MA 403 Real Analysis I

Exercise Set 3

(1) A set D is said to be countable if it is finite or if there is a bijective map from

N to D. A set that is not countable is said to be uncountable.
(i) Show that the set {0, 1, 2, . . . } of all nonnegative integers is countable.
(ii) Show that the set {1, 3, 5, . . . } of all odd positive integers is countable.
Also, the set {2, 4, 6, . . . } of all even positive integers is countable.
(iii) Show that the set Z of all integers is countable.
(2) Prove that every subset of a countable set is countable.
(3) (i) If A and B are any countable sets, then show that the set A×B := {(a, b) :
a ∈ A and b ∈ B} is also countable. (Hint: Write A = {am : m ∈ N}
and B = {bn : n ∈ N}. List the elements (am , bn ) of A × B as a two-
dimensional array and move diagonally. Alternatively, consider the map
2m 3n 7→ (am , bn ) from an appropriate subset of N onto A × B.)
(ii) Let {An : n ∈ N} denote a family of sets indexed S by N. If An is countable
for each n ∈ N, then show that the union n∈N An is countable.
(iii) Show that the set Q of all rational numbers is countable.
(4) Let {0, 1}N denote the set of all maps from N to the two–element set {0, 1}.
Prove that {0, 1}N is uncountable. (Hint: Write elements of {0, 1}N as (s1 , s2 , . . . ),
where sn ∈ {0, 1} for n ∈ N. Given any f : N → {0, 1}N , consider (t1 , t2 , . . . )
defined by tn = 1 if the nth entry of f (n) is 0, and tn = 0 if the nth entry of
f (n) is 1.)
(5) Let (an ) be a sequence of real numbers and let a ∈ R. Show that an → a if
and only if every subsequence of (an ) has a subsequence converging to a.
(6) Let (an ) and (bn ) be sequences such that |an+1 − an | ≤ bn for all n ∈ N. Define
n
X
Bn := bk for n ∈ N.
k=1

If (Bn ) is convergent, then show that (an ) is a Cauchy sequence and hence it
is convergent.
(7) Let y be any real number with 0 ≤ y < 1. Define sequences (bn ) and (yn )
iteratively as follows. Let y1 := 10y and b1 := [y1 ], and for each n ∈ N,
yn+1 := 10(yn − bn ) and bn+1 := [yn+1 ].
Show that for each n ∈ N we have
0 ≤ yn < 10 and bn ∈ Z with 0 ≤ bn ≤ 9,
and moreover,
b1 b2 bn yn+1
y= + 2 + · · · + n + n+1 .
10 10 10 10
1
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Deduce that
yn+1 1
0≤ n+1
< n for each n ∈ N
10 10
and consequently,
 
b1 b2 bn
y = lim + 2 + ··· + n .
n→∞ 10 10 10
[Note: It is customary to call the nonnegative integers b1 , b2 , . . . , the digits of
y and write the above expression for y as y = 0.b1 b2 . . . , and call it the decimal
expansion of y.]
(8) Given any m ∈ N, show that there is a unique nonnegative integer k such that
10k ≤ m < 10k+1 . Use the Division Algorithm in Z repeatedly to show that
there are unique integers a0 , a1 , . . . , ak between 0 and 9 such that
m = a0 + a1 (10) + a2 (102 ) + · · · + ak 10k .

(9) Given any x ∈ R, show that there is a nonnegative integer k and integers
ak , ak−1 , . . . , a1 , a0 , b1 , b2 , . . . between 0 and 9 such that
 
k k−1 b1 b2 bn
x = ± lim ak 10 + ak−1 10 + · · · + a0 + + + ··· + n .
n→∞ 10 102 10
(Hint: If |x| < 1, set k = 0 = a0 and apply Exercise 7 to y := |x|, whereas if
|x| ≥ 1, apply Exercise 8 to n := [|x|] and Exercise 7 to y := |x| − n.)
[Note: It is customary to call ak , ak−1 , . . . , a0 , b1 , b2 , . . . the digits of x and
write the above expression for x as x = ±ak ak−1 . . . a0 .b1 b2 . . . , and call it the
decimal expansion of x.]
(10) Given any y ∈ [0, 1), let (yn ) and (bn ) be the sequences associated to y as in
Exercise 7. We say that the decimal expansion of y is finite if yn = 0 for some
n ∈ N and recurring if it not finite but yi = yj for some i, j ∈ N with i < j.
Show that if y ∈ [0, 1) is a rational number, then its decimal expansion is either
finite or recurring. (Hint: Write y in reduced form as y = p/q. Let r0 := p.
Use the Division Algorithm in Z successively to find integers q1 , r1 , q2 , r2 , . . .
such that 10ri−1 = qqi + ri and 0 ≤ ri < q for i ≥ 1. Now yi = 10ri−1 /q and
the ri ’s take only finitely many values.)
(11) Show that the results of Exercises 7, 8, 9, and 10 are valid with the number
10 replaced by any integer d > 1 and the number 9 by d − 1. [Note: The cor-
responding limiting expression of a real number x is called the d-ary expansion
of x. When d = 2, it is called the binary expansion and when d = 3, it is called
the ternary expansion.]
(12) Let (an ) be a sequence in R.
(i) Assume that (an ) is bounded above and an 6→ −∞. Define
Mn := sup{an , an+1 , . . .} for n ∈ N and M := inf{M1 , M2 , . . .}.
Show that the sequence (Mn ) converges to M and M is the largest cluster
point of (an ).
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(ii) Assume that (an ) is bounded below and an 6→ ∞. Define

mn := inf{an , an+1 , . . .} for n ∈ N and m := sup{m1 , m2 , . . .}.
Show that the sequence (mn ) converges to m and m is the smallest cluster
point of (an ).
[See Exercise 8 of HW 2 for the definition of a cluster point.]
(13) Let (an ) be a sequence in R. Define the limit superior (or the upper limit) of
(an ) by
lim Mn if (an ) is bounded above and an 6→ −∞,

 n→∞
lim sup an :=
n→∞  ∞ if (an ) is not bounded above,
−∞ if an → −∞,
where the sequence (Mn ) is as defined in Exercise 12. Similarly, define the
limit inferior (or the lower limit) of (an ) by
lim mn if (an ) is bounded below and an 6→ ∞,

 n→∞
lim inf an :=
n→∞  −∞ if (an ) is not bounded below,
∞ if an → ∞,
where the sequence (mn ) is as defined in Exercise 12. If (an ) is bounded, then
show that the set C of all cluster points of (an ) is nonempty, and moreover,
lim sup an = lim sup{an , an+1 , . . .} = max C
n→∞ n→∞

and
lim inf an = lim inf{an , an+1 , . . .} = min C.
n→∞ n→∞
(14) Determine lim supn→∞ a
n and lim inf n→∞ an if (an ) is as defined below.
(i) an := (−1)n 1 + n1 for n ∈ N,
(ii) an := (−1)n n for n ∈ N,
(iii) a1 := 0 and for k ∈ N, a2k := a2k−1 /2 and a2k+1 := (1/2) + a2k . (Hint:
a2k = (1/2) − (1/2k ) for all k ∈ N.)
(15) Let (rn ) be a sequence such that Q = {rn : n ∈ N}. [Note that by Exercise
3 (iii), such a sequence exists.] Determine the set of all cluster points of (rn ),
and also lim inf n→∞ rn as well as lim supn→∞ rn .
(16) Let (an ) be a sequence in R. Prove the following:
(i) lim inf n→∞ an ≤ lim supn→∞ an .
(ii) (an ) is bounded if and only if both lim inf n→∞ an and lim supn→∞ an are
real numbers.
(iii) (an ) is convergent if and only if both lim inf n→∞ an and lim supn→∞ an
are real numbers and are equal to each other. In this case,
lim inf an = lim an = lim sup an .
n→∞ n→∞ n→∞

(iv) an → ∞ if and only if lim inf n→∞ an = ∞ = lim supn→∞ an .

(v) an → −∞ if and only if lim inf n→∞ an = −∞ = lim supn→∞ an .
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(17) Let (an ) be a sequence in R. Prove that if (an ) is bounded above and an 6→
−∞, then (an ) has a subsequence that converges to lim supn→∞ an , while
if (an ) is bounded below and an 6→ ∞, then (an ) has a subsequence that
converges to lim inf n→∞ an .
(18) Let (an ) be a Cauchy sequence in R. Prove that (an ) is convergent by showing
that it is bounded and lim supn→∞ an = lim inf n→∞ an .
(19) If (an ) is a bounded sequence in R and m = lim inf an and M = lim sup an ,
n→∞ n→∞
then is it true that if the set of cluster points is the interval [m, M ]? Justify
your answer.
(20) Let (an ) be a bounded sequence in R and let m = lim inf an and M =
n→∞
lim sup an . Prove that m ≤ M . Further show that if m < M , then (an )
n→∞
can not be a Cauchy sequence. Use this to deduce the Cauchy completeness
of R.
(21) Let (an ) be a sequence in R. Show that
an → ∞ if and only if lim inf an = ∞ = lim sup an ,
n→∞ n→∞
and
an → −∞ if and only if lim inf an = −∞ = lim sup an .
n→∞ n→∞

(22) Let (an ) and (bn ) be sequences in R such that an ≤ bn for all n ∈ N. Prove
that lim inf an ≤ lim inf bn and lim sup an ≤ lim sup bn .
n→∞ n→∞ n→∞ n→∞
(23) Let (an ) and (bn ) be sequences in R. Prove that
lim sup(an + bn ) ≤ lim sup an + lim sup bn ,
n→∞ n→∞ n→∞
lim inf (an + bn ) ≥ lim inf an + lim sup bn .
n→∞ n→∞ n→∞
Give examples where strict inequalities hold.
(24) Consider the sequence (an ) defined by
(−1)n
 
a1 := 1 and an+1 := 1 + an for n ∈ N.
2n
Show that
 n
1 3
|an+1 | ≤ 1 + and |an+1 − an | < n for all n ∈ N.
n 2
Deduce that (an ) is a Cauchy sequence.