Chapter 2: Point-Set

Topology
PREPARED BY: SIR JAYSIE MHER G. TIONGSON
Point Set Topology
At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:
1. Prove topological properties of the real number system.
Point Set Topology
Definition 2.1. Let be an integer. An ordered set of real numbers is called an or a vector with
components, that is,
or
The number is called the coordinate of the point or the component of the vector . The set of
all is called Euclidean space or simply , and is denoted by
Definition 2.2. Let and be in We define:
A) Equality:
B) Sum:
C) Scalar Multiplication: .
Point Set Topology
D) Difference:
E) Zero Vector or Origin:
F) Inner Product or Dot Product:
G) Norm or Length:
The norm is called the distance between
Exercise 2.1. Prove the following:
1. , and if and only if .
2. ,
Point Set Topology
3.
4. (Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality)
5. (Triangle Inequality)
Definition 2.3. The unit coordinate vector in is the vector whose component is and whose
remaining components are zero. Thus,
, , …,
If then and
, , …, . The vectors , , …, are also called basis vectors.
Point Set Topology
Definition 2.4. Let and . The set of all points , denoted by , such that is called an open with
radius and center .
Remark 2.1. The ball consists of all points whose distance from is less than . In , this is simply an
open interval centered at . In , it is a circular disk, and in , it is a spherical solid with center at
and radius .
Definition 2.5. Let be a subset of and assume that Then is called an interior point of if there is
an open with center at all of whose points belong to .
Remark 2.2. In other words, every interior point of can be surrounded by an The set of all
interior points of is called the interior of and is denoted by Any set containing a ball with
center at is sometimes called a neighborhood of
Definition 2.6. A set in is called open if all its points are interior points.
Point Set Topology
Example 2.1. Any open interval in is open while the closed interval is not open. In the interior
of a circular disk is open. In and are open, as well as any open The cartesian product of open
intervals , …, is an open set in called an open interval. We denote it by , where
Theorem 2.1. The union of any collection of open sets is an open set.
Proof: Let be a collection of open sets and let . Assume Then must belong to at least one of
the sets in say . Since is open, open But , so and hence, is an interior point of . Since every
point of is an interior point, it follows that is open.
Theorem 2.2. The intersection of a finite collection of open sets is open.
Point Set Topology
Proof: Let where each is open. Assume . (If is empty, then there is nothing to prove.) Then for
every and hence, there is an open Let . Then that is, is an interior point. Thus, is open.
Remark 2.3. In , every non-empty open set is the union of a countable collection of disjoint open
intervals.
Definition 2.7. A set in is called closed if its complement .
Examples of closed sets
A closed interval in is a closed set. The cartesian product
of intervals is a closed set in called an interval .
Point Set Topology
Exercise 2.2. Prove that the union of finite countable collection of closed sets is closed and the
intersection of any arbitrary collection of closed sets is closed.
Theorem 2.3. If is open and is closed, then is open and is closed.
Proof: Note that which is an intersection of two open sets. By Theorem 2.2, is open. Also, ,
which is an intersection of two closed sets. By Exercise 2.2, is closed.
Definition 2.8. Let be a subset of and a point in not necessarily in . Then is said to be
adherent to if every contains at least one point of
Examples
1. If then adheres to for the trivial reason than every contains
Point Set Topology
2. If is a subset of which is bounded above, then is adherent to .
Definition 2.9. If be a subset of and a point in , then is called an accumulation point of if every
every contains at least one point of distinct from
Remark 2.4. In other words, is an accumulation point of if and only if adheres to . If but is not
an accumulation point of then is called an isolated point of
Examples
1. The set has as an accumulation point.
2. has every as an accumulation point.
3. Every point of is an accumulation point of the set of numbers in
Point Set Topology
Theorem 2.4. If is an accumulation point of then every contains infinitely many points in
Proof: Suppose an which contains only a finite number of points of distinct from say . If , then
will be an about which contains no points of distinct from , a contradiction.
Theorem 2.5. A set in is closed if and only if it contains all its adherent points.
Proof: Assume is closed and let be adherent to . Suppose . Then and since is open, some lies
in Thus, contains no points in , contradicting the fact that adheres to . On the other hand,
assume contains all its adherent points. Assume Then so does not adhere to Hence, some
does not intersect , so . Therefore, is open and hence, is closed.
Point Set Topology
Definition 2.10. The set of all adherent points of a set is called the closure of , denoted by
Theorem 2.6. A set is closed if and only if .
Definition 2.11. The set of all accumulation points of a set is called the derived set of , and is
denoted by .
Theorem 2.7. A set in is closed if and only if it contains all of its accumulation points.
Definition 2.12. A set in is said to be bounded if it lies entirely within an for some and some .
Theorem 2.8. (Bolzano-Weierstrass Theorem) If a bounded set in contains infinitely many
points, then there is at least one point in which is an accumulation point in .
Proof: (Reading Assignment: Apostol (1981), pp 54-56)
 Point Set Topology
Definition 2.13. A collection of sets is said to be a covering of a given set if . The collection is also
said to cover . If is a collection of open sets, then is an open covering of .
Example. is an open covering of . This is a countable covering.
Theorem 2.9. (Heine-Borel Theorem) Let be an open covering of closed and bounded set in Then
a finite subcollection of also covers .
Proof: (Reading Assignment: Apostol (1981), pp 58)
Definition 2.14. A set in is said to be compact if and only if every open covering of contains a
finite subcover, that is, a finite subcollection that also covers .
Restatement of Heine-Borel Theorem: Every closed and bounded set in is compact.
 Point Set Topology
References:
 Apostol, T. (1981). Mathematical Analysis