MTH 301 Analysis I (Monsoon 2017) Department of Mathematics and Statistics, IIT Kanpur

Problem Set 1
August 6, 2017

p
1. Let m and n be positive integers with no common factor. Prove that if m/n is rational, then m and
n are both perfect squares, that is to say there exist integers p and q such that m = p2 and n = q 2 .

2. If A is a non-empty subset of R that is bounded below, show that A has a greatest lower bound.

3. A set is said to be bounded if it is bounded above and bounded below. Let A be a bounded subset of
R containing at least two points. Prove that

(a) < inf A < sup A < +.

(b) If B is a non-empty subset of A, then inf A inf B sup B sup A.
(c) If B is the set of all upper bounds of A, then B is non-empty, bounded below, and inf B =
sup A.

4. Let A be a non-empty subset of R that is bounded above. Show that there is a sequence (xn ) of
elements of A that converges to sup A.

5. Suppose an b for all n N and that a = limn an exists. Show that a b. Conclude that
a supn an = sup{an : n N}.

6. Let x R. Show that there exists an integer m such that m x < m + 1 and an integer ` such that
x < ` x + 1.

7. Let A R be bounded above, and let c R. Define the sets c+A and cA by c+A = {c+a : a A}
and cA = {ca : a A}.

(a) Show that sup(c + A) = c + sup A.

(b) If c 0, show that sup(cA) = c sup A.
(c) Postulate a similar type of statement for sup(cA) for the case c < 0.

8. Compute, without proofs, the suprema and infima of the following sets:

(a) {n N : n2 < 10}.

(b) {n/(m + n) : m, n N}.
(c) {n/(2n + 1) : n N}.
(d) {n/m : m, n N with m + n 10}.

9. If a R, b R, and a < b, then show that there exists an x R \ Q such that a < x < b.

10. There exists a real number R satisfying x2 = 2.

11. Prove Bernoullis inequality: for x > 1, (1 + x)n 1 + nx for all n N.

12. Prove that

(a) The sequence ((1 + 1/n)n )nN is strictly increasing.

 (b) The sequence (1 + 1/n)n+1


nN
is strictly decreasing.
(c) 2 (1 + 1/n)n < (1 + 1/n)n+1 4 for all n N.
(d) Both sequences converge to the same limit e = limn (1 + 1/n)n .

13. For every real x > 0 and every integer n > 0 there is one and only one positive real y such that

y n = x, by completing the following outline. (This number y is written n x or x1/n .)

(a) If 0 < a < b, then for any positive integer n, bn an < (b a)nbn1 .
(b) If w = x/(1 + x) then wn < x.
(c) If w > 1 + x then wn > x.
(d) Let A be the set of all w > 0 such that wn < x, and show that y = sup A satisfies y n = x.
(e) Prove that this y is unique.

14. Fix b > 1.

(a) If m, n, p, q are integers, n > 0, q > 0, and r = m/n = p/q, prove that

(bm )1/n = (bp )1/q .

Hence it makes sense to define br = (bm )1/n .

(b) Prove that br+s = br bs if r and s are rational.
(c) If x is real, define B(x) to be the set of all numbers bt , where t is rational and t x. Prove that

br = sup B(r)

when r is rational. Hence it makes sense to define

bx = sup B(x)

for every real x.

(d) Prove that bx+y = bx by for all real x and y.

15. Fix b > 1 , y > 0, and prove that there is a unique real x such that bx = y, by completing the
following outline. (This x is called the logarithm of y to the base b.)

(a) For any positive integer n, bn 1 n(b 1).

(b) Hence b 1 n(b1/n 1).
(c) If t > 1 and n > (b 1)/(t 1), then b1/n < t.
(d) If w is such that bw < y, then bw+(1/n) < y for sufficiently large n; to see this, apply part (c)
with t = ybw .
(e) If bw > y, then bw(1/n) > y for sufficiently large n.
(f) Let A be the set of all w such that bw < y, and show that x = sup A satisfies bx = y.
(g) Prove that this x is unique.

2 of 2