + tj hj ej )
for some tj (0, 1). By hypothesis, we have M such that
|(Dj f )(x)| M j = 1, . . . , n, x E.
Applying this to the absolute value of the above difference,
n
X
|f (x + h) f (x)| |hj | M nM max{|hj |} nM khk.
j=1

15
 Principles of Mathematical Analysis Walter Rudin

8. Suppose that f is a differentiable real function in an open set E Rn , and

that f has a local maximum at a point x E. Prove that f 0 (x) = 0.
Let {ej } be the standard basis vectors of Rn , and define
j (t) = f (x0 + tej ), for t R.
Then j : R R is differentiable, so by Thm. 5.8,
0j (0) = (Dj f )(x0 ) = 0.
But the partial derivatives (Dj f )(x0 ) are precisely the columns of the matrix
(Df )(x0 ) = f 0 (x).

9. If f is a differentiable mapping of a connected open set E Rn into Rm , and

in f 0 (x) = 0 for every x E, prove f is constant in E.
First, suppose m = 1. Pick some x0 E and define
C = {x E ... f (x) = f (x0 )},
D = {x E ... f (x) 6= f (x0 )} = E \ C.
Clearly, C D = E and C D = . If we can show each of C, D is open,
then D must be empty, or else wed have a disconnection of the connected set
E.
E is open, so for any x C, pick > 0 such that B(x, ) E. Then
for any y B(x, ), the segment [x, y] B(x, ). Since f 0 (x) = 0, we have
f (x) = f (y) by Thm. 5.11(b). Also, we chose x C, so f (x) = f (y) = f (x0 ).
This puts B(x, ) C and shows C is open.
Now suppose we have some x E \ C. Since E is open, we can again choose
> 0 such that B(x, ) E. By the exact same argument, we get
y B(x, ) = f (x) = f (y) 6= f (x0 ),
so that B(x, ) D and D is open.
Finally, if m > 1, then apply this argument to each component of f .

10. Suppose f is a differentiable mapping of R into R3 such that |f (t)| = 1 for

every t. Prove f 0 (t) f (t) = 0. Interpret this geometrically.
Since kf (t)k = 1, we have
(f1 (t))2 + (f2 (t))2 + (f3 (t))2 = 1.
Differentiating both sides,
2f1 (t)f10 (t) + 2f2 (t)f20 (t) + 2f3 (t)f30 (t) = 0
f (t) f 0 (t) = 0.
This means that for any curve on the unit sphere, the tangent at p S 1 is
orthogonal to p, i.e., the surface of a sphere is orthogonal to the radius at any
point.

16
 Solutions by Erin P. J. Pearse

14. Define f (0, 0) = 0 and f (x, y) = x3 /(x2 + y 2 ) for (x, y) 6= (0, 0).

2 1
0
-1
-2
2
1
0
-1
-2
1 2
-1 0
-2

(a) Prove that D1 f and D2 f are bounded functions in R2 so that f is con-

tinuous.
We have the partial derivatives
x4 + 3x2 y 2
D1 f = , and
x4 + 2x2 y 2 + y 4
2x3 y
D2 f = 4 .
x + 2x2 y 2 + y 4
Boundedness at :
3(x4 + 3x2 y 2 )
|D1 f | = 3, as |x| , and
x4 + 2x2 y 2
|2x3 | |y|
|D2 f | = 4 2 3
0.
|x /y + 2x y + y |
Boundedness away from : only need to check zeroes of the denomina-
tors, and there is only (0, 0).
f (x, 0) f (0, 0)
D1 f (0, 0) = lim lim 1 = 1, and
x0 x x0
f (0, y) f (0, 0)
D2 f (0, 0) = lim lim 0 = 0.
y0 y y0

Thus f is continuous by Prob. 7.

(b) Let u R2 , |u| = 1. Show (Du f )(0, 0) exists and |(Du f )(0, 0)| 1.
The directional derivative is
f [(0, 0) + tu] f (0, 0) 1 t 3 x3
Du f (0, 0) = lim = lim 2 2
t0 t t0 t t (x + y 2 )

x3
= 2 ,
x + y2

17
 Principles of Mathematical Analysis Walter Rudin

for u = (x, y). Since |u| = x2 + y 2 = 1, this implies |x| 1. Hence we

have
Du f (0, 0) = x3 and |Du f (0, 0)| = |x3 | 1.

(c) Let be a differentiable mapping of R into R2 with (0) = (0, 0) and

| 0 (0)| > 0. Put g(t) = f ((t)) and prove that g is differentiable for every
t R.
Put (t) = (x(t), y(t)) so that
x(t)3
g(t) = , for t 6= 0.
x(t)2 + y(t)2
Since is differentiable for t 6= 0, we have x(t), y(t) differentiable for t 6= 0,
and hence g(t) is differentiable for t 6= 0, by the chain rule, Thm. 9.15.1
It remains to check that g is differentiable at the origin.
g(h) g(0)
g 0 (0) = lim
h0 h
1 x(h)3
= lim
h0 h x(h)2 + y(h)2

x(h)3 h2
= lim
h0 h3 x(h)2 + y(h)2
3
x(h) h2
= lim lim
h0 h h0 x(h)2 + y(h)2

3 1
= (x0 (0)) 0 .
| (0)|2
The last two lines are easiest to see by working backwards.
Also show C 0 = g C 0 .
Note that g 0 (t) = f 0 ((t)) 0 (t). Since the additional hypothesis is that
0 (t) is continuous (which is equivalent to saying x(t), y(t) are continuous,
by Thm. 4.10), we just need that f 0 ((t)) is continuous. Since the chain
rule gives
x(t)2 (x(t)2 x0 (t) + 3y(t)2 x0 (t) 2x(t)y(t)y 0 (t))
g 0 (t) = ,
(x(t)2 + y(t)2 )2
it is clear that g 0 (t) is continuous whenever x, y are not simultaneously 0.
For t = 0 (or other t0 s.t. x(t0 ) = y(t0 ) = 0), replace x(t) by x0 (0)t + o(t)
(using Taylors Thm.) and similarly replace y(t) by y 0 (0)t + o(t). Thus
(x0 (0)t+o(t))2 ((x0 (0)t+o(t))2 x0 (t)+3(y 0 (0)t+o(t))2 x0 (t)2(x0 (0)t+o(t))(y 0 (0)t+o(t))y 0 (t))
g 0 (t) ((x0 (0)t+o(t))2 +(y 0 (0)t+o(t))2 )2
,

1By (a), the partials of f exist and are continuous in an open nbd of (0, 0). Hence, f is continuously
differentiable at (0, 0) by Thm. 9.21.

18
 Solutions by Erin P. J. Pearse

t0
so that g 0 (t) g 0 (0).

(d) In spite of this, f is not differentiable at (0, 0).

Let u = (x, y) be a unit vector. By Rudins (40),
Du = D1 f (0, 0)x + D2 f (0, 0)y = 1 x + 0 y = x.
But from (b) we have Du = x3 6= x for any x other than 1, 0, 1.

(Bonus problem) This problem isnt in Rudin.

Define f : R2 R by
(
0, (x, y) = (0, 0),
f (x, y) = x2 y
x4 +y 2
, otherwise.
Let a be any straight line through the origin with slope a and a (0) = (0, 0). This
means that (up to parametrization) a (t) = (t, at) for some a R, or (t) = (0, t).
Show that
lim f (a (t)) = f (0, 0) = 0,
t0
but that f is not continuous at the origin.

0.5
0.25
0
-1 -0.25
-0.5
-0.5 1
0
0
0.5
-1
1

Continuity of the restriction follows by a basic computation:

at3 at
lim f (a (t)) = lim 4 2
= lim 2 = 0, and
t0 t0 t + (at) t0 t + a2

0
lim f ( (t)) = lim = 0,
t0 t0 0 + t2

To see the other part, approach the origin along a parabolic curve: let (t) =
(x(t), y(t)) = (t, t2 ). Then
t2 t2 t4 1 1
lim f ((t)) = lim 4 2 2
= lim 4
= lim = 6= 0.
t0 t0 t + (t ) t0 2t t0 2 2

19
 Principles of Mathematical Analysis Walter Rudin

4x6 y 2
15. Define f (x, y) = x2 + y 2 2x2 y (x4 +y 2 )2
.

0 -1 -2
1
2
20
10
0
-10
-2
-1
0
1
2

(a) Prove that 4x4 y 2 (x4 + y 2 )2 , so that f C 0 .

(x4 + y 2 )2 4x4 y 2 = x8 + 2x4 y 2 + y 4 4x4 y 2

= (x4 y 2 )2 0

Now f (x, y) = x2 + y 2 2x2 y x2 (x, y), where 0 (x, y) 1. This

gives f continuous at (0, 0).

(b) For 0 < , t R, let g (t) = f (t cos , t sin ). Show that g (0) = 0,
g0 (0) = 0, g00 (0) = 2. Each g thus has a strict local minimum at t = 0,
i.e., on each line through (0, 0), f has a strict local minimum at (0, 0).
Since sin , cos are bounded, g (0) = f (0, 0) = 0 by (a). By some
nightmarishly tortuous (but elementary) calculation, get the other two
results.

(c) Show that (0, 0) is not a local minimum of f , since f (x, x2 ) = x4 .

Substituting in y = x2 :

4x10
f (x, x2 ) = x2 + x4 2x4
(2x4 )2
= x2 x4 x2
= x4 .

16. Define f (t) = t + 2t2 sin 1t , f (0) = 0. Then f 0 (0) = 1, f 0 bounded in (1, 1),
but f is not injective in any nbd of 0.

20
 Solutions by Erin P. J. Pearse

0.2

0.1

-0.2 -0.1 0.1 0.2

-0.1

-0.2

1 1
First note that f 0 (t) = 1 2 cos t
+ 4t sin t
for t 6= 0. Since sin t, cos t
are bounded by 1, we have
|f 0 (t)| 1 + 4 + 2 = 7, for t (1, 1) \ {0}.
At t = 0, we have that
f (t) f (0) t + 2t2 sin 1t
= = 1 + 2t sin 1t
t t
shows f (0) = 1 by the Sandwich theorem applied to t + 2t2 and t 2t2 . So
0

f 0 is bounded in all of (1, 1).

1
Define sn = 2n for n = 1, 2, . . . , so that
sin 2n
f 0 (sn ) = 1 2 cos(2n) + 2 = 1 2 = 1.
n
2
Then define tn = (4n+3)
for n = 1, 2, . . . , so that

f 0 (tn ) = 1 2 cos (4n+3)

2
+ 8
(4n+3)
sin (4n+3)
2
=1+ 8
(4n+3)
> 0.
Since f 0 changes sign between each successive sn and tn , and since sn , tn 0,
f fails to be injective in every neighbourhood of 0.

17. Let f = (f1 , f2 ) : R2 R2 be given by

f1 (x, y) = ex cos y, f2 (x, y) = ex sin y.

(a) What is the range of f ?

Note that if we identify (0, 1) = 1 = i, then
f (z) = f (x + iy) = ez = ex+iy = ex cos y + iex sin y.
But you only really need to see that (ex cos y, ex sin y) is polar coordinates
for a point with radius ex and argument y, to see that the range is any
point of R2 with radius r > 0, i.e., R2 \ (0, 0).

21
 Principles of Mathematical Analysis Walter Rudin

(b) Show that the Jacobian of f is nonzero. Thus, every point of R2 has a
neighbourhood in which f is injective. However, f is not injective.
The Jacobian is the determinant of partials:
x
e cos y ex sin y
x 2x 2 2 2x
e sin y ex cos x = e (cos x + sin x) = e 6= 0.
But f is not injective, since f (x, y) = f (x, y + 2n), for n Z.

(c) Put a = (0, 3 ) and b = f (a). Let g be the continuous inverse of f ,

defined in a neighbourhood of b, such that g(b) = a. Find an explicit
formula for g, compute f 0 (a) and g 0 (b), and verify Rudins (52).
For u = ex cos y, v = ex sin y, one verifies that
x = 12 log(u2 + v 2 ) = log r, for r = ex , and
y = tan1 v
u
= arg , for = uv .
For the derivatives,
" #
1 3

f 0 (a) =
2 2
,
3 1
2 2
and
" # " #
u v 1 3
g 0 (u, v) = 1
u2 +v 2
= g 0 (b) = 2

2
,
v u 23 1
2
Finally,

f 0 (g(u, v)) = f 0 log u2 + v 2 , tan1 uv
" #
cos tan1 uv sin tan1 uv
= u2 + v 2
sin tan1 uv cos tan1 uv
" #
u v
2
u +v 2 2
u +v 2
= u2 + v 2 v

u2 +v 2
u2u+v2

u v
=
v u
1
= [g 0 (u, v)]

(d) What are the images under f of lines parallel to the coordinate axes?
Lines parallel to the x-axis are mapped to straight lines through the
origin, parameterized exponentially. Lines parallel to the y-axis are cir-
cles about the origin of radius ex , parameterized with constant speed.
Diagonal lines (t) = (at + b, btc ) will get mapped to (et cos t, et sin t),
counterclockwise logarithmic spirals emanating from the origin.

22