MATH 3310 Mary Edith Plunkett January 25, 2024

Homework 1
Problem 1. 1.2.3
True or false:
(a) If A1 ⊇ A2 ⊇ A3T⊇ A4 ... are all sets containing an infinite number of elements, then
the intersection ∞
n=1 An is infinite as well.

T∞
False. Let A1 = N≥1 , A2 = N≥2 , etc. Then the intersection n=1 An is ∅, because for
any n ∈ N, n ∈
/ An+1 .

(b) If A1 ⊇ T
A2 ⊇ A3 ⊇ A4 ... are all finite, nonempty sets of real numbers, then the inter-
section ∞ n=1 An is finite and nonempty.

True. (Consider the case where the cardinality of A1 is 1. In order for the chain
of subsets to by non-empty T and continue infinitely, An must equal A1 ∀n ∈ N. In
that case, the intersection ∞n=1 An = A1 , which is by definition finite and nonempty.
This reasoning continues as the cardinality of A1 increases; at some point Aj will equal
Ak ∀k ∈ N>j .)

(c) A ∩ (B ∪ C) = (A ∩ B) ∪ C

False. If A, B, and C are disjoint sets, A ∩ (B ∪ C) = ∅ while (A ∩ B) ∪ C = C.

(d) A ∩ (B ∩ C) = (A ∩ B) ∩ C

True. (A ∩ (B ∩ C) ⇐⇒ x ∈ B ∧ x ∈ C ∧ x ∈ A ⇐⇒ x ∈ A ∧ x ∈ B ∧ x ∈ C ⇐⇒
(A ∩ B) ∩ C.

(e) A ∩ (B ∪ C) = (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C))

True. (A ∩ (B ∪ C) ⇐⇒ x ∈ A ∧ (x ∈ B ∨ x ∈ C) ⇐⇒ x ∈ A ∧ x ∈ B ∨ x ∈
A ∧ x ∈ C ⇐⇒ (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C).)
Problem 2. 1.2.12
Let y1 = 6, and for each n ∈ N, define yn+1 = (2yn − 6)/3
(a) Use induction to prove that the sequence satisfies yn > −6 (∀n ∈ N)

Proof. Let P be the property that yn > −6 (∀n ∈ N).

Base case: when n = 1, y1 = 6 which is greater than -6 =⇒ P (1) is true.
We’ll need to do some algebra to get a formula for yn :

yn+1 = (2yn − 6)/3 =⇒ yn = (3yn+1 + 6)/2 (1)

Induction hypothesis: yn > −6 =⇒ yn+1 > −6

Induction step: We are given that yn = (3yn+1 + 6)/2 > −6. That implies that

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MATH 3310 Mary Edith Plunkett January 25, 2024

yn+1 > (−6 ∗ 2 − 6)/3 = −6. Therefore, P (n) =⇒ P (n + 1)

By the base case and the induction step, yn > −6 (∀n ∈ N)

(b) Use another induction argument to show the sequence (y1 , y2 , y3 , ...) is decreasing.

Proof. Let P be the property that yn+1 < yn .

Base case: when n = 1, 2 = y2 < y1 = 6, therefore P(1) is true.
Induction hypothesis: yn+1 < yn =⇒ yn+2 < yn+1
Induction step: We are given that yn+1 < (3yn+1 + 6)/2. That implies that (2yn+1 −
6)/3 < yn+1 , which is equivalent to yn+2 < yn+1 . Therefore, P (n) =⇒ P (n + 1)

By the base case and the induction step, yn is decreasing.

Problem 3. 1.3.1

(a) Write a formal definition in the style of Definition 1.3.2 for the infimum of a set.

Definition 1.3.2(b). A real number s is the greatest lower bound for a set A ⊆ R if
it meets the following two criteria:
(i) s is an lower bound for A;
(ii) if c is a lower bound for A, then s ≥ c

(b) Now, state and prove a version of Lemma 1.3.8 for greatest lower bounds.

Lemma 1.3.8(b). Assume s is a lower bound for A. Then s = inf (A) ⇐⇒ ∀ϵ >
0, ∃a ∈ A such that s + ϵ > a.

Proof. First, to show s = inf (A) =⇒ ∀ϵ > 0, ∃a ∈ A such that s + ϵ > a:

Let s = inf (A).
Let ϵ > 0. This implies that s + ϵ > s.
By (ii) of Def 1.3.2, that means that s + ϵ cannot be a lower bound for A, since any
lower bound must be ≤ s.
If s + ϵ is not a lower bound, then by Def 1.3.1 ∃a ∈ A such that a > s + ϵ, implying
the epsilon condition of the lemma.

Second, to show ∀ϵ > 0, ∃a ∈ A such that s + ϵ > a =⇒ s = inf (A):

Let s be a lower bound such that ∀ϵ > 0, ∃a ∈ A s.th. s + ϵ > a.
Let t be some number greater than s.
Then, t − s > 0, so we can let ϵ = t − s.
=⇒ ∃a ∈ A such that s + t − s = t > a, which means that t cannot be a lower bound.
Since no t > s can be a lower bound, we know that if t is any lower bound for A, s ≥ t,
fulfilling (ii) of Def. 1.3.2.

Problem 4. 1.3.8

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MATH 3310 Mary Edith Plunkett January 25, 2024

Compute, without proofs, the suprema and infima (if they exist) of the following sets:

(a) {m/n : m, n ∈ N, m < n}

That is equivalent to {p ∈ Q | 0 < p < 1}. Therefore, the supremum = 1 and the
infimum = 0.

(b) {(−1)m /n : m, n ∈ N}
This is equivalent to the set of rationals with numerator 1 or -1. Therefore, the supre-
mum = 1 and the infimum = -1.

(c) {n/(3n + 1) : n ∈ N}
When n = 1, n/(3n + 1) = 14 and as n increases, n/(3n + 1) approaches 13 . Therefore
the supremum = 13 and the infimum = 41 .

(d) {m/(m + n) : m, n ∈ N}
When n is big and m is small, m/(m + n) approaches 0 =⇒ infimum = 0. When m
is big and n is small m/(m + n) approaches 1 =⇒ supremum = 1.