Lec 4: Real numbers

MATH 147 Section 2, Fall Term 2022

I (We will first finish the material from Lecture 3)

I The real number line
I Absolute values and the Triangle Inequality
I Mathematical induction and the Archimedean property

Key references: Text book sec 1.2.3–1.2.5

Real numbers vs rational numbers

Since Q is a subfield of R, it inherits the ordering properties. That is, Q is also an ordered field.

What distinguishes them is that R has a property called completeness, which we will talk about next week. The
essence is that there are no “gaps” in R.

To see what we mean by gaps, it helps to consider a number line.

The number line

We will imagine a line that extends infinitely in both directions (left and right), representing the set of real
numbers.

Each (distinct) point on the line represents a (distinct) number.

We choose an origin, representing the number 0, and a unit distance.

For any positive number x, the corresponding point on the line is the point a distance x to the right of the
origin.

For any negative number x, the corresponding point on the line is the point a distance x to the left of the
origin.
Intervals

We have already discussed intervals in lectures and you should be familiar with them.

Examples:

1. A closed interval [−1, 1]

2. An open interval (−2, 1)

3. A half-open interval [π, 10)

4. An unbounded interval (−∞, 2)

Some additional notes:

I Intervals that are empty or contain exactly one point are called degenerate.

I Intervals that are not degenerate are called proper.

I The interior of an interval is that same interval but excluding the endpoints.
Gaps in Q

Imagine that irrational numbers don’t exist, so “all numbers” means “all rational numbers.”

Consider the set A = {x ∈ Q : x 2 ≤ 1} = {x ∈ Q : −1 ≤ x ≤ 1}.

This is a “closed interval” of rational numbers.

What about B = {x ∈ Q : x 2 ≤ 2}?

Despite the similar definition, B is not a “closed interval” because it does not have rational endpoints. (If we
only know about rational numbers, then we would say that this does not have endpoints — yet, it is
bounded.)

This is what we mean by gaps in Q. There is no rational number at certain distances from the origin on the
number line.
√
In the example above, we used the fact that 2 is irrational, which can be formulated as:

Proposition 1
There is no rational number x satisfying x 2 = 2.

We can prove this by contradiction.

The absolute value

Definition 1
Let x ∈ R. The absolute value of x is denoted |x| and is defined by
(
x, if x ≥ 0,
|x| =
−x if x < 0.

|x| represents the (unsigned) distance between x and the origin. Moreover, |x − y | represents the distance
between two numbers x and y .
Inequalities with absolute values

|x − 5| < 1 means “the distance from 5 to x is less than 1,” i.e., x ∈ (4, 6).

We say that (4, 6) is the solution set of the inequality |x − 5| < 1.

Consider the more general inequality |x − y | < d, where x, y ∈ R and d > 0. By our definition of absolute
values, we have (
x − y, if x ≥ y ,
|x − y | =
y −x if x < y .

Hence, |x − y | < d if and only if

y ≤ x < y + d or y > x > y − d.
We can combine these two sets (union) to give the equivalent condition

y − d < x < y + d.
No infinitesimally small distances

Proposition 2
Let a and b be real numbers.
1. If a < b +  for all  > 0, then a ≤ b.
2. If a > b −  for all  > 0, then a ≥ b.

Prove this in two parts:

1. Prove the contrapositive of Part 1.

2. Show that Part 1 implies Part 2.

Corollary 1
If |a − b| <  for all  > 0, then a = b.
Useful properties involving absolute values

(All propositions and theorems should have a proof. If I don’t cover it, try to come up with one and check the
text book.)

Proposition 3
Let r > 0 and let x ∈ R. Then,
1. |x| < r if and only if −r < x < r , and
2. |x| ≤ r if and only if −r ≤ x ≤ r .

Proposition 4
Let r > 0 and let a ∈ R. Then,
1. {x : |x − a| < r } = (a − r , a + r ), and
2. {x : |x − a| ≤ r } = [a − r , a + r ].

Proposition 5
For all x, y ∈ R, we have |xy | = |x| · |y |.
The Triangle Inequality

Theorem 1 (The Triangle Inequality)

For all x, y ∈ R, we have |x + y | ≤ |x| + |y |.

By making the substitutions x = a − b and y = b − c, we can express the Triangle Inequality as:

|a − c| ≤ |a − b| + |b − c|.

Corollary 2 (The Reverse Triangle Inequality)

For all x, y ∈ R, we have |x − y | ≥ ||x| − |y ||.
Principle of Mathematical Induction

We will assume the following, known as the Principle of Mathematical Induction:

Let S ⊆ N. If

1. N ∈ S and

2. n ∈ S ⇒ n + 1 ∈ S,

then S = {n ∈ N : n ≥ N}.

Remarks:

1. If we choose N = 1, then the conclusion is that S = N.

2. This principle is the basis for a common proof technique called proof by (mathematical) induction.

We use it to prove that statements of the form p(n) are true for all n ∈ N (or for all natural numbers
n ≥ N).

A proof by induction always requires two parts: the base case and the inductive step, corresponding to the
parts in the Principle of Mathematical Induction. (See example coming up.)
Well-ordering

Definition 2
A set S ⊆ R is well-ordered, or has the well-ordering property, if every nonempty subset of S has a smallest
element.

Question
Can you think of any sets that are well-ordered, and sets that are not?

Proposition 6
N is well-ordered.

Proof.
Here is an outline:
1. Use contradiction. Assume S ⊆ N is nonempty and does not have a smallest element.
2. Define T = N \ S.
3. Use induction to prove that T = N by considering the statement p(n) : {1, 2, ..., n} ⊆ T .
The Archimedean property

Definition 3
We say that a set S ⊆ R has the Archimedean property if for all x ∈ S, there exists an integer n such that
x < n.

It is easy to prove that Q has the Archimedean property. We will assume that R also has the Archimedean
property.

Proposition 7
For all real numbers x, y > 0, there exists n ∈ N such that nx > y . In particular, for all real numbers x > 0,
there exists n ∈ N such that x > 1/n.

Proof.
Use the Archimedean property on the real number y /x.
For the second part, consider y = 1.