Homework 1.

Solutions

1. Show that the discrete metric satisfies the properties of a metric.

The discrete metric is defined by the formula

 
1 if x 6= y
d(x, y) = .
0 if x = y

It is clearly symmetric and non-negative with d(x, y) = 0 if and only

if x = y. It remains to establish the triangle inequality

d(x, y) ≤ d(x, z) + d(z, y).

If x = y, then the left hand side is zero and the inequality certainly
holds. If x 6= y, then the left hand side is equal to 1. Since x 6= y,
we must have either z 6= x or else z 6= y. Thus, the right hand side
is at least 1 and the triangle inequality holds in any case.
Homework 1. Solutions

2. Compute the distances d2 (f, g) and d∞ (f, g) when f, g ∈ C[0, 1]

are the functions defined by f (x) = x and g(x) = x4 .

Using the definition of the d2 metric, one finds that

Z 1
2

2
d2 (f, g) = x − x4 dx
0
Z 1
1 2 1 1
= (x2 − 2x5 + x8 ) dx = − + =
0 3 6 9 9

and so d2 (f, g) = 31 . The distance d∞ (f, g) is the maximum of

h(x) = |x − x4 | = x − x4 , 0 ≤ x ≤ 1.

Since h(0) = h(1) = 0 and h′ (x) = 1 − 4x3 , it easily follows that

d∞ (f, g) = h(4−1/3 ) = 4−1/3 (1 − 4−1 ) = 3 · 4−4/3 .

Homework 1. Solutions

3. Show that the following functions do not define metrics on R.

d(x, y) = |x − 2y|, d(x, y) = (x − y)2 , d(x, y) = |xy|.

The first function does not satisfy any of the desired properties. For
instance, d(1, 1) = 1 6= 0, while d(2, 1) = 0 and d(2, 1) 6= d(1, 2).

The second function does not satisfy the triangle inequality, as

d(1, 2) + d(2, 3) = 1 + 1 < 4 = d(1, 3).

Finally, the third function is symmetric, but it does not satisfy the
other two properties. For instance, d(0, 1) = 0 and d(1, 1) = 1 6= 0.
Homework 1. Solutions

4. Consider the space C[0, 1] with the d1 metric. For which values of
the integer n ≥ 1 does f (x) = xn lie in the open ball B(x, 2/5)?

To say that xn lies in the open ball B(x, 2/5) is to say that

d1 (xn , x) < 2/5.

Since xn ≤ x for all x ∈ [0, 1], the left hand side is equal to
1
1 1
Z
n
d1 (x , x) = (x − xn ) dx = − .
0 2 n+1

In particular, the desired condition holds if and only if

1 1 2 1 1
− < ⇐⇒ > ⇐⇒ n < 9.
2 n+1 5 n+1 10
Homework 2. Solutions

1. Consider the upper half plane A = {(x, y) ∈ R2 : y > 0}. Use the
definition of an open set to show that A is open in R2 .

Let (x, y) ∈ A be given. Then y > 0 and we claim that the open
ball B((x, y), y) is contained entirely within A. In fact, one has

(a, b) ∈ B((x, y), y) =⇒ (x − a)2 + (y − b)2 < y 2

=⇒ (y − b)2 < y 2
=⇒ b(b − 2y) < 0
=⇒ 0 < b < 2y
=⇒ (a, b) ∈ A.

This shows that B((x, y), y) ⊂ A, so the set A is open in R2 .

Homework 2. Solutions

2. Show that the following set is open in R2 .

B = (x, y) ∈ R2 : x2 + y 2 < 4x and y > 0 .



The given set is the intersection B = B1 ∩ B2 , where

B1 = (x, y) ∈ R2 : x2 + y 2 < 4x and



B2 = (x, y) ∈ R2 : y > 0 .


Note that B2 is the upper half plane and this is open in R2 by the
previous problem. The set B1 can be expressed in the form

B1 = (x, y) ∈ R2 : (x − 2)2 + y 2 < 4 = B((2, 0), 2),



so it is an open ball in R2 and thus open. Being the intersection of

two open sets, the given set B is then open as well.
Homework 2. Solutions

3. Show that the following sets are open in R.

 
 3
1
A= x∈R:x >x , B= 0<x<1: ∈ /Z .
x

When it comes to the first set, one has

x3 > x ⇐⇒ x(x2 − 1) > 0 ⇐⇒ x(x + 1)(x − 1) > 0.

This implies that A = (−1, 0) ∪ (1, ∞) and so A is open in R. The

second set is the interval (0, 1) with the points 12 , 13 , 14 , · · · removed.
It is open because it is the union of open intervals, namely
      [ 1 
1 1 1 1 1 1
B= ,1 ∪ , ∪ , ∪ ··· = , .
2 3 2 4 3 n+1 n
n∈N
Homework 2. Solutions

4. Is the set Q of all rational numbers closed in R? Why or why not?

We use the first part of Theorem 1.4. Were Q closed in R, every

convergent sequence of rational numbers would have to converge to
a rational number. However, this is not really √
the case. As a simple
example, consider a rational approximation of 2, say

x1 = 1.4,
x2 = 1.41,
x3 = 1.414,
x4 = 1.4142

and so on.
√ This is a convergent sequence of rational numbers, but
its limit 2 is not a rational number. Thus, Q is not closed in R.
Homework 3. Solutions

1. Suppose (X, d) is a metric space and f : X → R is continuous.

Show that the set A = {x ∈ X : f (x) = 0} is closed in X.

We show that the complement of A is open in X. Noting that

X − A = {x ∈ X : f (x) 6= 0}
= {x ∈ X : f (x) < 0} ∪ {x ∈ X : f (x) > 0},

we see that X − A can be expressed as the union

X − A = f −1 (−∞, 0) ∪ f −1 (0, ∞).

Since (−∞, 0) is open in R, its inverse image must be open in X by

continuity. The same is true for the inverse image of (0, ∞). This
means that X − A is the union of two open sets and thus open.
Homework 3. Solutions

√
2. Show that f (x) = x2 + 1 is Lipschitz continuous on [0, 1].

According to Theorem 1.8, it suffices to show that

2x x
f ′ (x) = √ =√
2
2 x +1 2
x +1
is bounded on [0, 1]. In particular, it suffices to note that
r
′ x2
|f (x)| = 2
< 1.
x +1
One could also try to find the maximum value of |f ′ (x)|, but this
is not really necessary. In fact, one could simply say that |f ′ (x)| is
continuous, so it does attain a maximum value on [0, 1].
Homework 3. Solutions

3. Let (X, d) be a metric space and fix some y ∈ X. Show that the
function f : X → R defined by f (x) = d(x, y) is Lipschitz continuous.

Letting x, z ∈ X be arbitrary, we use the triangle inequality to get

f (x) = d(x, y) ≤ d(x, z) + d(z, y) = d(x, z) + f (z)

f (z) = d(z, y) ≤ d(z, x) + d(x, y) = d(x, z) + f (x).

Once we now combine these equations, we may conclude that

|f (x) − f (z)| ≤ d(x, z).

This shows that the function f : X → R is Lipschitz continuous.

Homework 3. Solutions

4. Consider the sequence of functions defined by fn (x) = xe−nx for

each integer n ≥ 1. Show that fn converges uniformly on [0, 1].

When 0 < x ≤ 1, one has 0 < e−x < 1, so e−nx → 0 as n → ∞.

Thus, fn (x) converges pointwise to the zero function. Since

fn′ (x) = e−nx − nxe−nx = (1 − nx)e−nx ,

1
the function fn is increasing for x < n and decreasing for x > n1 , so

1
sup |fn (x)| = sup fn (x) = fn (1/n) = .
0≤x≤1 0≤x≤1 ne

In particular, fn converges uniformly on [0, 1] because

1
lim sup |fn (x)| = lim = 0.
n→∞ 0≤x≤1 n→∞ ne
Homework 4. Solutions

1. Which of the following sets are complete? Explain.

A = Z, B = (0, 2), C = {x ∈ R : sin x ≤ 0}.

According to Theorem 1.16, a subset of R is complete if and only if

it is closed. In our case, Z is complete because its complement is
[
R−Z= (x, x + 1)
x∈Z

and this is open in R. The set B is not complete because xn = 1/n

is a sequence of points in B whose limit is not in B. Finally,

R − C = {x ∈ R : f (x) > 0} = f −1 (0, ∞)

with f (x) = sin x continuous, so R − C is open and C is complete.

Homework 4. Solutions

2. Use the definition of a Cauchy sequence to show that {(xn , yn )} is

a Cauchy sequence in R2 , if {xn }, {yn } are Cauchy sequences in R.

Let ε > 0 be given. Then there exist integers N1 , N2 > 0 such that
√
|xm − xn | < ε/ 2 for all m, n ≥ N1 ;
√
|ym − yn | < ε/ 2 for all m, n ≥ N2 .

Setting N = max{N1 , N2 } for convenience, we conclude that

ε2 ε2
(xm − xn )2 + (ym − yn )2 < + = ε2
2 2
for all m, n ≥ N . Thus, {(xn , yn )} is a Cauchy sequence in R2 .
Homework 4. Solutions

3. Suppose f : [a, b] → [a, b] is a differentiable function such that

L = sup |f ′ (x)|
a≤x≤b

satisfies L < 1. Show that f has a unique fixed point in [a, b].

Let x, y ∈ [a, b]. Using the mean value theorem, one finds that

|f (x) − f (y)| = |f ′ (c)| · |x − y| ≤ L · |x − y|

for some point c between x and y. Since L < 1 by assumption, this

shows that f is a contraction on [a, b]. On the other hand, [a, b] is a
closed subset of R and thus complete. It follows by Banach’s fixed
point theorem that f has a unique fixed point in [a, b].
Homework 4. Solutions

4. Show that there is a unique x ∈ [1, 2] such that x4 − x − 2 = 0.

The function f (x) = (x + 2)1/4 is increasing, so it maps [1, 2] into

[f (1), f (2)] = [31/4 , 41/4 ] ⊂ [11/4 , 161/4 ] = [1, 2].

To see that the previous problem is applicable, we note that

1
L = sup |f ′ (x)| = sup · (x + 2)−3/4 = 4−1 · 3−3/4 < 1.
1≤x≤2 1≤x≤2 4

Thus, there exists a unique x ∈ [1, 2] such that (x + 2)1/4 = x and

this is the only point in [1, 2] such that x4 = x + 2.