THE UNIVERSITY OF AKRON

The Department of Mathematical Sciences

Article: Miscellaneous Definitions
This article is the repository of all definitions that don’t seem to fit
elsewhere.

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Copyright c 1995–1997 D. P. Story

Last Revision Date: 4/18/1997
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 Miscellaneous Definitions
Table of Contents
1. Various Number Systems
• The Natural Numbers • The Integers • The Rational Num-
bers • The Real Numbers
2. Intervals
• Various Intervals • Partitioning an Interval
3. Functions
• Bounded Functions
1. Various Number Systems
In this section we give a brief discussion of the various number sys-
tems.

• The Natural Numbers

Definition 1.1. The set of natural numbers, denoted by N, is defined
to be
N = { 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . }.
The natural numbers are also known as the set of all positive integers.

• The Integers
Definition 1.2. The set of all integers, denoted by Z, is defined to
be
Z = { . . . , −4, −3, −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . }.

Thus, one might think of the integers, Z, as consisting of threee dis-

tinct parts: The positive integers, N, the set of all natural numbers;
Section 1: Various Number Systems

the negative integers, which could be though of as −N (the negation

of every number in N); and 0. Symbolically,
Z = −N ∪ {0} ∪ N.
That’s a nice formula.

• The Rational Numbers

Definition 1.3. A number, r, is a rational number if it is the ratio
of two integers; i.e. a rational number r has the form
p
r= p, q ∈ Z, q 6= 0.
q
The set of all rational numbers is denoted Q:
Q = { r | r is a rational number }.

• The Real Numbers

Section 1: Various Number Systems

Definition 1.4. An irrational number is a number that cannot be

expressed as the ratio of two integers. The set of all real numbers,
denoted R, is defined by
R = { x | x is either a rational or irrational number }.
In interval notation, R is written as
R = ( −∞, +∞ ).
Within the context of Analytic Geometry, R is also known as the
x-axis.
Section 2: Intervals

2. Intervals
• Various Intervals
Definition 2.1. An interval I is called an open interval if I does not
contain its endpoints.

Examples. There are two types: Intervals of finite length, and inter-
vals of infinite length.
Intervals of Finite Length: Let a < b be real numbers. Then
I = ( a, b ) = { x ∈ R | a < x < b }
is an open interval.
Intervals of Infinite Length: Let a ∈ R. Then each of the following are
open intervals.
( −∞, +∞ ) = { x ∈ R | −∞ < x < +∞ } = R
( −∞, a ) = { x ∈ R | −∞ < x < a }
( a, +∞ ) = { x ∈ R | a < x < +∞ }
Section 2: Intervals

Another important type of interval is the closed interval.

Definition 2.2. An interval I is called an closed interval if the end-

points of I belong to the interval.

Examples. A general example is, for a ≤ b,

I = [ a, b ] = { x ∈ R | a ≤ x ≤ b }
A particular example is [ 0, 1 ].
Symmetrical Intervals: An interval I of number is said to be symmet-
rical about the origin provided
x ∈ I =⇒ −x ∈ I.
Examples of symmetrical intervals are (−1, 1), [−3, 3], (−∞, ∞). The
intervals are not symmetrical about the origin: (−2, 3), [1, 2], [0, ∞).
Section 2: Intervals

• Partitioning an Interval
Definition 2.3. Let [ a, b ] be a closed interval. A partition, P , of
[ a, b ] is any finite subset of [ a, b ] that contains the numbers a and b.
Or, more symbolically, a finite set
P = { x0 , x1 , x2 , . . . , xn } (1)
is a partition of [ a, b ] provided P ⊆ [ a, b ] and a, b ∈ [ a, b ]. (Here,
n ∈ N.)
Definition Notes: The labeling used in (1) is the standard way of
symbolically writing the elements of a partition.
The elements of a partition are called partition points or nodes.
When we write the elements of a partition it is customary to
have them labeled such that
x0 < x1 < x2 < · · · < xn .
With the convention established in the previous point, and the
fact that a, b ∈ [ a, b ], it follows that x0 = a and xn = b. Thus,
a = x0 < x1 < x2 < · · · < xn = b
Section 2: Intervals

A visualization of a partition can be seen from the next diagram.

x0 x1 x2 x3 · · · xi−1 xi · · · · · · · · · xn
Partitioning Scheme
You can see from the chart above how the nodes partition, or subdi-
vide the interval into pieces.
If P is a partition as defined in (1), then the P also subdivides
the interval into subintervals. These subintervals, for example, are
used as a basis for the construction of the Definite Integral. The nodes
of the partition P are used as endpoints of these subintervals. Below is
a listing of the subinterval as well as the usual scheme for numbering
them.
First Sub-interval : I1 = [ x0 , x1 ].
Second Sub-interval : I2 = [ x1 , x2 ].
Third Sub-interval : I3 = [ x2 , x3 ].
Fourth Sub-interval : I4 = [ x3 , x4 ].
.. .. .. .. .. .. ..
. . . . . . .
Section 2: Intervals

The ith Sub-interval : Ii = [ xi−1 , xi ].

.. .. .. .. .. .. ..
. . . . . . .
th
The n Sub-interval : In = [ xn−1 , xn ].
From the above listing of the interval, it is clear the the partition,
as given in equation (1), subdivides the interval into n subintervals.
This is the significance of the natural number n in (1). You’ll note
that it takes n + 1 nodes to subdivide the interval [ a, b ] into n parts.
Finally, we note that the index variable, i, is used to manipulate
the various elements of a partition: For i = 1, 2, 3, . . . , n, the ith node
is xi and the ith subinterval is Ii = [ xi−1 , xi ]. The length of the ith
subinterval, Ii = [ xi−1 , xi ], is typically denoted by the symbol ∆xi .
The calculated length of the ith subinterval is given by the formula
∆xi = xi − xi−1 ,
which is nothing more than the value of the upper endpoint, xi , of
the ith subinterval minus the value of the lower endpoint, xi−1 of this
interval.
Section 2: Intervals

Example. Here is a simple example to illustrate. Let the interval

[ a, b ] be the [ 0,1 ]. The set
P = { 0, 13 , 12 , 34 , 1 } (2)
is a partition of the interval [ 0, 1 ] since P ⊆ [ 0, 1 ] and 0, 1 ∈ [ 0, 1 ]. A
natural question to ask is, “Where is all the elaborate label system?”
The labeling system is there, you just have to use it.
Let’s index the nodes:
x0 = 0. (x0 is always the left-hand endpoint.)
x1 = 13 .
x2 = 12 .
x3 = 34 .
x4 = 1. (The last node is always the right-hand endpoint.)
We can see now that n = 4. (The natural number n is the index
number of the right-hand endpoint; or more simply, n is one-less the
number of nodes in the partition—we have 5 nodes, so n must be 4.)
Section 2: Intervals

Thus, the partition P in equation (2) subdivides the interval [ 0, 1 ]

into n = 4 subintervals.
First Sub-interval : I1 = [ x0 , x1 ] = [ 0, 13 ].
Second Sub-interval : I2 = [ x1 , x2 ] = [ 13 , 12 ].
Third Sub-interval : I3 = [ x2 , x3 ] = [ 12 , 34 ].
Fourth Sub-interval : I4 = [ x3 , x4 ] = [ 34 , 1 ].
Lastly, the length of the 3rd subinterval is obtained by taking the
general formula
∆xi = xi − xi−1
and putting x = 3,
3 1
∆x3 = x3 − x2 = 4 − 2
= 14 .
Of course, in this simple example, we could have computed the length
of the 3rd subinterval by taking this interval I3 = [ 12 , 34 ], as computed
above, and calculated its length ∆x3 = 34 − 12 = 14 . The first method is
useful in abstract discussions, the latter is used for specific examples.
Section 3: Functions

3. Functions
• Bounded Functions
Definition 3.1. Let y = f (x) be a real-valued function having do-
main Dom(f ) ⊆ R. Let A ⊆ Dom(f ). We say that the function f is
bounded over the set A, if there is some number M > 0 such that
|f (x)| ≤ M for all x ∈ A. (1)
In this case, we say that M is a bound for f over A and that f is
bounded by M over the set A.
Definition Notes: Algebraically, the absolute inequality in (1) is equiv-
alent to
−M ≤ f (x) ≤ M for all x ∈ A.
In terms of geometry, if we were to draw the graph of f over
the set A, and draw the horizontal lines y = −M and y = M , then
the graph of f over the set A does not go below the horizontal line
y = −M and does not go above the horizontal line y = M .
Section 3: Functions

Or, said more simply, a function f is bounded over the set A if

the graph of f lies between two horizontal lines.
A function that is not bounded over a set A is said to be un-
bounded over that set.
It is convenient to create two related notions: bounded below
and bounded above. A function f is bounded below over A if there
exists a number m such that f (x) ≥ m, for all x ∈ A. A function f is
bounded above over A if there exists a number M such that f (x) ≤ M ,
for all x ∈ A.
The definition of boundedness can be rewritten: f is bounded
over the set A, if f is both bounded above and bounded below over the
set A.
Examples of Boundedness: The function f (x) = x2 is bounded over
the interval [ 0, 1 ]. Indeed, |f (x)| ≤ 1 for all x ∈ [ 0, 1 ]. We say, in this
case, that f is bounded above by 1, since f (x) ≤ 1 for all x ∈ [ 0, 1 ],
and bounded below be 0, since f (x) ≥ 0 for all x ∈ [ 0, 1 ]. The same
function f (x) = x2 is unbounded over the interval ( 0, +∞ ); however,
Section 3: Functions

over that interval, f is bounded below by 0 — it just doesn’t have an

upper bound over that interval.