Author: Oscar David Alarcon Cely

Author: Oscar David Alarcon Cely

september 27/2018
Topology I - Exercises and Solutions
Topology Proofs
september 27,2018
July 25, 2014

1 Metric spaces
1. Let p be a prime number, and d : Z × Z → [0, +∞) be a function defined by
: pm |x−y}
dp (x, y) = p− max{m∈N .

Prove that dp is a metric on Z and that dp (x, y) ≤ max{dp (x, z), dp (z, y)} for every x, y, z ∈ Z.
Proof. The symmetry condition is trivial. By p > 0 and m ∈ N, we have p−m > 0 for every m ∈ N
with 0 as the limit. Indeed, d(x, y) can only be zero, if pm |x − y for all natural numbers m. This
can only happen if x − y = 0, thus d(x, y) = 0 ⇔ x = y. For the triangle inequality condition,
assume wlog that mx,z := − logp (d(x, z)) is not larger than my,z (i.e. d(x, z) ≥ d(y, z)). Then pmx,z
divides both x − z and z − y and therefore also x − z + z − y = x − y, which means that mx,y ≥ mx,z
or equivalently d(x, y) ≤ d(x, z) = max{d(x, z), d(y, z)}, so in particular d(x, y) ≤ d(x, z) + d(y, z)
holds.
2. Let X 6= ∅ be a set and F the family of all finite subsets of X. Prove that the function d : F × F →
[0, +∞) defined by
d(A, B) = #((A\B) ∪ (B\A))
is a metric on X.
Proof. d(A, B) = 0 implies that both A\B and B\A must be empty, thus the sets A and B must
coincide. Conversely d(A, A) = 0. Looking at the Venn diagram for sets A, B, C, it can be seen
that A∆C ∪ B∆C contains A∆B (where ∆ denotes the symmetric difference).
3. Let (X, d) be a metric space and F ⊆ X be a finite subset. Prove that F is closed in X.
Proof. Let x ∈ X \ F and define r := min{d(x, y) : y ∈ F }. As F is finite the minimum exists. The
open ball B(x, r) around x does not contain any point of F , thus X \ F is open and F closed.
4. Let (X, d) be a metric space and ∅ 6= Y ⊆ X be a subset. The distance of a point x ∈ X from the
subset Y is a function X → [0, +∞) defined by:

d(x, Y ) = inf{d(x, y) : y ∈ Y }.

Verify that the distance function is well defined. Prove that

Y = {x ∈ X : d(x, Y ) = 0}.

Proof. The fact that d is bounded from below ensures that for each x ∈ X the infimum exists. If the
infimum exists, it is unique, so the function is well-defined. The claim directly follows from Lemma
1.5 in the lecture: Take an x ∈ / Y and r > 0 such that Br (x) ∩ Y = ∅. Then all points outside the
ball, in particular the points of Y , must have distance at least r, so x ∈
/ {x ∈ X : d(x, Y ) = 0}. Now
let x ∈/ {x ∈ X : d(x, Y ) = 0}. Then by the triangle inequality any ball B(x, r) with 0 < r < d(x, Y )
will be an open neighbourhood of x that doesn’t intersect {x ∈ X : d(x, Y ) = 0}. Hence it is closed
and because it contains Y , it is a superset of Y .

1
5. Let X be the set of all sequences x : N → R converging to zero. Prove that the function d : X ×X →
[0, +∞) defined by
d(xn , yn ) = sup |xn − yn |
n∈N

is a metric on X. Show that the metric space (X, d) is separable.

Proof. Symmetry and coincidence with zero are obvious. For the triangle inequality in this metric,
use the triangle inequality for the Euclidean metric. For each n ∈ N, we have

|xn − yn | = |xn − zn + zn − yn | ≤ |xn − zn | + |zn − yn | ≤ d(x, z) + d(y, z).

Then by the definition of the supremum, this also holds for d(x, y).
To prove that X is separable we need to find a countable set Q such that Q = X. Let Q be the set
of sequences r : N → Q converging to zero. Cantors diagonal argument shows that Q is countable
and for every x ∈ X, x(i) can be approximated by a sequence of rationals rn (i), so rn → x.
6. Let (X, d) be a metric space and Y ⊆ X be a subspace. Then U ⊂ Y is open (closed) in Y if and
only if there exist V ⊆ X open (closed) in X such that U = V ∩ Y .
Proof. By definition a set U ⊂ Y is open in Y if for all points x ∈ U there exists an rx > 0 such that
Bd0 (x, rx ) lies in U , where d0 := d Y ×Y . Thus
S
S U can be expressed as x∈U Bd (x, rx ). One direction
0

of the claim can be shown by setting V := x∈U Bd (x, rx ). Intersecting each ball Bd (x, rx ) with Y ,
we obtain the corresponding ball with respect to the induced metric d0 and deduce Y ∩ V = U . The
converse direction is straight forward. If there is an open V with the above mentioned properties,
it must contain an open ball Bd (z, rz ) for every point z ∈ V which gives us balls which are open in
Y and which all lie in U .
7. Let (X, d) be a metric space, and ∅ = 6 Y ⊆ X. Prove that the function X → R defined by
x 7→ d(x, Y ) is a continuous function.
Proof. It suffices to show that the preimage of any open set U ⊆ R is open in X. Take an arbitrary
x ∈ f −1 (U ). U is open, so there exists an ε > 0 with the property that (z − ε, z + ε) ⊆ U where
z := d(x, Y ). Every point x0 ∈ B(x, ε) satisfies d(x0 , Y ) ≤ d(x0 , x) + d(x, Y ) < ε + z by the triangle
inequality. Conversely, we also have z = d(x, Y ) ≤ d(x, x0 )+d(x0 , Y ) < ε+d(x0 , Y )which rearranges
to z − ε < d(x0 , Y ). We deduce that x0 ∈ f −1 (U ) which yields the claim.

8. Let (X, d) be a metric space and U 6= X be an open subset in X. Consider a function dU : U × U →

[0, +∞) defined by  
1 1
dU (x, y) = d(x, y) +  d(x,X\U ) − d(y,X\U ) .


Prove that dU is a metric on U and that it is equivalent to the induced metric d|U ×U .
Proof. Again, symmetry and coincidence with zero are obvious. Using the triangle inequality first
for the metric d and then for the absolute value function, we obtain
 1 1

dU (x, y) = d(x, y) +  d(x,X\U ) − d(y,X\U )

 1 1 1 1

≤ d(x, z) + d(y, z) +  d(x,X\U ) − d(z,X\U ) + d(z,X\U ) − d(y,X\U )

 1 1
  1 1

≤ d(x, z) + d(y, z) +  d(x,X\U ) − d(z,X\U ) + d(z,X\U ) − d(y,X\U )
  

= dU (x, z) + dU (y, z).

To show the equivalence of the metrics, take a set V ⊆ U that is open with respect to d. This set
contains an open rx -ball contained in V for every element x ∈ V . The open ball with radius rx
with respect to dU is a subset of Bd (x, rx ) and therefore lies in V .
Conversely, take a set W that is open with respect to metric dU and a point x ∈ W . There exists
a radius Rx such that BdU (x, Rx ) ⊆ W . For every point y in Bd (x, rx ) for some rx that is yet to

2
 determine, the distance d(y, X \ U ) differs from Dx := d(x, X \ U ) by at most rx . Without loss of
generality, assume that Dx > rx , otherwise scale rx accordingly. Now
 1 1
  d(y,X\U )−d(x,X\U )  rx
d(x,X\U ) − d(y,X\U ) = d(x,X\U )·d(y,X\U ) ≤ Dx ·(Dx −rx ) =: Nx
   

Thus dU (x, y) ≤ d(x, y) + Nx < rx + Nx . Setting rx such that rx + Nx < Rx , ensures that
Bd (x, rx ) ⊂ BdU (x, Rx ) and therefore lies in W .
9. Let S 6= ∅ be a set and (X, d) a complete metric space. Prove that the metric space of all bounded
functions B(S, X) equipped with the metric D(f, g) = sups∈S d(f (s), g(s)) is also complete.
Proof. Take a Cauchy sequence (fn ) ⊆ B(S, X) in the sup-metric. For every ε > 0 there exists an
nε ∈ N so that d(fn (s), fm (s)) ≤ D(fn , fm ) < 3ε for all n, m ≥ nε . From the definition of D we
know that (fn (s)) is a Cauchy sequence in X for every s ∈ S. Since X is complete, for every s ∈ S
there exists a f (s) ∈ X so that fn (s) → f (s). Define the function f : S → X so that s 7→ f (s)
(well defined due to the uniqueness of the limit). To check that (fn ) converges to f , fix s ∈ S. Now
there exists ns ∈ N so that d(fn (s), f (s)) < 3ε for all n ≥ ns . Define N := max{nε , ns }. Then for
every n ≥ nε we have
ε ε 2ε
d(fn (s), f (s)) ≤ d(fn (s), fN (s)) + d(fN (s), f (s)) < + = .
3 3 3
In other words, for every s ∈ S the difference d(fn (s), f (s)) is bounded by 2ε 3 . Hence by taking
supremum over all s ∈ S, we have D(fn , f ) ≤ 2ε 3 < ε for all n ≥ n ε . To show that f is bounded,
i.e. supr,s∈S d(f (s), f (r)) < ∞, use the triangle inequality twice and the fact that fN is bounded.

2ε
d(f (s), f (r)) ≤ d(f (s), fN (s)) + d(fN (s), fN (r)) + d(fN (r), f (r)) ≤ + d(fN (s), fN (r)) < ∞
3

10. Prove that a discrete metric space is compact if and only if its underlying set is finite.
Proof. One direction is obvious, as each subset of a finite set is finite. For the other direction, take
a compact space (X, d) with the discrete metric, suppose the underlying set X were infinite and
look at the open cover C = {{x} : x ∈ X}. As C is infinite, any finite subcover C 0 would yield an
element y ∈ X that is not covered by C 0 which contradicts the compactness of (X, d).
11. Let (X, d) be a metric space and lim xn = x0 in X. Show that the set K = {x0 , x1 , . . . } is compact.
Proof. As x0 lies in K, there must be one open set U0 in any open covering C that contains it. This
U0 must contain an open ball B(x0 , ε). As the sequence (xn ) converges to x0 , there is a n0 such
that for all n ≥ n0 , we have d(xn , x0 ) < ε which leaves only finitely many points outside the ball.
The (finite) subset of those, that aren’t contained in U0 can be covered by finitely many open sets
from C.
12. Let (X, d) be a metric space, and let F ⊆ X be a closed subset and K ⊆ X a compact subset of
X. Prove that
F ∩ K 6= ∅ ⇐⇒ inf{d(x, y) : x ∈ F, y ∈ K} = 0.
Proof. The one direction is straight forward. A point x ∈ F ∩ K satisfies d(x, x) = 0. For the other
direction, take sequences (xn ) ∈ F, (yn ) ∈ K that satisfy inf n∈N d(xn , yn ) = 0. For all ε > 0 we have
an n1 ∈ N s.t. for all n ≥ n1 , d(xn , yn ) < 2ε . K is compact, so (yn ) has a converging subsequence
(yni ) with limit y ∈ K. In particular, we find an n2 ∈ N such that for all n ≥ n2 , d(yni , y) < 2ε .
With the triangle inequality, we get d(y, xni ) ≤ d(y, yni ) + d(yni , xni ) < ε. Thus y is a limit point
of F and since F is closed, ist must be contained in F .
13. Let (X1 , d1 ), . . . , (Xn , dn ) be compact metric spaces, and let X := X1 × · · · × Xn be equipped with
either the D1 or D∞ metric. Prove that X is also compact.

3
 Proof. Take a sequence (xk ) in X and look at the sequences (xk1 ), . . . , (xkn ) in X1 , . . . , Xn . Since
(X1 , d1 ) is compact, it has a convergent subsequence (xk1l ) with index set I1 . The induced sequence
k
(xk2l ) in X2 has a converging subsequence (x2lm ) for an index set I2 ⊆ I1 . Iterating gives us an
index set In such that the sequences xK j for K ∈ In converge for all j = 1, . . . , n. Thus, with
both metrics, the corresponding subsequence of (xk ) converges. From the lecture we know that this
implies compactness (Chapter 1.9, Lemma).
14. Let E be a normed space and A and B two compact subspaces. Then the Minkowski sum

A + B := {a + b : a ∈ A, b ∈ B}

is also compact.
Proof. This can again be shown using sequential compactness. Another approach is the following.
Let C be an open cover of A+B. Then the families CA := {U −B : U ∈ C} and CB := {U −A : U ∈ C}
are covers of A and B respectively. Those sets are compact, so there exist finite subcovers. Both
families (translated by A or B) together yield a finite subcover of A + B.
15. Let (X, d) be a metric space. Define a function d0 : X × X → [0, +∞) by

d0 (x, y) := min{d(x, y), 1}

for every (x, y) ∈ X × X. Show that d0 is a metric on X, and moreover is equivalent to d, i.e.,
induces the same topology as d.
Proof. Checking the metric properties is straight forward. To see that the topologies coincide, use
that for ε < 1, Bd (x, ε) = Bd0 (x, ε).

2 Topological spaces and Continuous Functions

1. Let X be a set and T = {U ⊆ X : U = ∅ or X\U is countable}. Prove that T is a topology on X.
Proof. Obviously ∅ and X are contained in T . For the second criterion, look at a subfamily
{Uα : α ∈ SA} of T . Without
T loss of generality, assume that all Uα have a countable complement.
Then X \ α∈A Uα = α∈A X \ Uα is the intersection of countable sets and therefore countable.
Also, the finite union of countable sets is countable which yields the third criterion.
2. Let X be a set and B be a basis for a topology on X. Prove that the topology generated by B is
indeed a topology.
Proof. Denote the topology generated by B with T . The empty set is trivially contained in it. For
the whole space X, the first property of a basis ensures that C ∈ T . The second criterion is obvious,
as any point x in the union of open sets must lie in one of them. Thus we find a basis set B containing
x and also contained in that T set and therefore also in the union. If we take a finite subfamily
{U1 , . . . , Un }, then any x ∈ i=1,...,n
TUi has basis sets Bi such that x ∈TBi ⊆ Ui . The second base
property reformulates as ∀n : x ∈ i=1,...,n Bi ⇒ ∃B ∈ B : x ∈ B ⊆ i=1,...,n T Bi (by repeatedly
applying the property). Thus there exists a basis set B such that x ∈ B ⊆ i=1,...,n Ui .

3. Let X = R and K = { n1 : n ∈ N}. Prove that the following families are bases for a topology on X:

B = {(a, b) : a, b ∈ R, a < b},

0
B = {[a, b) : a, b ∈ R, a < b},
B 00 = {(a, b) : a, b ∈ R, a < b} ∪ {(a, b)\K : a, b ∈ R, a < b}.

Furthermore, let T , T 0 and T 00 denote the topologies on X generated by B, B 0 and B 00 , respectively.

Prove that T 0 and T 00 are finer than T , and that T 0 and T 00 are not comparable.

4
 Proof. Remark: T 0 is called the lower limit topology or right half-open interval topology; the
topological space is called Sorgenfrey line. T 00 is called K-topology.
First, check the two basis properties for the three families. This is straightforward. The only thing
one has to watch out for is the second property for B 00 . There one needs to do a (simple) case
analysis.
0
T ⊆ S T : Let U ∈ T . Then ∀x 0∈ U ∃(ax , bx ) ⊆ U : x ∈ (ax , bx ). We can rewrite any interval (a, b)
as a<c<b [c, b), so (ax , bx ) ∈ T , thus for all y ∈ (ax , bx ), so in particular for the previous x, there
exist By ∈ B 0 : y ∈ By ⊆ (ax , bx ). Thus U ∈ T 0 .
T ⊆ T 00 : Obvious.
T 00 6⊆ T 0 : Use R \ K. It is open in T 00 but has nonempty intersection with every open set in T 00
that also contains zero.
T 0 6⊆ T 00 : Take for instance [2, ∞). It is open in T 00 but any basis set in B 00 that contains 2 will
also contain numbers smaller than 2.
4. Let X = R and B = {(a, b) : a, b ∈ Q, a < b}. Prove that B is a basis for a topology on X, and
that it generates the standard topology on X.
Proof. Let x ∈ R. Let n be some integer larger than x. Then −n < x < n. Now let (a, b) and
(c, d) be basis sets that contain x. Then (max(a, c), min(b, d)) lies in B because max(a, c) < x and
x < min(b, d). Finally we need to check that the generated topology coincides with the standard
topology. The one inclusion is obvious. For the other one, take a set U that is open in the standard
topology. Then there are real numbers a < b such that x ∈ (a, b) for all x ∈ U . There exists an N
1
such that N > x−a . which can be rearranged to 1 < xN − aN , so there must be another integer
M between aN and xN . This again can be rearranged to a < M N < x. Doing the same thing for x
M0
and b, we get x ∈ ( M ,
N N0 ) ⊆ (a, b). Hence U is open in the topology generated by B.
5. Let A be a subspace of X and let B be a subspace of Y . We equip A and B with the subspace
topologies. Prove that the product topology on A × B is the same as the topology A × B inherits
as a subspace of X × Y .
Proof. Denote with TA×B,prod the product topology on A × B and with TA×B,sub the subspace
topology induced by X × Y .
TA×B,prod ⊆ TA×B,sub : Let UA × UB ∈ TA × TB . The open sets in A and B respectively give us
open sets VA and VB in the spaces X and Y by the definition of the subspace topology and if we
intersect VA × VB with A × B, we obtain UA × UB . Thus the basis of TA×B,prod is contained in
TA×B,sub , and the same holds for the topology generated by it.
TA×B,sub ⊆ TA×B,prod : Let U ∈ TA×B,sub . Then there exists a set V ∈ TX×Y such that V ∩A×B =
U . By the construction of the product topology, for all v ∈ V we have a basis set VX ×VY ∈ TX ×TY
with v ∈ VX ×VY ⊆ V . In particular this holds for all v ∈ U with v ∈ UA ×UB := VX ×VY ∩A×B ⊆
U , so U ∈ TA×B,prod .
6. Let Y be a subspace of X. Prove that if A is closed in Y , and Y is closed in X, then A is closed in
X.
Proof. Denote by UZ (x) the family of sets which contain x and are open in Z and by AZ ⊆ Z the
closure of A in Z. Recall the following criterion from the lecture (a theorem from Chapter 2.3):

x ∈ Z lies in AZ ⇔ ∀U ∈ UZ (x) : U ∩ A 6= ∅.

Let x ∈ AX , then every element of UX (x) must have non-empty intersection with Y , because A ⊆ Y .
This means that x ∈ Y X which equals Y because Y is closed in X. Also, all sets in UY (x) originate
from a set in UX (x), so they all have non-empty intersection with A. Thus x ∈ AY which coincides
with A because A is closed in Y . A ⊆ AX is trivial, so we deduce A = AX .
7. Let X be a Hausdorff space. Prove that a sequence in X converges to at most one point in X.
Proof. Denote by U(x) the family of open sets which contain x. Assume we have a converging
sequence (xn ) with distinct limit points x and y. Then by definition for all U ∈ U(x), V ∈ U(y)
there exist nU , nV ∈ N such that for all n ≥ nU , nV , we have xn ∈ U and xn ∈ V respectively.

5
 X is Hausdorff, so there exist disjoint neighbourhoods U 0 ∈ U(x) and V 0 ∈ U(y) and for n ≥
max{nU 0 , nV 0 } we have xn ∈ U 0 ∩ V 0 = ∅. Contradiction.
8. Show that if A is closed in X, and B is closed in Y , then A × B is closed in X × Y .
Proof. X \ A and Y \ B are open and so is (X \ A) × Y and X × (Y \ B). Thus (X × Y ) \ (A × B) =
((X \ A) × Y )∪(X × (Y \ B)) is also open. Alternatively, use A × B = A×B from exercise 10.
9. Show that if U is open in X and A is closed in X, then U \A is open in X, and A\U is closed in X.
Proof. U \ A = U ∩ (X \ U ) and X \ (A \ U ) = (X \ A) ∩ U are the finite intersection resp. union
of open sets and therefore open.
10. Let A ⊆ X and B ⊆ Y . Show that A × B = A × B in X × Y .
Proof. Wlog only look at the limit points (for isolated points there is no problem).
⊆ Let (an , bn ) be a convergent sequence in A × B with limit point (a, b). Let V ∈ TX and
W ∈ TY with a ∈ V and b ∈ W , then V × W ∈ TX×Y and (a, b) ∈ V × W . Thus there
exists an nV,W ∈ N such that all subsequent elements (an , bn ) lie in V × W . In particular
an ∈ V, bn ∈ W for all n ≥ nV,W which makes a and b limit points. A and B are closed,
therefore a ∈ A and b ∈ B.
⊇ Let an → a in A and bn → b in B. Take an arbitrary U ∈ TX×Y with (a, b) ∈ U . Then for
all u ∈ U there is a basis set V × W ∈ TX×Y such that u ∈ V × W ⊆ U . The open sets V
and W give us numbers nV , nW ∈ N such that an ∈ V, bn ∈ W for all subsequent n. Define
nU := max(nv , nW ), then ∀n ≥ nU : (an .bn ) ∈ U . We deduce that (a, b) is a limit point.

11. Show that the product of two Hausdorff spaces is Hausdorff.

Proof. Let (a, b) 6= (c, d) be points in X × Y , where X, Y are Hausdorff spaces. Then a 6= c or
b 6= d. Wlog assume a 6= c. Then there exist disjoint open neighbourhoods A and C for a and c in
X. This gives us disjoint open neighbourhoods A × Y and C × Y of (a, b) and (c, d).
12. Show that X is Hausdorff if and only if the diagonal ∆ := {(x, x) : x ∈ X} is closed in X × X.
Proof. X is Hausdorff. ⇔ For every pair a, b ∈ X with a 6= b there there exist disjoint open
neighbourhoods A 3 a and B 3 b. ⇔ Every element (a, b) of X \ ∆ has a basis set A × B with
(a, b) ∈ A × B ⊆ X \ ∆. ⇔ X \ ∆ is open. ⇔ ∆ is closed.
13. If A ⊆ X, let us define the boundary of A by the equation:

∂A := A ∩ X\A.

Show◦ that: ◦
(a) A ∩ ∂A = ∅ and A = A ∪ ∂A;
(b) ∂A = ∅ if and only if A is both open and closed;
(c) A is open if and only if ∂A = A\A.
Proof. ◦
(a) x ∈ A. ⇔ There is an open neighbourhood U ⊂ A of x. ⇔ There is an open neighbourhood U
◦
of x with U ∩ X \ A = ∅. ⇔ x ∈ / X \ A. This means A = X \ X \ A. From this we deduce two
◦ ◦ ◦
things: Firstly, A ∩ X \ A = ∅ and therefore A ∩ ∂A = ∅ and secondly ∂A = A ∩ (X \ A) and
◦ ◦ ◦
therefore ∂A ∪ A = A ∩ (X \ A) ∪ A = A.
◦
(b) A is open and closed if and only if A = A = A and using (a), this corresponds to ∂A = ∅.
◦
(c) A is open if and only if A = A.
◦
⇒ Subtracting A from the second equation (and using the first statement) of (a), we get that
◦ ◦
∂A = A \ A. Inserting A = A yields the claim.
◦ ◦ ◦
⇐ A = A ∪ (A \ A) = A \ (A \ A), so A \ A = ∅.

6
14. Let f : X → Y be a continuous map, A ⊂ X and A0 denotes the set of all limit points of A. If
x ∈ A0 is it true that f (x) ∈ f (A)0 , i.e., is f (x) a limit point of f (A)?
Proof. No, in general this is not true. Isolated points can cause a problem. Consider for instance
the constant map f : R → [0, 1] ∪ {2} given by f (x) = 2. It is obviously continuous but 2 is no limit
point.
15. Let f : A → B and g : C → D be continuous functions. Consider the map f × g : A × C → B × D
defined by
(f × g)(a, c) := (f (a), g(c))
for every (a, c) ∈ A × C. Prove that f × g is also continuous.
Proof. Let U ∈ TB×D . Then for all u ∈ U there is a set Bu × Du ∈ TB × TD with u ∈ Bu × Du ⊆ U .
Define Au := f −1 (Bu ) and Cu := g −1 (Du ). Au × Cu is an open neighbourhood for any v ∈
(f × g)−1 (u) due to the fact that f and g are continuous. Thus for every v ∈ (f × g)−1 (U ) there is
a set A(f ×g)(v) × A(f ×g)(v) ∈ TA × TC with v ∈ A(f ×g)(v) × C(f ×g)(v) ⊆ (f × g)−1 (U ) which proves
our claim.
16. Let X and Y be topological spaces with Y being Hausdorff. Let A ⊆ X and f : A → Y be a
continuous map. Prove that if f can be extended to a continuous function g : A → Y , then g is
uniquely determined by f .
Proof. From exercise 2.14 we know that a convergent sequence an in A with limit point a yields
a convergent sequence g(an ) with limit point g(a). In exercise 2.7 we learned that the limit of a
convergent sequence is unique in Hausdorff spaces, so g(a) = limn→∞ f (an ) is uniquely defined.
17. Let {Xα }α∈J be an indexed family of topological spaces. Assume that the topology on each Xα is
given by a basis Bα . Prove that the family
Y
Bα : Bα ∈ Bα
α∈J
Q
is a basis for the box topology on α∈J Xα , while
Y
Bα : Bα ∈ Bα and Bα = Xα for all but finitely many α ∈ J
α∈J
Q
is a basis for the product topology on α∈J Xα .
Q
Proof.
Q Let U ∈ Tbox , then for all u ∈ U there exists a set α∈J Uα with the property that u ∈
QUα ⊆ U . Q
α∈J For all α, we have uα ∈ Uα and a basis set Bα such that uα ∈ Bα ⊆ Uα , so
u ∈ α∈J Bα ⊆ α∈J Uα ⊆ U . The same line of reasoning works for the product topology.
Q
18. Let {Xα }α∈J be an indexed family of Hausdorff spaces. Prove that α∈J Xα is a Hausdorff space
in both the box and product topology.
Proof. If two points (xα ) and (yα ) are different, then there must be an index α ∈ J such that
xα 6= yα . Use the same argument as in 11. to prove that the claim (for both topologies).
19. Let p : X → Y be a continuous map. Show that if there is a continuous map f : Y → X such that
p ◦ f = idY , then p is a quotient map.
Proof. For every y ∈ Y the element x := f (y) is in p−1 (y), so p is surjective. Now let p−1 (U ) ∈ TX .
Then U = (p ◦ f )−1 (U ) = f −1 ◦ p−1 (U ) is open because f is continuous. Together with the fact
that p is continuous, this yields the claim.
20. Let X be a topological space and A ⊆ X a subspace. A continuous map r : X → A is a retraction
if r|A = idA , i.e., r(a) = a for every a ∈ A. Show that a retraction is a quotient map.
Proof. Use the previous exercise with p := r and f : A ,→ X, the embedding of A into X.

7
3 Connectedness and Compactness
1. Let {Cn } be a sequence Sof connected subspaces of X with the property that Cn ∩ Cn+1 6= ∅ for
every n ∈ N. Show that n∈N Cn is connected.
S
Proof. Assume there exist non-empty open sets U, V such that n∈N Cn is the disjoint union of the
two. For every n ∈ N we know that either U ∩Cn or V ∩Cn must be empty because Cn is connected.
So we have that Cn ⊆ U or Cn ⊆ V (This is also a lemma in Chapter 3). Using induction and the
fact that for all n ∈ N the subspaces Cn and Cn+1 have non-empty intersection, we deduce that all
Cn must lie in the same set U or V which contradicts our assumption.
2. Let {Cα } be a sequence of connected subspaces of X. Let moreoverSC be a
connected subspace of
X with the property that C ∩ Cα 6= ∅ for every α. Show that C ∪ α Cα is connected.
S
Proof. Assume U and V form a separation of C ∪ ( α∈N Cn ). Very much like in the previous
exercise, we deduce that Cα and C lie either in U or in V . Wlog say C ⊆ U , then U ∩ Cα ⊆ U and
therefore Cα ⊆ U for all α. Contradiction.
3. Let X be an infinite set. Show that if X is equipped with the finite complement topology then X
is connected.
Proof. For every pair of sets U, V with the property that X = U t V , i.e. U = X \ V , we have the
following. If one of them, say U , is open, then its complement V must be finite by the definition
of the topology. But this means that U itself must be infinite (as X is infinite) and therefore V
cannot be open.
4. Let A ⊂ X. Show that if C is a connected subspace of X that intersects both A and X\A, then C
intersects ∂A.
◦ ◦
Proof. We can write X as the disjoint union of A, ∂A and (X \ A). If C ∩ ∂A is empty, then
◦ ◦ ◦ ◦
C = C ∩ (A t ∂A t (X \ A)) = (C ∩ A) t (C ∩ (X \ A)). These two sets are open in the subspace
topology which contradicts the connectedness assumption.
5. Let A X and B Y . If X and Y are connected, show that (X × Y )\(A × B) is also connected.
Proof. A and B don’t coincide with X and Y , so we find points x ∈ X \ A and y ∈ Y \ B and can
construct sets {x} × Y and X × {y} that are disjoint from A × B. The union ({x} × Y ) ∪ (X × {y}) is
connected as it is the union of connected sets with a point (x, y) in common (see Exercise 3.1).
6. Let p : X → Y be a quotient map, p−1 ({y}) be connected for every y ∈ Y , and Y be connected.
Show that X is connected.
Proof. Assume U and V form a separation of X. We know that p(U ) ∪ p(U ) = Y because p
is surjective. Assume there exists a y ∈ p(U ) ∩ p(V ). Denote the fibre p−1 ({y}) with C. C is
connected and the sets C ∩ U and C ∩ V are open in C and C = (C ∩ U ) t (C ∩ V ) which gives us
a contradiction. This means that p(U ) and p(V ) are disjoint but also that p−1 (p(U )) = U . p is a
quotient map, so if p−1 (p(U )) is open, then so is p(U ). The same holds for p(V ). Thus p(U ) and
p(V ) form a separation of Y , which cannot be true.
7. Let Y be a subspace of X, and both connected. Show that if A and B form a separation of X\Y ,
then Y ∪ A and Y ∪ B are connected
Proof. Let us work with the definition of connectedness using limit points, which was introduced in
Lemma 1 of the third chapter. Assume that Y ∪ A is not connected. Then we find non-empty U, V
with the property that U ∩ V 0 = ∅, U 0 ∩ V = ∅ and Y ∪ A = U ∪ V . Y is connected, so by the second
lemma of Chapter 3 either Y ⊆ U or Y ⊆ V . Say Y ⊆ U . Then V ⊆ A ⊆ A0 , hence V ∩ B 0 = ∅ and
V 0 ∩ B = ∅. If we now look at the union U ∪ B, we see that V ∩ (U ∪ B)0 = V ∩ (U 0 ∪ B 0 ) = ∅ and
V 0 ∩ (U ∪ B) = ∅. So V and U ∪ B form a separation of X = Y ∪ A ∪ B = V ∪ U ∪ B. Contradiction.
The same line of reasoning proves that Y ∪ B must be connected.
8. Show that Rd and R are not homeomorphic if d > 1.

8
 Proof. Assume there is a homeomorphism f : Rn → R. Define f˜ : Rn \ {f −1 (0)} → R \ {0} to be
the restriction of f . It is easy to see that this is again a homeomorphism. But Rn \ {h−1 (0)} is
connected (consider 0 as {0} × · · · × {0} and see Exercise 3.5) and R \ {0} is not. The theorem
which states that the image of a connected space under a continuous map is connected gives us the
desired contradiction.
9. Let f : S 1 → R be a continuous map. Show that there exists a point x ∈ S 1 such that f (x) = f (−x).
Proof. Assume there is no such point. Then we can construct the (well-defined) map g : S 1 → S 0
given by g(x) := |ff (x)−f (−x)
(x)−f (−x)| . It is continuous and therefore its image should be connected, because
S 1 is connected. g(x) and g(−x) differ in sign for any x ∈ S 1 , so {−1, 1} is the image of g and
disconnected which gives us a contradiction.
Remark: This statement generalizes to the Borsuk-Ulam theorem.
10. Let f : [0, 1] → [0, 1] be a continuous map. Show that there exists a point x ∈ [0, 1] such that
f (x) = x.
Proof. Analogously to the previous exercise, assume there is no such point and define g : [0, 1] →
{−1, 1} given by g(x) := |ff (x)−x
(x)−x| . This map is well-defined and continuous. It is also surjective
because f (1) < 1 and f (0) > 0 and hence g(1) = −1 and g(0) = 1, which – as before – gives us a
contradiction.
Remark: This is a special case of the Brouwer fixed-point theorem.
11. Show that the finite union of compact subspaces of X is compact.
Sn
Proof. Let U be an open covering of X = i=1 Xi . It is also an open covering of the Xi . Com-
pactness gives us a finite subcollection Ũi for every i. Then the union of these families is a finite
subcover of X.
12. Show that every compact subspace Y of a metric space X is bounded with respect to the metric
and is closed.
Proof. Fix an y ∈ Y . Then {B(y, ε) ⊆ X : ε > 0} is an open cover of Y . From the compactness
property we know that there exists a finite subcover with say N sets and εmax the radius of the
largest ball. Then the diameter of Y is at most 2εmax . The fact that Y is also closed was proved
in Chapter 1.9.
13. Let A and B be disjoint compact subspaces of the Hausdorff space X. Show that there exist disjoint
open sets U and V in X such that A ⊆ U and B ⊆ V .
Proof. Recall that in the lecture we extracted the following property from the proof of the claim that
every compact subspace of a Hausdorff space is closed: If Y is a compact subspace of a Hausdorff
space X and x0 6∈ Y , then there exist disjoint open sets U and V of X containing Y and x0 ,
respectively. Apply this to the compact set A and SnB. Then {Vb } is an open cover of
Tnall points b in
B with
Tn finite subcover {V
Sn 1b , . . . , V bn }. The sets i=1 Ub i and i=1 Vbi are disjoint and open with
A ⊆ i=1 Ubi and b ⊆ i=1 Vbi
14. Let X be compact and Y be a Hausdorff space. If f : X → Y is a continuous map then f is a closed
map.
Proof. Let Z be a closed subset of X. From the lecture we know that it must be compact too.
Images of compact spaces under continuous maps are again compact, so f (Z) is compact. But that
means it is also closed, because Y is Hausdorff.
15. Show that if Y is compact, then the projection π1 : X × Y → X is a closed map.
Proof. Let Z ⊆ X × Y be closed and x ∈ X \ π(Z). For every y ∈ Y , we have that (x, y) ∈ / Z. The
set X \ Z is open, so we find basis sets Uy × Vy ⊆ X × Y \ Z that contain (x, y). The Sn sets Vy cover
the compact space Y , so there is a finite subfamily, say Vy1 , ..., Vyn such that YT= i=1 Vyi . Every
n
set Uyi × Vyi lies in X × Y \ Z, thus Uyi ∩ π(Z) = ∅. Hence the intersection i=1 Uyi is an open
neighbourhood of x that does not intersect π(Z), so π(Z) is closed.

9
16. Let f : X → Y be a continuous map with Y compact Hausdorff. Show that f is continuous if and
only if the graph of f
Gf := {(x, f (x)) : x ∈ X}
is a closed subset of X × Y .
Proof.
⇒ Let (x, y) ∈ (X × Y ) \ Gf . Then y 6= f (x) and therefore we can find disjoint open neigh-
bourhoods U 3 y, V 3 f (x). Define W := f −1 (V ). Then f (W ) ⊆ V ⊆ Y \ U and thus
W × U ∩ Gf = ∅. W × U is open, so we found an open neighbourhood of (x, y) in (X × Y ) \ Gf .
⇐ Now let Gf be closed and let V be an open set in Y . Then the intersection Gf ∩ X × (Y \ V )
is also closed. If we apply Exercise 3.15, we can deduce that π1 (Gf ∩ X × (Y \ V )) = {x ∈ X :
/ V } = X \ f −1 (V ) is closed and equivalently, that f −1 (V ) is open.
f (x) ∈

10