BASIC CONCEPTS OF

TOPOLOGY

If a mathematician is forced to subdivide mathematics into several subject

areas, then topology / geometry will be one of them. In the first part of this
course we will discuss some of the characteristics that distinguish topology
from algebra and analysis.

Any calculus student has been exposed to continuous functions, limit, limit
point, closed set (which is a set containing all its limits points) open interval (
which is a set when it contains a point x also contains all points sufficiently
near to x.

Topology is exactly that area of mathematics which takes the concepts of

limit, limit point and continuity , gives them their most general meangful
rigorous definitions , and studies the consequences.

In this course , we shall see that the ideas of continuity and limits
presented here are the most fruitful generalizations of the ideas of continuity
and limits presented in the calculus book and the metric spaces and
topological spaces, which will be studied later are just the proper settings for a
study of these ideas. The branch of topology dealt with in chapter 1 is called
general topology .

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A- Topological spaces:
Definition 1.1:
Let X be a non-empty set. A collection  of subset of X is called a topology
on X if it meets the following requirements:
1. X and  belong to .
2. The intersection of any two sets in  belong to  ( i.e. finite intersection of sets).
3. The union of any number of sets in  belong to  .

A pair X,  , X is a non-empty set and  is a topology on X is called a

topological space.The members of  are called -open sets.

Example 1.2:
Let X  a, b, c, d, e and let
 1  X, , a, a, c, d, c, d, b, c, d, e

 2  X, , a, c, d, a, c, d, b, c, d

 3  X, , a, c, d, a, c, d, a, b, d, e

Then  1 is a topology on X , while  2 is not a topology on X since
a, c, d  b, c, d  a, b, c, d ∉  2 .
Also  3 is not a topology on X since
a, c, d ∩ a, b, d, e  a, d ∉  3 .

Remark :We can define more than one topology on X.

Example 1.3:
Let X  a, b, c , and
D  X, , a, b, c, a, b, a, c, b, c
i.e. D is the power set of X. Then X, D is a toplogical space and is called
Discrete topological space.

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Example 1.4:
Let X be any non-empty set, and I  X, .
Then X, I ) is a topological space which is called indiscrete topology.

Example 1.5:
Let X be any infinite set and
  u ⊆ X : u c is finite  .
Show that (X ,  ) is a topological space which is called cofinite topology.

Solution :
1. Since X c  finite  X ∈ . By given  ∈  .Hence X ,  ∈  .

2. Let u 1 , u 2 ∈   u c1 and u c2 are finite sets.We want to prove that u 1 ∩ u 2 ∈  i.e. (u 1 ∩

u 2  c is finite.Consider

u 1 ∩ u 2  c  u c1  u c2 is finite  u1 ∩ u2 ∈ 

3. We want to show that  i∈I u i ∈  where u i  is any class of members of . i.e.  i u i  c

is finite.Consider

 i u i  c  ∩ i∈I u ci which is finite.

 X,  is a topological space.

Example 1.6:
Let X  a, b, c, d and
 1  X, , a, b ,  2  X, , c
Then  1 ,  2 are topology on X. Consider  1   2  X, , a, b, c

  1   2 is not a topology on X.
Remark :Union of topologies need not be a topology.

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Theorem 1.7:
Let  1 ,  2 be two topologies on X. Then  1 ∩  2 is also a topology on X.

Proof :
1. Since X ,  ∈  1 , and X ,  ∈  2  X,  ∈  1 ∩  2 .

2. Let u 1 and u 2 ∈  1 ∩  2  u 1 , u 2 ∈  1 and u 1 , u 2 ∈  2  u 1 ∩ u 2 ∈  1 and u 1 ∩ u 2 ∈

2  u1 ∩ u2 ∈ 1 ∩ 2.

3. Let {u i } be any class of members of  1 ∩  2  {u i } ∈  1 and {u i } ∈  2 .

  i∈I u i ∈  1 and  i∈I u i ∈  2   i∈I u i ∈  1 ∩  2 .
Hence  1 ∩  2 is a topology on X.

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B-TOPOLOGICAL SUBSPACES:
Definition 1.8:
Let X,  be a topological space. Let A be a non empty subset of X. A
relative topology on A is defined to be the class of all intersections of A with
open subsets of X. i.e.
 A  v  A ∩ u : u ∈ .
Then  A is a topology on A, A, A ) is called a topological subspace of
X, .

Example 1.9:
Let X  a, b, c, d, e, and A  a, d, e.Let
  X, , a, c, d, a, c, d, b, c, d, e.
Then clearly X,  is a topological space. Find A, A  ?

Solution :

X ∩ A  A,  ∩ A   , a ∩ A  a, c, d ∩ A  d,

a, c, d ∩ A  a, d, b, c, d, e ∩ A  d, e.
 A  A, , a, d, a, d, d, e

Example 1.10:
Let X  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and let A  2, 3, 4.Define
  X, , 1, 2, 4, 5, 1, 2, 4, 5.
Then  A  A, , 2, 4, 2, 4 which is a topology on A.

Example 1.11:
Let X, D, X, I be two topological spaces mentioned in examples 1.3, 1.4
respectively then:
1. Every topological subspace of discrete topological space is discrete.
2. Every topological subspace of indiscrete topological space is indiscrete.

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Example 1.12:
Let X  1, 2, 3 , and X, D be a discrete topological space. i.e.
D  X, , 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 1, 3, 2, 3
Let A  1, 3, find D A ?
D A  A, , 1, 3.
Then A, D A  is a discrete topological space.

Example 1.13:
Let X  1, −1, i, −i, and A  i, −i, 1.Let
  X,  , i, −i, i, −i.
Then (X,  is a topological space.
Let
 A  A, , i, −i, i, −i and  ′A  A, , i, −i.
Then  A ,  ′A both are topology on A. But  A is a topological subspace of ,
while  ′A is not a topological subspace of  because its members are not the
intersections of members of .

Theorem 1.14:
Let (X, be a topological space. Let A be a non-empty subset of X. Define
 A  v : v  A ∩ u : u ∈ 
Then A,  A ) is a topological space which is called a topological subspace of
X, .( A is a relative topology).

Proof :
1. ∵ X,  ∈  , then A ∩ X  A, A ∩     A,  ∈  A .

2. Let v 1 , v 2 ∈  A  v 1  A ∩ u 1 and v 2  A ∩ u 2 where u 1 , u 2 ∈ .

Consider
 v 1 ∩ v 2  A ∩ u 1  ∩ A ∩ u 2   A ∩ u 1 ∩ u 2   A ∩ u 3
 v1 ∩ v2 ∈ A.

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3. Let v i  i∈I be a class of members of  A then, v i  A ∩ u i for some u i ∈ 

  i∈I v i   i∈I A ∩ u i   A ∩  i∈I u i 

  i∈I v i ∈  A  A,  A ) is a topological space .

Remark :Every  ≠ A ⊆ X of a topological space can be given relative topology and

hence can be considered as a topology of (X, ).

Definition 1.15:
1. Let  1 ,  2 be topologies on a non-empty set X. If each  1 - open subset of X is also a  2
-open subset of X , i.e.  1 ⊆  2 , then  1 is said to be coarser (weaker) or smaller than
 2 , and  2 is called finer (larger) than  1 .

2. Two topologies on X are called incomparable if neither is coarser than the other .

Example 1.16 :
Let X  a, b, c,
 1  X, , a, b,  2  X, , a, b, b, c, b
Then  1 ,  2 are two topologies on X.
∵ each member of  1 is contained in  2 thus  1 ⊆  2 and  2 is a finer
than  1 , or  1 is a coarser than  2 .

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C- Open sets and closed sets
Definition 1.17:
1. Let (X, ) be a topological space a subset u ⊆ X is said to be open iff u ∈  .

2. A subset A ⊆ X is called closed set if its complement A c ∈  .

Example 1.18 :
Let X  a, b, c, d, e and
  X, , a, c, d, a, c, d, b, c, d, e
then ( X, ) is a topological space.
X, , a, c, d, a, c, d, b, c, d, e are open sets.

, X, b, c, d, e, a, b, e, b, e, a are closed sets.

Remark 1.19 :
1. X,  always open and closed .
2. There are subset which are both open and closed as b, c, d, e.
3. There are subset which are neither open nor closed as a, b.

Remark 1. 20 :
1. In a discrete topological space , every subset of X are both open and closed .
2. In an indiscrete topological space, every subsets other than X,  are neither open nor
closed.

Remark 1.21 :
Definition 1.1 , now can be considered as follows:
1. X, are open sets.
2. Intersection of any two open sets is also open.
3. Union of any number of open sets is also open.

Remark Therefore to give topology to X means to define open sets in X.

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Theorem 1. 22 :
Let ( X, ) be a topological space then the collection of closed sets G has
the following properties:
1. The intersection of any number of closed sets is closed .
2. The union of any two closed sets is closed.
3. X and  are closed sets.

Proof :
1. Let A i : i ∈ I be any member of closed sets belong to G (collection of closed sets).To
show that ∩ i∈I A i is closed , we have to show that its complement is open i.e. ∩ i∈I A i  c
is open ?? Consider
∩ i∈I A i  c   i∈I A ci
∵ each A i is closed  each A ci is open
∵ ( X, ) is a topological space   i∈I A ci is open.
Then ∩ i∈I A i is closed .

2 Let A i , A j be any two closed sets. Then A ci and A cj are two open sets.
∵ ( X, ) is a topological space  A ci ∩ A cj is open
 A i  A j  c  A ci ∩ A cj is open.
 A i  A j is closed .

3. ∵ X,  are open  X c and  c are closed   and X are closed.

Remark :Let (R,) be usual topology . Then all open intervals are open sets .All closed
intervals are closed sets.

Definition 1.23:
Let (X,) be a topological space. A point p ∈ X is an accumulation point
or limit point (cluster or derived point ) of a subset A of X iff every open set u
contains a point of A different from p.i.e.,
∀u ∈  open, p ∈ u  u − p ∩ A ≠ .
The set of accumulation points of A , denoted by A ′ , is called the
derived set of A.

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Example 1.24:
Let X  a, b, c, d, e.Define
  X, , a, c, d, a, c, d, b, c, d, e.
Consider the subset A  a, b, c of X. Find the derived set of A.

Solution :
- a is not a limit point of A since a ∈ aand a − a ∩ A  .
- b is a limit point of A, since the open sets containing b are X and
b, c, d, e.
Hence
X − b ∩ a, b, c  c, d, e ≠ 

b, c, d, e − b ∩ a, b, c  c ≠ .
- c is not a limit point ,while d, e are limit points  A ′  b, d, e.

Example 1.25:
Let X  a, b, c, I  X, , then

 if A  
A′  X − p if A  p
X if A contains two or more points

Definition 1.26:
Let (X,) be a topological space, and A ⊆ X. The closure of A denoted by
Ā defined to be the intersection of all closed supersets of A.i.e. iff Fi, i ∈ I
is the class of all closed subsets containing A, then the closure of A is
Ā  ∩ i F i : A ⊂ F i , i ∈ I.

Remark :
1. Ā is a closed set.
2. Ā is the smallest closed set containing A.

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Example 1.27:
Let X  a, b, c, d, e and
  X, , a, c, d, a, c, d, b, c, d, e
Take A  b. Find the closure of A ?
The closed sets are :
, X, b, c, d, e, a, b, e, b, e, a.

All closed sets containing A are :

X, b, c, d, e, a, b, e, b, e.
Therefore
Ā  X ∩ b, c, d, e ∩ a, b, e ∩ b, e  b, e.
 Ā  b  b, e.

Similarly the closure of B  a, c is B  a, c  X.

The closure of b, d  b, c, d, e.

Theorem 1.28:
Let(X,) be a topological space and A ⊂ X. Then
A is closed  AĀ

Proof :
() Suppose A is closed. Then by the definition of the closure , Ā is the
smallest closed set containing A .
 A⊂Ā (1)
it remains to show that Ā ⊂ A.
Let x ∈ Ā  x ∈ Ā  ∩F i , i ∈ I, where F i  is the class of all closed
subsets containing A. But A is closed  A is one of F i
x∈AĀ⊂A (2)
Thus Ā  A.

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 () Conversely , let A  Ā . Since Ā is closed  A is closed.

D- Interior, Exterior and Boundary

Definition 1.29:
1. Let A be a subset of a topological space X. A point p ∈ A is called an interior point of A
if p belongs to an open set u ∈  contained in A.
i.e . p ∈ u ⊂ A u is open.

The set of interior points of A, denoted by A ∘ or intA .

2. The exterior of A,denoted by extA is the interior of the complement of A i.e.

extA  intA c .

3. The boundary of A ,denoted by bA is the set of points which do not belong to the
interior or the exterior of A.

Example 1.30
Consider the four intervals a, b, a, b, a, b and a, b. The interior of
each intervals a, b and the boundary of each is a, b .

Example 1.31:
Let X  a, b, c, d, eand
  X, , a, c, d, a, c, d, b, c, d, e
Take A  b, c, d then:
A ∘  c, d
since c ∈ c, d ⊂ b, c, d and d ∈ c, d ⊂ b, c, d.
extA  intA c   inta, e  a
since a ∈ a ⊂ a, e.
bA  b, e

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Theorem 1.32:
1. The interior of a set A is the union of all open subset of A.That is if G i  is the class of
open subset of A then A ∘   i G i .
2. The interior of A is open i.e A ∘ is open .
3. A ∘ is the largest open subset of A.That is if G is an open subset of A then G ⊂ A ∘ ⊂ A.
4. A is open  A  A ∘

Proof :
1. Let G i  be the class of open subsets of A.
Let x ∈ A ∘  x ∈ G i ∘ ⊂ A  x ∈  i G i  A ∘ ⊂  i G i .
Let x ∈  i G i  x ∈ G i ∘ ⊂ A  x is an interior point
 x ∈ A∘  i Gi ⊂ A∘
Hence A ∘   i G i .

2. A ∘ is open ,since A ∘ is a union of open subset of A.

3. Let G be an open subset of A. Then G ∈ G i  i.e. G belong to the class of all open subset
of A.  G ⊂  i G  G ⊂ A ∘ ⊂ A.

4. Let A be an open set ,then by 3 , A ⊂ A ∘ ⊂ A  A ∘  A

If A  A ∘  A is open.

Example 1.33:
Let X  R (real number) .Then every open intervals a, b of real numbers
is an open set Let  be the class of all open sets of real numbers .Then(R,) is
a topology which is called a usual topology on R.

Solution :
1. R ,  are open sets  R,  ∈ .

2. Let u, v ∈   u, v are open setevery point in u and v is an interior point we have to

show u ∩ v is open i.e (every point in u ∩ v is an interior point ).
Let p ∈ u ∩ v  p ∈ u and p ∈ v 
∃ open intervals u 1 , v 1 s.t. p ∈ u 1 ⊂ u ∧ p ∈ v 1 ⊂ v

 p ∈ w ⊂ u∩v where w  u 1 ∩ v 1   u ∩ v ∈ .

3. Let u i  be a class of members of , we want to show that  i∈I u i ∈ .

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 Let p ∈  i∈I u i 
∃ u∘ ∈  s.t. p ∈ u∘

 ∃ S p s.t. p ∈ S p ⊂ u ∘ ⊂ u i
Therefore u i is open.
Hence (R,) is a topology .

Example 1.34:
An open disc D in the plane R 2 is the set of points inside a circle
D  x, y : x − a 2  y − b 2  r 2 
 x, y : dp, q  r
where p  x, y, q  a, b ∈ R 2 and dp, q denoted the usual distance
between two points p, q ∈ R 2 .
Let  the class of all open discs in the plane R 2 . Then(R 2 ,) is a
topology which is called the usual topology on R 2 .

Solution :
1. R 2 ,  are open subsets of R 2 .

2. Let D 1 and D 2 be two open discs say

D 1  q ∈ R 2 : dp 1 , q  r 1  and D 2  q ∈ R 2 : dp 2 , q  r 2 

Then D 1 ∩ D 2 is also an open set .
Let p 0 ∈ D 1 ∩ D 2  p 0 ∈ D 1 ∧ p0 ∈ D2
 dp 1 , p 0   r 1 , dp 2 , p 0   r 2
Let
r  minr 1 − dp 1 , p 0 , r 2 − dp 2 , p 0   0
and let
D  q ∈ R 2 : dp 0 , q   r/2
Then p 0 ∈ D ⊂ D 1 ∩ D 2 . Thus p 0 is the interior point of D 1 ∩ D 2 .
Therefore D 1 ∩ D 2 is open .

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3. Let A be a class of open subsets of R 2 and let
U  u : u ∈ A
We want to show that every point of U is an interior point.
Let p ∈ U  ∃ u 0 ∈ A s.t. p ∈ u 0 .
But u 0 is an open set  ∃ an open disc D p s.t. p ∈ D p ⊂ u 0
 p ∈ D p ⊂ u 0 ⊂ u : u ∈ A  U.
Thus U is open.
Hence R 2 ,  is a topology .

Theorem 1.35:
Let X,   be a topological space A ⊂ X .Then
A is closed  A′ ⊂ A
Proof :
  Suppose A is closed and A ′ ⊈ A .
Then
∃ p ∈ A ′ s.t. p ∉ A  p ∈ Ac
But A is closed  A c is open . Hence
p ∈ A c s.t. A c ∩ A  .
 p is not a limit point of A (i.e.) p ∉ A ′ →← .
Hence if A is closed  A ′ ⊂ A.

  Conversly let A ′ ⊂ A we have to show that A is closed (i.e.) A c is

open .
To prove that A c is open it is enough to show that if p ∈ A c is an arbitrary
point, then p is an interior point of A c .
Let p ∈ A c  p ∉ A , but A ′ ⊂ A  p ∉ A ′
 ∃ an open set G s.t.
p∈G and G − p ∩ A  .
But p ∉ A  G ∩ A  .So p ∈ G ⊂ A c . Thus p is an interior point of
Ac
 A c is open  A is closed .

19
Theorem 1.36:
Let X,   be a topological space .Prove the following :
′
1. A ⊂ B  A ⊂ B′.
2. A  A ′ is closed .
3. A  A  A′.
4. A ⊂ B  A ⊂ B.

Proof :
1. A ⊂ B  A ′ ⊂ B ′ .
Let p ∈ A ′  ∃ an open set G s.t. G − p ∩ A ≠ .
But
A ⊂ B  G − p ∩ A ⊂ G − p ∩ B
 G − p ∩ B ≠ .
Thus p ∈ B ′  A ′ ⊂ B ′ .

2. A  A ′ is closed .
To show that A  A ′ is closed we have to prove that A  A ′  c is open
.i.e., very point of A  A ′  c is an interior point.
Let p ∈ A  A ′  c
 p ∉ A  A′  p ∉ A ∧ p ∉ A′
 ∃ an open set G s.t.
p ∈ G, G − p ∩ A  .
But p ∉ A  G ∩ A  .
Moreover ,G ∩ A ′  . for if g ∈ G , then
g ∈ G : G ∩ A  .  g ∉ A /  G ∩ A /  .
Hence G ∩ A  G ∩ A ′  .
Accordingly,
G ∩ A  A ′   G ∩ A  G ∩ A ′   .
 p ∈ G ⊂ A  A ′  c . Thus p is an interior point  A  A ′  c is open
 A  A ′ is closed .

20
3. Ā  A  A ′
We have to show that Ā ⊂ A  A ′ and A ′  A ⊂ Ā.
By (2) ,since A  A ′ is closed containing A and Ā is the smallest closed
set containing A, then
A ⊂ Ā ⊂ A  A′ (1)
By the defintion of the closure we have A ⊂ Ā. Since Ā is closed ,
then by Theorem 1.35,
′
Ā  ⊂ Ā
Also, by (1),
′
A⊂Ā  A ′ ⊂ Ā 
Hence we get

′
A ′ ⊂ Ā  ⊂ Ā , A ⊂ Ā and A ′ ⊂ Ā  A  A ′ ⊂ Ā (2)
Therefore Ā  A  A ′ .

4. A ⊂ B  Ā ⊂ B̄
A ⊂ B  A ′ ⊂ B ′   A  A ′  ⊂ B  B ′   Ā ⊂ B̄ .

21
E- Neighborhood and Neighborhood
System
Definition 1.37:
1. Let X,  be a topological space , p ∈ X , a subset N of X is called a neighborhood of p iff
∃ u∈ s.t. p ∈ u ⊆ N.

Notation :(N is a neighborhood of p) is a reverse of the relation (p is the interior point of N)

The class of all neighborhoods of p ∈ X denoted by N p is called the

neighborhood system of p.

Example 1.38:
Let X  a, b, c and
  X, , b, b, c.
Find the neighborhood system of all points of X?

Solution :
1. Since a ∈ X ⊆ X , then N a  X

2. Since b ∈ X ⊆ X, b ∈ b ⊆ a, b , b ∈ b ⊆ b, c , b ∈ b ⊆ b, then

N b  X, b, b, c, a, b

3. Since c ∈ X ⊆ X, c ∈ b, c ⊆ b, c, then

N c   X, b, c

Remark 1.39:
1. In the indiscrete topological space, each point has a single neighborhood which is the set
X itself.
2. A neighborhood of a point may not be an open set.
3. The definition of a neighborhood enables us any one who knows all the open sets in a
topological space to recognise neighborhoods.
4. Open sets determine neighborhoods and conversely.

22
Theorem 1.40:
Let X,  be a topological space. Then a subset A ⊆ X is open  A is a
neighborhood of each of its points.

Proof :
() Suppose A is an open set. Then
∀ p∈A : p∈A⊆A
Therefore A is a neighborhood of each its point.

() Suppose A is a neighborhood of each of its points. So for each point

p ∈ A,
∃ an open set u p s.t. p ∈ u p ⊆ A
Therefore p is an interior point of A  A is open.

Theorem 1.41:
Let X,  be a topolgical space.Then
1. Each x ∈ X has a neighborhood.
2. If A, B are neighborhoods of p, then A ∩ B is neighborhood of p.
3. If A is a neighborhood of p and A ⊆ B, then B is a neighborhood of p.

Proof :
1. Since X is open, then x ∈ X ⊆ X  X is a neighborhood of each point.

2. Since A, B are neighborhoods of p, 

∃ u 1 , u 2 ∈  s.t. p ∈ u 1 ⊆ A, and p ∈ u 2 ⊆ B

 p ∈ u 1 ∩ u 2 ⊆ A ∩ B where u 1 ∩ u 2 is open
Thus A ∩ B is a neighborhood of p.

3. Since A is a neighborhood of p

 ∃ u ∈  s.t. p ∈ u ⊆ A
But A ⊆ B ,

23
  p∈u⊆A⊆B
Thus B is a neighborhood of p.

24
 PROBLEMS (I)
1. Let R be the set of real numbers. A subset u ⊆ R is called usual open if the following is
satisfied :
∀ x ∈ u ∃ an open interval x − , x   where   0 s.t . x
x − , x   ⊆ u
Let  R consists of  and all usual open subsets of R .
Prove that R,  R  is a topological space .

2. List all topologies on X  a, b .

3. Let  be a topology on a set X consisting of four sets , i.e.   X, , A, B

where A,B are non-empty distinct proper subsets of X. What conditions
must A and B satisfy.

4. List all topologies on X  a, b, c which consists of exactly four members . (use problem
3)

5. Let f : X  Y be a function from a non-empty set X into a topological space Y,  2 .

Let  1  f −1 G : G   2  .Show that X,  1  is a topological space .

6. Consider the following topology on X  a, b, c, d, e

  X, , a, a, b, a, c, d, a, b, c, d, a, b, e
List the members of the relative topology  A on A  a, c, e .

7. Consider the usual topology  on the real line R which is discribed in pro. 1 .
Describe the relative topology  N where N ⊆ R is a natural numbers .

8. Let A be a -open subset of X,  and let A ⊂ Y ⊂ X .Show that A is also open relative
to the relative topology on Y .i.e. A   Y .

9. Consider the usual topology  on the real line R. Determine whether or not each of the
following subsets of A  0, 1 are open relative to A .
i 1/2, 1 ii 1/2, 2/3 iii 0, 1/2.

10. Prove that the closure operater has the following properties :
1. ̄ 

2. A⊂A
3. AB  AB

25
4. A  A .

11. Prove that the interior operator has the following properties :
1. X o  X
2. A o ⊂ A
3. A ∩ B o  A o ∩ B o
4. A o  o  A o .

12. Let A be any set , for each p A , let u p be a subset of A such that
pu p ⊂ A
Then A  u p : p A .

13. Consider the topology

  X, , a, a, b, a, c, d, a, b, c, d, a, b, e
on X  a, b, c, d, e .Find the derived sets of
i A  c, d, e
ii B  b .

14. Let A , B be subsets of a topological space X,  . Then A  B ′  A ′  B ′ .

15. Consider the following topology on X  a, b, c, d, e

  X, , a, a, b, a, c, d, a, b, c, d, a, b, e
i List the closed subsets of X .
ii Find the closure of a, b, c, e .
iii Which sets in ii are dense in X .
iv Find the interior points of A  a, b, c .
v Find ext A and bA .
vi List all the neighborhood systems of every point of X .

16. Determine the neighborhood system of a point p in an indiscrete space X .

17. Determine whether or not each of the following intervals is a neighborhood of 0 under
the usual topology for the real line R .

a −1/2, 1/2, b −1, 0, c 0, 1/2, d 0, 1

Definition :A subset A is said to be dense in X if Ā  X .

26
27
A- Basis
For each of the examples in the preceding chapter , we were able to specify
the topology by discribing the entire collection  of open sets. Usually, this is
too difficult. In most cases one specifies instead a smaller collection of
subsets of X and defines the topology in terms of that.

Definition 2.1:
Let X,  be a topological space. A class  of open subsets of X , i .e.,
 ⊂  , is a base for the topology  iff :
Every open set u ∈  is the union of members of .
u  B  , u ∈ , B  ∈ .

Equivalently,  ⊂  is a base for  iff for any point p ∈ u there exists

B p ∈  s.t. p ∈ B p ⊂ u .

Example 2.2:
let X  a, b, c, d, e, and let
  X, , a, b , c, d , a, b, c, d  
Then X,   is a topology . Let
  X, , a, b , c, d 
a subcollection of . Then  is a base for .

Solution :
 is a base for , since every member in  is a union of members of , for

X  X  ,     ,  a, b  a, b  a, b

c, d  c, d  c, d a, b, c, d  a, b  c, d .

Example 2.3:
let R,   be a usual topoplogy ,where R is a real line. Let  be a
collection of
open intervals . Then  forms a base for R,   .

28
Solution :
Let u ⊂ R be open with p ∈ u ⊂ R . Then by definition ∃ open interval
a, b 
s.t. p ∈ a, b  ⊂ u . Thus  is a base .

Example 2.4 : (Topology of the plane)

An open disc D in the plane R 2 is the set of point inside a circle , with
center p  a 1, a 2  and radius r  0
D  x, y  : x − a 1  2  y − a 2  2  r 2 
Then the class u of all open discs in the plane R 2 is a topology which is
called the usual topology on R 2 .Thus the open discs form a base for the
usual topology on the plane R 2 .

Example 2.5 :
The open rectangles in the plane R 2 bounded by sides parallel to the x −
axis and y − axis , form a base  for the usual topology on R 2 .

Solution :
let u ⊂ R 2 be an open set and p ∈ u.Then by definition of open set ∃
open disc
D p centered at p, s.t, p ∈ D p ⊂ u . Then any rectangle B ∈  whose
vertices lie on the boundary of D p satisfies
p ∈ B ⊂ Dp ⊂ u  p ∈ B ⊂ Dp

Thus  form a base for the usual topology on R 2 .

29
Example 2.6 :
Consider a discrete topology on X  a, b, c, 
D  X, , a, b, c, a, b, a, cb, c.
Then   a, b, c is a base for this topology .

Solution :

  B i , i ∈  , X  a  b  c, a  a  a,

b  b  b , c  c  c, a, b  a  b,

a, c  a  c , b, c  b  c .

Thus  form a base for discrete topology .

Remark :
For any discrete topology X, D ,   p : ∈ x of all singleton
subsets of X is a base for X, D .

In the following example we show that there may be more then one base
for a given topology .

Example 2.7 :
Consider the following topology on X  a, b, c, d, e
  X, , a, a, d, c, b, c, a, b, c, d, c, d, e, b, c, d, e .
Then the following
 1  , a, b, c, b, c, d, e, d, e, d, c

 2  , a, b, c, d, e, d, c .

form basis for X,   , where  2 ⊂  1 .

Given a class  of subsets of X ,when will  be a base for some topology

on X ? Clearly , X   B : B ∈   is necessary for X is an open set in every

30
 topology . The following example shows that other conditions are also
needed .

Example 2.8 :
Consider the following topology on X  a, b, c
  X, , a, b, b, cb
and the following class of sets
   a, b, b, c 
Then this class cannot be a base of X, for
a, b ∩ b, c  b
which is open in X and is not a union of any members of .

Theorem 2.9 :
Let  be a class of subsets of a non-empty set X . Then  is a base for
some topology on X iff it possesses the following two properties :
1. X  B : B ∈ 
2. For any B 1 , B 2 ∈ , B 1 ∩ B 2 is the union of members of B. or equivalently
If p ∈ B 1 ∩ B 2  ∃ B p ∈  s.t .
p ∈ Bp ⊂ B1 ∩ B2 .

Corollary 2.10:
Let X be a set,  be a basis for a topolgy  on X. Then  collection of
unions of elements of .

Example 2.11 :
let  be the class of open - closed intervals in the real line R.
 a, b  : a, b ∈ R, ab
Then  is a base for the topology on R .

Solution :
1. X  R   a, b : a, b ∈   .
2. The intersection of two members of  is

31
 a, b ∩ c, d   or a, b ∩ c, d  c, b
Which in either cases a union of members of  .Therefore  form a base .
Thus the class  consisting of union of open -closed intervals is a topology
on R, which is called upper limit topology on R .

Similarly , the class  ∗  a, b : a, b ∈ R a  b  form a base for a

topology  ∗ on R which is called lower limit topology on R.

32
B- Subbasis
A question may occur to you at this point, since the topology generated by
a base  may be described as the collection of arbitrary unions of elements of
 what happens if you start with a given collection of sets and take finite
intersections of them as well as arbitrary unions? This question leads to the
notion of a Subbase for a topology.

Definition 2.12 :
Let X,   be a topological space. A class S of open subset of , i.e.,
S ⊂  is a subbase
for the topolgy  on X iff finite intersection of members of S form a
base for  .

Example : 2.13 :
Let X  a, b, c, d, e and
  X, , a, b, ca, b, c, b, c, d, ed, e, a, d, e.
Then X,   is a topology on X.
Let
S  a, a, b, c, b, c, d, e, a, d, e.
Then S is subbase for  .

Solution :
The finite intersection of memebers of S are
  a, , b, c, a, d, e a, b, c, b, c, d, e, d, e.
We have to prove that  is a base for .
Since
1. X  B : B ∈   a  b, c  a, b, c  ......d, e
2. Any two members of , their intersection is a union of members of , example
a, b, c ∩ b, c, d, e  b, c  b, c  b, c
and so on .Hence  is a base  S is a subbase for  .

33
Example 2.14
Let R,   be a usual topology i.e. R is a real line and  be the class of all
open intervals of real members .
Let S   collection of all intervals of the form a,   and − , b .
Then S is a subbase for the usual topology on R .

Solution :
The finite intersection of a,   ∩ − , b is a, b   a,   ∩ − , b .
By example 2.3, the collection of open interval a, b  form a base for the
usual topology . Hence S is a subbase for  .

Example 2.15:
let R 2 ,   be a usual topology . i.e R 2 is a plane and  be the class of all
open discs in the plane R 2 .
Let S  vertical and horizontal infinite open strip in the plane R 2 .
Then S is a subbase for the usual topology on R 2 .

Solution :
The finite intersection of a vertical and horizontal infinite open strip is on
open rectangle which form a base (see ex 2.5) . Hence S is a subbase .

34
C- Topologies Genarated by classes of
sets

Definition :
let A be any class of subset of a non-empty set X . As we seen , A may
not be a base for a topolgy on X . However A always generates a topology on
X.
Theorem 2.16:
Any class A of subsets of a non-empty set X is a subbase for a unique
topology  on X. That is finite intersections of members of A form a base for
the topology  on X.

Example 2.17:
Let X  a, b, c, d and S   a, b, b, c, d 

finite intersection union of

S    
of members of S members of 

Finite intersection of members of S gives the class

  X, , a, b, b, b, c, d
Taking unions of members of  gives the class
  X, , a, b, b, c, b, d, b, d, a, b, db, c, d, a, b, c.
It is easy to check that  is a topology on X .

35
 PROBLEMS (II)

1. Show that the class of open equilateral triangles form a base for the usual topology R 2 .

2. Consider the upper limit topolgy  on the real line R which has as a base the class of open
- closed interval a, b. Show that
(i) 4,  and − , 2 are  − open sets .
(ii) Any a,  and − , b are  − open sets .
(iii) a, b is both  − open and  − closed .

3. Let X  a, b, c, d, e and let A   a, b, c, c, d, d, e  . Find the topology generated
by A .

4. Detrmine the topology  on the real line R generated by the class A of all closed intervals
a, a  1 with length 1.

5. Consider the discrete topology D on X  a, b, c, d, e. Find a subbase S for D which
does not contain any singleton sets .

6. Let S be a subbase for a topology  on X , and let A ⊆ X . Show that the class
S A  A ∩ S : S ∈ S 
is a subbase for the relative topology A,  A  .

36
 Continuity in Topological Space
The concept of continuous function is a basic to much of mathematics.
Continuous functions on the real line appear in any calculus book, and
continuous functions in the plane and in space follow not far behind. More
general kinds of continuous functions arise as one goes further in
mathematics. In this chapter, we shall formulate a definition of continuity that
will include all these as special cases; and we shall study various properties of
continuous functions. Many of these properties are direct generalizations of
things you learned about continuous functions in calculus and analysis.

Definition 3.1:
Let (X, 1 ) and (Y,  2 ) be topological spaces . A function f : X  Y is
continuous relative to  1 and  2 , or  1 −  2 continuous,or simply
continuous, iff the inverse image of every open set of Y is a  1 −open set of
X. i.e.,
∀ H ∈  2  f −1 H ∈  1

Example 3.2 :
Consider the following topologies  1 ,  2 on X  a, b, c, d and
Y  x, y, z, w respectively:
 1  X, , a, a, b, a, b, c,

 2  Y, , x, y, x, y, y, z, w

Define f : X → Y, g : X → Y by the following diagram :

−1 −1 −1 −1 −1
f −1  2   f −1 Y, f , f x, f y, f x, y, f y, z, w
 X, , a

37
 then the inverse image of every open set in  2 is open in X relative to
 1  f is a continuous function .
g −1  2   X, , a, b, c, d
but c, d is not open in  1  g is not a continuous function .

Example 3.2 :
Let X, D be discrete topological space, and Y,  be any topological
−1
space.Then any function f : X → Y is continuous , since if H ∈   f H
is an open subset of X , because all subsets of X belong to discrete topology .

Example 3.3 :
Let X,  be any topological space and Y, I be an indiscrete topological
−1
space , then any function f : X → Y is continuous ,since f Y  X and
−1
f    which are open .

Example 3.4 :
Let f : X → Y where X and Y are topological space , and let  be a base for
−1
the topology on Y .Suppose for each member B ∈  , f B is an open
subset of X .Then f is a continuous function .

Solution :
Let H be an open subset of Y . Since  is base for the topology on Y , then
H  i Bi , Bi ∈ 
Consider
−1 −1 −1
f H  f  i B i    i f B i 

−1 −1 −1
But each f B i  is open   i f B i  is open. Hence f H is
open .Accordingly , f is continuous .

Corollary 3.5 :
A function is f : X → Y continuous  the inverse of each member of a
base  for Y is an open subset of X.

38
Theorem 3.6 :
Let f : X,  1  → Y,  2  ,and let S be a subbase for the topology  2 on Y
.Then f is continuous  the inverse of every member of the subbase S is an
−1
open subset of X; i.e. f S ∈  1 for every S ∈ S .

Proof :
 Suppose f is continuous , then the inverse of all open sets , including
the member of S are open .

39
 −1
 Suppose f S ∈  1 for every S ∈ S .We want to show that f is
continuous , i.e. if
−1
G ∈ 2  f G ∈  1 ??
Let G ∈  2 ,then finite intersections of members of S gives a base ,i.e.,
S 1 ∩ S 2 ∩ ......... ∩ S n ∈ 
Then every element of  2 is a union of members of . i.e.,
G   i S i 1 ∩ S i 2 ∩ ...... ∩ S i n  , S ik ∈ S

−1 −1
f G  f S i 1 ∩ S i 2 ∩ ...... ∩ S i n 
−1 −1 −1
  i f S i 1  ∩ f S i 2  ∩ ...... ∩ f S i n 
−1
f  S i k  is open in  1  finite intersection ∈  1  arbitrary union of
−1
finite intersection f G ∈  1 .

Theorem 3.7 :
A function f : X → Y is continuous iff the inverse image of every closed
subset of Y is a closed subset of X .

Proof ::
 Suppose f is a continouous function ,and let F be a closed subset of
Y.
 F c is open subset of Y
−1
 f −1 F c   f F c is open subset of X
 f −1 F is a closed subset of X.

−1
 Conversely , suppose F is a closed subset of Y  f Fis closed in
X.
We want to show that is f continuous ??
Let G ∈ Y be an open set .Then G c is a closed subset of Y
−1 −1
f G c   f G c is closed in X
−1
f G is open in X

40
Hence f is a continuous function .

41
Definition 3.8 :
1. A function f : X → Y is called open function if the image of every open set in X is open
set in Y.
2. A function f : X → Y is called closed function if the image of every closed set in X is
closed set in Y .

Homeomorphic Spaces :
Definition 3.9 :
Two topological spaces X and Y are called homeomorphic or
topologically equivalent if there exists a bijective function f : X → Y such
−1
that f and f are continuous .The function f is called a homeomorphism .

Theorem 3.17 :
For a 1-1 mapping f of a topological space X onto a topological space Y ,
the following conditions are equivalent :
1. The mapping f is a homeomorphism .
2. The mapping f is closed and continuous .
3. The mapping f is open and continuous .
4. The set fA is closed inY  A is closed in X .
5. The set fA is open in Y  A is open in X .

Proof :
1   2 
−1
Suppose f is a homeomorphism , then f , f are continuous
functions. We have to prove that f is closed and continuous. By given f is
continuous .It remains to show that if
A ⊆ X is closed , then fA is closed in Y ??.
−1
Let A ⊆ X be a closed subset .Since f : Y → X is continuous , then the
inverse of every closed sets in X is closed in Y .
 f −1  −1 A  fA is closed in Y.
 f is closed .

Conversely,assume (2) holds ,we want to prove that f is a

42
 homeomorphism .
−1
i.e, f is a continuous function .
Let A ⊆ X be a closed set . Then by (2) f A is a closed set in Y . Since
−1 −1
f A   fA  which is closed in Y
−1
 f is continuous .
—————————————————————————
1  3
Suppose f is a homeomophism . To show that f is open , let A ⊆ X be an
open set.
∵ f −1 is continuous  f −1  −1 A  is open in Y  f A  is open in
Y  f is open.
−1
Conversely,assume 3  holds .To prove that f is a continuous function
−1 −1 −1
,let A ⊆ X be an open set , then (f  A   fA is open by 3   f is
an open function .
————————————————–
2   4 
Suppose f is a closed function which is continuous .We want to prove
that
f A  is closed in Y  A is closed in X
Let fA  be a closed set in Y. Since f is continuous
−1
 f fA   A is closed in X .
Suppose A is closed in X  fA  is closed in Y.

Conversely, suppose f A  is closed in Y  A is closed in X.

We want to prove that f is closed and f is continuous .
Let A ⊆ X be a closed set in X  f A  is closed in Y .
−1
Since f fA   A  the inverse of a closed set of Y is closed in X.

____________________________________________
3   5  exercise.

Example 3.10:
let X and Y be discreate spaces .Then by example 3.2 ,all functions from X
one to the other are continuous .Hence X and Y are
homeomorphic  there exists a one -one ,onto function , from one to the

43
 other .

Example 3.11 :
Let f : R  R defined by f x  x 2 . Then f is not open ,since
f −1, 1  0, 1 which is not open.

44
Example 3.12 :
Let X  1, 2, 3, 4,  1  X, , 1, 2, 3, 4 and
Y  a, b, c, d,  2  Y, , a, d, b, c,
Let f : X → Y be defined by
f1  a, f4  b, f3  c , f2  d
Prove that f is a homeomorphism .

Solution :
1. Clearly f is 1-1 and onto .

2. f is continuous since
−1 −1 −1 −1
f Y  X, f   , f a, d  1, 2, f b, c  3, 4.

−1
3. f :Y→X is defined by
−1 −1 −1 −1
f a  1, f b  4, f c  3 , f d  2
−1
Then f is continuous , since
−1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1 −1
f  X  Y,  f    ,  f  1, 2  a, d  f  3, 4  b, c
Hence f is a homeomorphism .

Example 3.13 :
Let f : R → R be a function defined by fx  x ∀x ∈ R where R,  is
a usual topology .Show that f is a homeomorphism .

Solution :
−1
Let a, b be an open interval of R . Then f a, b  a, b which is
open  f is continuous.
−1
Moreover , f is 1-1 , onto and f  f , thus f is a homeomorphism .
Every identity map of X,  x  is a homeomorphism .

Example 3.14 :
Let f : R → −1, 1 be defined by

45
 fx  x
1  |x|
Prove that f is a homeomorphism . [R, −1, 1 are topologically
equivalent]

Solution :

x if x  0
1x
fx  0 if x  0
x if x  0
1−x
1. f is 1 − 1 :
Let fx 1   fx 2   x 1 , x 2  0 or x 1 , x 2  0 .
If fx 1  , fx 2   0 , then consider fx 1   fx 2 
 x1  x2
1  x1 1  x2
 x1  x1x2  x2  x1x2
 x1  x2
Similarly ,when fx 1  , fx 2   0.

2. f is onto :
Let y ∈ −1, 1 , we want to find x ∈ R s.t. fx  y.
Since y ∈ −1, 1
 y0 or y  0 or y  0
If y  0 ,then fx  y
 x y
1x
 x  y  xy
 x − xy  y
 x1 − y  y
y y
x ∈ R s.t. f y
1−y 1−y
Similarly , when y  0 .

46
3. f is continuous:
Let a, b be an open interval in −1, 1. Since fx  a
 x ax a a0  f
−1
a  x
1x 1−a
Therefore

f
−1
a, b   a , b  is open in R .
1−a 1−b
Similarly if a  0.

4. f is open .
Let a, b ⊂ R be an open interval , then

fa, b  fa, fb   a , b  if a, b  0

1a 1b

fa, b   a , b  if a, b  0
1−a 1−b
 f is a homeomorphism .

Topological Properties :

Definition 3.15 :
A property P of sets is called topological invariant or topological if
whenever a topological space X,  has P then every space homeomorphic
to X,  also has P.

Example 3.16:
As in example 3.14, R and −1, 1 are homeomorphic .Hence length , and
boundedness are not a topological property since −1, 1 is bounded but R is
not .

47
 PROBLEMS(III)

1. Let f : X → Y and g : Y → Z be continuous . Prove that the composition function

g ∘ f : X → Z is also continuous .

2. A function f : X  Y is continuous  fĀ ⊂ fA where A is any subset of X.

3.’ Let f : X,  → Y,  ∗  be continuous . Then

f A : A,  A  → Y,  ∗  is continuous

where A ⊂ X ,and f A  f ∣ A (restriction map).

4. Let  be a base for a topological space X .Show that if f : X → Y has the property
that f() is open for every B ∈ . Then f is an open function .

5. Let f : X,  → Y,  ∗  be open and onto , let  be a base for  . Show that
fB : B ∈  is a base for  ∗ .

6. Let f : X,  → Y,  ∗  be 1-1 and open, let A ⊂ X, and fA  B.Show that

f A : A,  A   B,  ∗B 
is also open and 1-1.

48
 METRIC SPACES

In this chapter we start by defining a metric space which is a generalization

of the concept of distance in elementry geometry.

Definition 4.1 :
Let X be a non-empty set. A metric (distance function) on a set X is a
real-valued function
d : XX → R
which satisfies the following conditions :
1. dx, y ≥ 0 ∀ x, y ∈ X
2. dx, y  0  xy
3. dx, y  dy, x ∀ x, y ∈ X
4. dx, z ≤ dx, y  dy, z ∀ x, y, z ∈ X
A metric space is a pair X, d where X is the set and d is a metric on X
.

Example 4.2 :
Consider the real line  and define a function d : R  R → R by
dx, y  |x − y|
Then R, d is a metric space which is called usual metric on R.
Solution :
1. |x − y| ≥ 0 ∀ x, y ∈ R  dx, y ≥ 0
2. Let x  y  |x − y|  0  dx, y  0 .
3. dx, y  |x − y|  | − y − x|  |y − x|  dy, x
4. dx, y  |x − y|  |x − z  z − y|  |x − z  z − y|
≤ |x − z|  |z − y|  dx, z  dz, y

Example 4.3 :
Let X be a non-empty set. Define d by the following :

49
 0 if xy
dx, y 
1 if x≠y

Then X, d is a metric space which is called (discrete) metric on X .

Solution :
1. dx, y ≥ 0
2. dx, y  0  xy
3. dx, y  dy, x
4. If x  z ,then dx, y  1 ≤ dx, z  dz, y  1
If x ≠ z ,then dx, y  1  dx, z  dz, y  1  1  2
Thus X, d is a metric space.

Recall that :
If v  x 1 , x 2  ∈ R 2 is a vector in the plane ,then the length of v denoted
by ||v|| , is defined by

||v||  x 21  x 22

Definition 4.4 :
Let x  x 1 , x 2 , ...., x n  ∈ R n . Then the length of x which is called the
norm of x ,and denoted by ||x|| is defined by

||x||  x 21  x 22  ......  x 2n  ∑ |x i | 2  ½

( which is the distance between x and the origin )

Remark 4.5 :
If x  x 1 , x 2 , ......, x n , y  y 1 , y 2 , ...., y n  ∈ R n , c ∈ R
Then :
1. x  y  x 1  y 1 , x 2  y 2 , ......, x n  y n 
2. x − y  x 1 − y 1 , x 2 − y 2 , ......, x n − y n 
3. cx  cx 1 , cx 2 , ......, cx n 
n
4. x ∙ y  x 1 y 1  x 2 y 2  ......  x n y n  ∑ x i y i ( dot product )
i1

50
Theorem 4.6: (Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality)
Let x  x 1 ,x 2 ,.......,x n  and y  y 1 , y 2 , ......, y n  be elements in R n .Then
|x  .y| ≤ ‖x‖‖y‖
1 1
n n 2 n 2

i.e. ∑ xiyi ≤ ∑|x i | 2 ∑|y i | 2

i1 i1 i1

Proof :
Case 1: when x  0 or y  0
Then the inequality reduces to 0 ≤ 0,and therfore true.

Case 2 : x ≠ 0 and y ≠ 0
For any real numbers a, b ∈ R, we have
a − b 2 ≥ 0  a 2 − 2ab  b 2 ≥ 0  a 2  b 2 ≥ 2ab
This relation is true for any real number , so let
|x i | |y i |
a , b
‖x‖ ‖y‖

|x i | 2 |y i | 2 |x ||y |
  ≥2 i i (*)
‖x‖ 2
‖y‖ 2 ‖x‖‖y‖
So summing ∗ with respect to i and using |a i b i |  |a i | |b i | we get
n n
|x i y i | |x i | 2 |y i | 2
∑ ‖x‖‖y‖
≤ 1
2 ∑ ‖x‖ 2

‖y‖ 2
i1 i1

51
 n n n
 1
‖x‖‖y‖ ∑|x i y i | ≤ 12 1
‖x‖ 2
∑|x i |  ‖y‖
1
2
2 ∑|y i | 2
i1 i1 i1
n
‖x‖ 2 ‖y‖ 2
 1
‖x‖‖y‖ ∑|x i y i | ≤ 12 ‖x‖ 2

‖y‖ 2
i1
n
 ∑|x i y i | ≤ ‖x‖‖y‖
i1

 |x.y| ≤ ‖x‖‖y‖

Theorem 4.7: (Minkowski’s Inequality)

Let x  x 1 , x 2 , ......, x n , y  y 1 , y 2 , ........, y n  ∈ R n .Then
‖x  y‖ ≤ ‖x‖  ‖y‖
Proof :
Let ‖x  y‖ ≠ 0, for any real number x i ,y i ∈ R, we have
|x i  y i | ≤ |x i |  |y i |. Hence
n
‖x  y‖  2
∑|x i  y i | 2
i1
n
 ∑|x i  y i ||x i  y i |
i1
n
≤ ∑|x i  y i ||x i |  |y i |
i1
n n
 ∑|x i  y i ||x i |  ∑|x i  y i ||y i |
i1 i1
n
But by Cauchy-Schwarz Inequality ∑ i1 |x i  y i ||x i | ≤ ‖x  y‖‖x‖
Then
‖x  y‖ 2 ≤ ‖x  y‖‖x‖  ‖x  y‖‖y‖
≤ ‖x  y‖‖x‖  ‖y‖ 
since‖x  y‖ ≠ 0, then ‖x  y‖ ≤ ‖x‖  ‖y‖.

52
Example 4.8:
Consider the plane R 2 . Define d : R 2  R 2 → R by

dx 1 , x 2 , y 1 , y 2   x 1 − y 1  2  x 2 − y 2  2
Then R 2 , d is a metric space called a usual metric on R 2 .
In general , if x  x 1 , .........., x n , y  y 1 , ......., y n  ∈
R , then d : R n  R n → R is defined by
n

n
dx, y   ∑x i − y i  2  1/2
i1

R n , d is a metric space which is called Euclidean metric for R n .

Open sets in a metric space:

Definition 4.9:
Let X, dbe a metric space. For any point p ∈ X and any real number
  0, let S  p denote the set of points with in a distance of  from p :
S  p   x : dp, x    ⊆ X
We call S  p the open sphere or sphere with center p and radius .

Example 4.10:
Let X  R be a metric space , p  1 and   1/2, then
S 1/2 1  x : d1, x  1/2
 x : |1 − x|  1/2
 x : −1/2  1 − x  1/2
 x : x ∈ R : 1/2  x  3/2
 1/2, 3/2

53
 S 2 1  x : dx, 1  2
 x ∈ R : |x − 1|  2
 −1  x  3
 −1, 3
Thus in the usual metric R, d, da, b  |a − b|, the open sphere S  p is
the open interval p − , p  .

Example 4.11 :
Consider the discrete metric on X.

0 if xy
dx, y 
1 if x≠y

Find S 2 p and S 1/2 p ?

54
Solution :
1. S 2 p   x : dx, p  2  x ∈ X : 0, 1  2 
∵ dx, y  0 or 1  2 ∀ x ∈X.
 S 2 p  X.

2. S 1/2 p   x : dx, p  1/2

Thus dx, y  0  1/2 when x  p.
 S 1/2 p  p ( center)

Example 4.12 :
Consider the usual metric on R 2 , i.e.

dx 1 , x 2 , y 1 , y 2   x 1 − y 1  2  x 2 − y 2  2

Let   1 and p  2, 3 ,find S 1 p ?

Solution :
S 1 p  x  x 1 , x 2  ∈ R 2 : dx, p  
 x ∈ R 2 : x 1 − 2 2  x 2 − 3 2  1
which is the open disc .

Example 4.13 :
Let X  R 2 and p  x 1 , x 2 , q  y 1 , y 2  ∈ R 2 .Define
dp, q  x1 − y1  x2 − y2
Then R 2 , d is a metric space . Find S 1 0, 0 ?

Solution :
R 2 , d is a metric space (excrise) .
S 1 0, 0  x, y ∈ R 2 : dx, y, 0, 0  1
 x, y ∈ R 2 : |x|  |y|  1

when y  0  − 1  x  1.
when x  0  − 1  y  1.

55
Definition 4.14 :
LetX, d be a metric space . A subset u of X is called an open set if :
for every x ∈ u there exists an open sphere S  x s.t. x ∈ S  x ⊂ u .

Remark 4.15 :
1. A subset u of X, d is an open set if each point of u occurs as the center of some open
sphere which is contained in u.
2. If u is an open set in X, d , then ∀x ∈ u we can find a real no.   0 s.t. S  x ⊆ u.

Theorem 4.16
Let X, d be a metric space Then X and  are open sets.

Proof :.
Let x ∈ X , and   0 . Then for every x ∈ X, the open sphere S  x
centered at x must contained in X .
i.e. S  x ⊆ X.
Thus X is open .

To show that  is open , we must show that each point in  is the center
of an open sphere contained in  , but since there are no point in , then  is
open .

Theorem 4.17:
Let X, d be a metric space . Every open sphere is an open set .

Proof :
Let S  p  be an open sphere in X, and let x be a point in S  p . We must
find an open sphere centered on x and contained in S  p .
∵ x ∈ S  p   dx, p   
  − dx, p   0.
Let
 1   − dx, p 
We must show that

56
 S  1 x  ⊆ S  p 
Let
y ∈ S  1 x   dy, x    1
Consider
dy, p  ≤ dy, x   dx, p 
 1  
  − dx, p   
 −  
 y ∈ S  p   S  is an open set .

Theorem 4.18:
Let X, d  be a metric space . Then u ⊆ X is open  u is a union of open
spheres.

Proof :
 Assume u is open. We want to show that u is a union of open sphere.
If u   , then u is a union of the empty class of open spheres .
If u ≠ . Then since it is open , each point is the center of an open sphere
contained in it .
i.e., ∀x ∈ u, ∃ S  x  s.t. S  x ⊆ u
Then u is a union of open spheres .

 u   S where S is a class of open spheres .We must show that u is

open .
If S    u   and by theorem 4.16, u is open .
Suppose S ≠   u ≠  .
Let x ∈ u  x ∈  S  x belongs to an open sphere say
x ∈ S  p in S
By theorem 4.17, S  P is open  ∃ open sphere S  1 x s.t.
S  1 x ⊆ S  p
since S  1 x ⊆ u, so we have an open sphere centered at x and containd in u.

57
Thus u is open.

58
 The fundamental properties of the open sets in a metric space are those
stated in the following theorem :

Theorem 4.19:
Let X, d  be a metric space.Then :
1. Any union of open sets in X is open .
2. Finite intersection of open sets in X is open .

Proof :
1. U  i u i , where u i  arbitrary class of open sets in X .
If u i     U    U is open .
Suppose u i  ≠  . Then by theorem 4.18, U is a union of open
spheres
( since u i is open ). Again using theorem 4.18 , U is open .

2. U  ∩ ni1 u i where u i  class of finite open sets in X ..

If u i    , Then ∩ ni1    which is open .
suppose u 1 , u 2 , ......, u n  ≠ . If it happens that ∩ ni1 u i  .
Then by theorem 4.16, U is open .
Assume ∩ ni1 u i ≠  .Then let
x ∈ U  ∩ ni1 u i  x ∈ u i ∀i  1, 2....., n
But u i is open , for each i there is a ve real number  i  0 such that
S  i x  ⊆ u i
Let   smallest ve real number in the set  1 ,  2 , ......,  n .Then
S  x  ⊆ S  i x  for each i,
 S  x  ⊆ u i for each i
 S  x  ⊆ U  ∩ ni1 u i
Thus U is open.

Definition 4.20 :
Let X, d  be a metric space ,Then by Theorems 4.16,4.19, the open
subsets of X, d  form a topology on X . This topology is called the topology
on X induced by d or the topology on X generated by d . Thus

59
 Every metric space is a topological space .
Remark 4.21:
All concepts defined for topological spaces are also defined for metric
spaces .
For example , we can speak about open sets , closed sets , neighborhoods
, limit point,.......

Example 4.22:
Let R, d be a usual metric defined in example 4.2. i.e., dx, y  |x − y|.
Then the open spheres in R are precisely the open intervals .Hence the
usual metric on R induces the usual topology on R. Similarly, the usual
metric R 2 , d induces the usual topology on R 2 .

Example 4.23:
Consider the discrete metric defined in example 4.11. Then for any
p ∈ X, S 1/2 p  p.
Hence every singelton is open ,and so every set is open.Therefore discrete
metric on X induces the discrete topology.

60
 PROBLEMS(IV)
1. Prove that the Euclidean metric space which is defined in example 4.8 is a metric space.

2. Let d be a metric on a non-empty set X.Show that the function e defined by

ea, b  min1, da, b

where a, b ∈ X is also a metric on X.

3. Let d be a metric on a non-empty set X .Show that the function e defined by

da, b
ea, b 
1  da, b
where a, b ∈ X , is also a metric on X.

4. Let  1 , 2 be real numbers such that 0   1 ≤  2 .Show that the open sphere
S  1 p ⊆ S  2 p.

5. Show that if S 1 p, S 2 p are two open spheres with the same center, then one of them is
a subset of the other.

6. Let S 1 , S 2 be open spheres and p ∈ S 1 ∩ S 2 . Show that ∃ open sphere Sp such that
p ∈ Sp ⊂ S 1 ∩ S 2 .

61
 Separation Axioms
The definition of a topological space is very general ; not many interesting
theorems can be proved about all topological spaces .So in this section we
shall discuss axiom of separation which concern the ways of separating points
and closed sets in topological spaces, and examine the relationship between
these axioms and the concepts introduced in this course .

Definition 5.1:
A topological space X is called a T 0 − space iff it satisfies the folloing
axiom:
For every pair of distinct points x, y ∈ X , ∃ an open set containing exactly
one of the points but not the other.
i.e., x ≠ y ∈ X, ∃ u ⊆ X is open s.t. x ∈ u and y ∉ u.

Example 5.2:
X  a, b, c ,   X, , a, a, b.Then X,  is a T 0 − space.

Solution :
1. a, c ∈ X s.t. a ≠ c.

∃ an open set say a ∈  and a ∈ a, c ∉ a.

2. a, b ∈ X s.t. a ≠ b , ∃ a ∈  s.t. a ∈ a and b ∉ a.

3. b ≠ c ∈ X , b ∈ a, b s.t. c ∉ a, b.

Remark 5.3:

62
1. Every discrete topological space is a T 0 − space.
2. Every indiscrete topological space is not a T 0 − space.

Definition 5.4:
A topological space X is called a T 1 − space iff it satisfies the following
axiom:
∀x ≠ y ∈ X ∃ u, v ⊆ X s.t. x ∈ u, y ∉ u and y ∈ v, x ∉ u.
Note that : u, v are not neceesarily disjoint.

Remark :Every T 1 − space is T 0 − space.

Example 5.5:
X  1, 2,   X, , 1 then X,  is a T 0 − space but not T 1 − space.

Solution :
X is a T 0 − space since 1 ≠ 2 ∈ X and 1 ∈ 1 and 2 ∉ 1.
It is not a T 1 − space because there is no-open set containing 2.

Theorem 5.6:
A topological space X is a T 1 − space  every singleton subset p of X is
closed.

Proof :
( Suppose X is a T 1 − space and pis a singleton of X. We must show
that p c is open.
i.e. every x ∈ p c is an interior point.Let x ∈ p c  x ∉ p 
x ≠ p ∈ X.
But X is a T 1 − space 

63
 ∃ u x , v ∈  s.t. : x ∈ u x and p ∉ u, p ∈ v, x ∉ v

 x ∈ u x ⊆ p c
 p c  u x : x ∈ p c  union of open sets
 p is a closed set.
( Suppose that ∀p ∈ X : p is a closed set. Let a, b ∈ X s.t. a ≠ b
Since p is closed  a c and b c are open sets s.t.
a ∉ a c and b ∈ a c , b ∉ b c and a ∈ b c
 X is a T 1 − space.

Definition 5.7:
A topological space X is called a T 2 − space or Hausdarff space iff it
satisfies the following:
Each pair of distinct points x, y ∈ X belongs respectively to disjoint open
sets.
i.e. ∃ u, v ⊆  s.t. : x ∈ u, y ∈ v and u ∩ v  .

Example 5.8:
X  1, 2, 3   X, , 1, 2, 3, 2, 3, 1, 3, 1, 2. Then X,  is
a T 2 − space.

Solution :
1 ≠ 2 ∈ X  ∃ 1, 2, 3 ∈  s.t. 1 ∈ 1, 2 ∈ 2, 3 and 1 ∩ 

64
 2 ≠ 3 ∈ X  ∃ 2, 3 ∈  s.t. 2 ∈ 2, 3 ∈ 3 and 2 ∩ 3  

1 ≠ 3 ∈ X  ∃1, 3 ∈  s.t. 1 ∈ 1, 3 ∈ 3 and 1 ∩ 3  

Remark :
1. Every discrete space is a T 2 − space.
2. Every indiscrete space is not a T 2 − space.

The following theorem gives an indication why T 2 − spaces are

important.

Theorem 5.9:
Every metric space is a T 2 − space.

Proof :
Let X, d be a metric space , and a, b ∈ X s.t. a ≠ b.
Since X, d is a metric ,then da, b  0, say  i.e. , da, b  .

Consider the two open spheres

u  S /3 a , v  S /3 b
centred at a and b respectively with reduis /3.
Then u ∩ v   , for let c ∈ u ∩ v
 c ∈ u and c ∈ v
 da, c  /3 and db, c  /3
therfore

65
 da, b ≤ da, c  dc, b  /3  /3  2/3
 da, b  2/3  .
Therefore a ∈ u, b ∈ v and u ∩ v . (i.e. X, d is a
T 2 − space Hausdorff.

Definition 5.10 :
A topological space X is said to be regular iff it satisfies the following:
if F is a closed subset of X and p ∈ X, p ∉ F ,then ∃ disjoint open sets u
and v s.t.
F ⊂ u and p ∈ v u ∩ v  .

regular Space

Notation A regular space need not be a T 1 − space.

Example 5.11:
X  a, b, c ,   X, , a, b, c
The closed subsets are :  , X, b, c, a.
Take F  b, c, and p  a ∉ b, c.
∃ u  b, c , v  a s.t. u ∩ v  , b, c ⊂ b, c and a ∈ a.
Thus X, is a regular space.
But X,  is not a T 1 − space since ,b is a singleton which is not closed.

Definition 5.12:
A regular space X which also satisfies the sepration axiom of T 1 is called
T 3 − space.

66
Corollary 5.13:
Every T 3 − space is a T 2 − space.
Proof :
Let X be a T 3 − space, and a, b ∈ X be a distinct points.
Since X is T 1 − space  a is closed , (Th.5.6).
Since a ≠ b  b ∉ a. Then as X is regular
 ∃ distjoint open sets u ∩ v   s.t.
a ⊂ u and b∈v
i.e. a ∈ u and b ∈ v , u ∩ v   
Hence X is a Hausdarff space.

Definition 5.14:
A topological space X is said to be normal iff X satisfies the following:
If F 1 and F 2 are disjoint closed subsets of X, then ∃ disjoint open sets u
and v s.t.
F1 ⊆ u and F2 ⊆ v .

Notation A normal space need not be regular or T 1 − space.

Example 5.15:
Let X  a, b, c ,   X, , a, b, a, b.
The closed sets are  , X, b, c, a, c, c.
Since a, b are not closed sets  X,   is not a T 1 − space.
X,   is a normal space : For  , X are disjoint closed sets
s.t.  ⊆  , X ⊆ X.
X,  is not a regular − space : For a ∉ c, but the only open sets
containing c is X which also contains a .

Definition 5.16:

67
 A normal space which also satisfies the separation axiom T 1 is called
T 4 − space.

Corollary 5.17:
A T 4 − space is a T 3 − space.
Proof :
Let X,   be a T 4 − space  X,   is a normal T 1 − space.
So we have to show that X,  is a regular space.
Suppose F is a closed subset of X and p ∈ X s.t.
F ⊆ X and p ∉ F.
Since X is a T 1 − space  p is closed. i.e. F, p are two disjoint closed
sets.
But X,   is normal  ∃ two disjoint open sets u, v s.t.
F ⊆ u and p ⊆ v u ∩ v  .
i.e., F ⊂ u , p ∈ v.  X,  is a regular − space.

Theorem 5.18:
Every metric space is a normal space.
Proof :
Let X, d be a metric space, and A, B be disjoint closed subsets of X.
i.e. A∩B   , A, B ⊆ X.
clearly da, B   a  0 and db, A   b  0

for each a ∈ A, choose  a so that the sphere S a  S  a /2 a does not

intersect B,

68
 and for b ∈ B, S b  S  b /2 b does not intersect A.
Define
U  S a : a ∈ A , V  S b : b ∈ B.
Then clearly U, V are open set containing A, B respectively.
We assert that U ∩ V  . For, if
U ∩ V ≠   ∃ p ∈ X s.t. p ∈ U ∩ V
 p ∈ U and p ∈ V
 p ∈ S  a /2 a and p ∈ S  b /2 b for some a ∈ A, b ∈ B
i.e. da, p   a /2 and db, p   b /2
Then by triangle inequality we get

da, b  da, p  dp, b   a   b

2
If  a ≤  b  da, b   b . Thus the sphere S  b /2 b contains the point
a 
If  b ≤  a  da, b   a . Thus the sphere S  a /2 a contains the point
b 
Thus U ∩ V  . Hence every metric space is normal.

Remark 5.19:
1. A metric space is both normal space and T 1 − space. i.e. A metric space is a T 4 − space.
2. The following diagram shows the relationship between spaces discussed in this section.

69
70
 PROBLEMS (V)
1. Show that the property of being a T 1 − space is herditary? i.e. Every subspace of a
T 1 − space is also T 1 − space?

2. Show that the property of being a Hausdarff space is herditary? i.e. Every subspace of a
T 2 − space is a T 2 − space?
3. Let  be the topology generated by open - closed intervals a, b.Show that R,  is a
hausdarff?
4. Show that a property of being a space Hausdarff is a topological property.
(i.e if f : X  Y 1 − 1, onto, homeomorphism and X,  x  is a hausdarff space
 Y,  y is a hausdarff space??)
5. Regularity is a topological property??

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 Compactness and
Connectedness
In the study of calculus, there are three basic theorems about continuons
functions and on these theorems the rest of calculus depends. They are the
following:

1. Intermediate value theorem: If f : a, b → R is continuous and if r ∈  s.t .r ∈ fa and

fb then ∃ c ∈ a, b s.t. fc  r.
2. Maximum value theorem: If f : a, b → R is continuous there exists an element
c ∈ a, b s.t. fx ≤ fc ∀ x ∈ a, b
3. Uniform continuity theorem : If f : a, b → R is continuous,then given   0
∃   0 s.t. |fx 1  − fx 2 |   ∀ pair of numbers x 1 , x 2 of a, b for which |x 1 − x 2 |  .

We have spoken of theorems as theorems about continuous function. But

they can also be considered as theorems about the closed interval a, b of real
numbers. The theorems depend not only on the continuity of f but also on
properties of the topological space a, b.
The property of the space a, b on which the intermediate value theorem
depends is the property called connectedness.
The property on which the Maximum value and the
uniform continuity theorems depend is the property called compactness.

As the three theorems are fundamental for the theory of calculus,so are the
notions of compactness and connectedness fundamental in higher
analysis,geometry,and topology indeed,in almost any subject for which the
notion of topological space itself is relevant.

A- Compactness
In this chapter we state the definition of compact spaces, prove serveral
simple theorems about compactness,and give a few examples.

Definition 6.1
1. Let A A i : i ∈ I be a class of subsets of X. Then A is called a cover of X if
X   i∈I A i .
2. A cover of X is called a finite cover if it has only a finite numbers of subsets of X.i.e.

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 A  A 1 , A 2 , ........., A n  s.t. X   ni1 A i .
3. A cover of X is called an open (closed) cover if every members of the cover is open
(closed) set.
4. A class of subset of X A  A i , i ∈ I is called a cover of A ⊆ X if A ⊆  i A i .
5. Let A 1 , A 2 , be two covers of X.Then A 1 is a subcover of A 2 A 1 ⊆ A 2  if every members
of A 1 is also a members of A 2 .

Example 6.2:
Let X  1, 2, 3, 4, 5
  X, , 1, 2, 1, 4, 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 1, 2, 4, 1, 2, 3, 4, 1, 4, 5
Then
1. A 1  1, 2, 3, 4, 5 is an open cover of X (finite -open cover)
2. A 2  1, 2, 3, 4, 4, 5 is an open-cover.
3. A 3  1, 2, 4, 5 is not a cover of X.

Example 6.3:
1. Let X  1, 2, ........, n, ..... and
A 1  1, A 2  2, A 3  3, ........, A n  n, A n1  n  1, ......
∵ X   n1 n  A  A i , i ∈ X is an infinite cover of X.

2. Let X  a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , ........, a n .

A 1  a 1 , A 2  a 1 , a 2 , A 3  a 1 , a 2 , a 3 , ......., A n  X.
X   ni1 A i ,  X is a finite cover of X.

Example 6.4:
Let A  0, 1 ⊆ R .Then the following class
A  A i  i2 1
, 1i : i ∈ N of open intervals is an open covers of A. i.e.

0, 1  ⊆ 1 ,1  1, 1  1, 1 …
3 4 2 5 3

Example 6.5:
Consider the class A  D p : p ∈ Z  Z  where D p is the open disc in the
plane R 2 with radius 1 and center p  x, y  ∈ Z  Z .

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 Then A is the cover of R 2 .i.e , every point in R 2 belong to at least one
member of A.
On the other hand , the class of open discs B  D ∗p : p ∈ Z  Z  where
D ∗p is the open disc with radius 1/2 and center p ∈ Z  Z , Then B is not a
cover of R 2 .
For example , 12 , 12 ∈ R 2 ,which does not belong to any member of B.

Definition 6.6:
1. A topological space X,  is said to be compact if every open cover of X has a finite
subcover which cover X.
i.e., if A  A i , i ∈ I  s.t. X   i A i then ∃ A i 1 , A i 2 , ......A i n of open sets
s.t. X  A i 1  A i 2  ...  A i n .
2. A subset A ⊆ X of a topological space X is compact if every open cover of A has a finite
subcover . i.e., if A ⊆  i A i  ∃ A i 1 , A i 2 , ......A i n s.t. A ⊆ A i 1  A i 2  ....  A i n .

Example 6.7:
Every indiscrete space is compact.

Example 6.8:
Every finite topological space is compact.

Solution :
Let X  a 1 , a 2 , .....a n  be a finite set .Then every  on X has a finite
number of open sets in X.
Let A  A i , i ∈ I  be an open cover of X i.e., X   i A i .
Then each point a 1 ∈ X ∃ at least A i 1 s.t. a 1 ∈ A i 1 , similarly,
a 2 ∈ A i 2 , ..., a i n ∈ A i n 
X ⊂ A i 1  A i 2  ...  A i n , i.e., X  A i 1  A i 2  ...  A i n . Thus X is
compact.

To prove that a space is not compact we only have to find one open cover
of the space with no-finite subcover.

Example 6.9:
Every infinite discrete topological space is not compact.

Solution :
Let X,   be a discrete topological space such that X is infinite set. i.e.,

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 X  a 1 , a 2 , a 3 ..... .
Consider the class of singleton subsets of X.
A  a  : a ∈ X 
Then
1. A is a cover of X.
2. A is an open cover of X.
3. No proper subclass of A is a cover of X.
4. A is infinite ,since X is infinite.
Hence the open cover A of X contains no finite subcover , so X is not
compact.

Example 6.10:
The real line R is not compact.

Solution :
Let A  −n, n  ∀ n ∈ N
 −1, 1 , −2, 2 , −3, 3 ....... 
Then A is an open cover of R . But A contains no finite subcover.

Theorem (Heine-Borel):
Let A  a, b be a closed and bounded interval of the real line R. Let
A  A i : i ∈ I 
be a class of open intervals which covers A . i.e., A ⊂  i A i . Then
A contains a finite subclass, say
A i 1 , A i 2 , ... , A i n  which also covers A.

Proof :
Not required , it will be taken in course 414.

Example 6.11:
Every closed bounded interval a, b  is compact . ex. : 0, 1 is compact .

Example 6.12:
The open interval A  0, 1 ⊂ R is not compact .

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Solution :
From example 6.4 , A  A i   i2
1
, 1
i
 i ∈ N  is the class of open
intervals which covers A . i.e. ,

0, 1 ⊆  1 , 1   1 , 1    1 , 1   ...
3 4 2 5 3

But A contains no finite subcover. For let

A ∗  a 1 , b 1 , a 2 , b 2 , ......, a n , b n 
be any finite subclass of A .
If   mina 1 , ......., a n  , then   0 and
a 1 , b 1   a 2 , b 2   ......  a n , b n  ⊂ 0, 1
But 0,  and , 1 are disjoint . Hence A ∗ is not a cover of A and so A is
not compact.

Exercise :
Is the closed infinite interval [1,) compact ? justify your answer .

Theorem 6.13:.
The continuous image of a compact set is compact.

Proof :
Let f : X → Y be continuous and A ⊆ X be compact . We want to show
that fA is compact ??
Suppose
A ∗  A i : i ∈ I
is an open cover of fA, i.e. fA ⊂  i A i 
A ⊂ f −1 fA ⊂ f −1  i A i    i f −1 A i 
∵ f is continuous,then the inverse image of every open set of Y is open.
 f −1 A i  is open.
Hence A  f −1 A i  : i ∈ I is an open cover of A.
But A is compact  A contains a finite subcover which cover A. i.e.,

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 A ⊂ f −1 A i 1   f −1 A i 2   .....  f −1 A i n 
 fA ⊂ f f −1 A i 1   .....  f −1 A i n 
 fA ⊂ A i 1  A i2  ......  A i n
Hence fA is compact .
Therefore continuous images of compact sets are compact.

Theorem 6.14:.
Let A ⊆ X, X,  is a topological space .Then the following are
equivelant:
(i) A is compact with respect to  .
(ii) A is compact with respect to relative topology  A on A .

Proof :
i  ii
Suppose A is compact w.r to . Let A i be a  A -open which cover A. i.e.,
A ⊂ i Ai Ai ∈ A.
Now ,each A i  A ∩ H i where H i ∈ 
 Ai  A ∩ Hi ⊂ Hi
 i Ai ⊂ i Hi
 A ⊂ i Hi
But H i  is open in , which cover A , since A is compact w.r. to  ,
then H i  contains finite subcover of A , say

A ⊂ H i 1  H i 2  ...  H i m
 A ⊂ A ∩ H i 1  ....  H i m 
Thus A ⊂ A ∩ H i 1   A ∩ H i 2   ....  A ∩ H i m , i.e,
A ⊂ A i 1  A i 2  ....  A i n .
Then A i  contains a finite subcover A i 1 , ...., A i n  and A,  A  is
compact.

(ii)  (i)
let {H i } be a -open cover of A. i.e . , A ⊂  i H i

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  A ⊂ A ∩   i H   i A ∩ H i   i Ai
But A i ∈  A  A i  is a  A - open cover of A.By given {A i } contains a
finite subcover of A.
i.e. A ⊂ A i 1  A i 2  ........  A i m
 A ⊂ A ∩ H i 1   .......  A ∩ H i m 
 A ⊂ A ∩ H i 1  H i 2  ......  H i m 
Therefore A ⊂ H i 1  H i 2  ......  H i m .Hence A is compact w.r. to .

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B- Connectedness
The definition of connectedness for a topological space is a quite natural
one. One says that a space can be a (separated) if it can be broken up into two
(globs) disjoint open sets . Otherwise , one says that it is connected . From
this simple idea we get the following definition:

Definition 6.15:
1. Let X,  be a topological space. Two subsets u, v of X are said to be separated if u, v are
disjoint non-empty open subsets of X whose union is X. i.e.,
(i) u ∩ v   , u, v ∈ 
(ii) X  u  v.

2. X is said to be connected if it is not the union of two non-empty separated sets (open sets).

3. X is said to be disconnected if it is not connected.(X is a union of disjoint non-empty open

sets)

i.e. X  u  v, u, v ∈  , u, v ≠  ,u ∩ v  
u, v are called a disconnection of X.

4. Let X,  be a topological space . A subset A ⊆ X is disconnected if ∃ open sets u, v of X

such that A ∩ u, A ∩ v are disjoint non-empty open sets whose union is A. i.e.,

A  A ∩ u  A ∩ v where A ∩ u ≠ , A ∩ v ≠  and A ∩ u ∩ A ∩ v  .
In this case we say u  v is a disconnection of A.

5. A ⊆ X is a connected, if A is not disconnected.

i.e. A is not a union of two non-empty disjoint open sets of  A.

Remark 6.17:
1. If X  u  v , u, v ∈  , u ∩ v    u c  X − v , v c  X − v are closed subset of X .
But u c  v , v c  u.
Hence we can say that u, v are two disjoint non-empty closed and open
subsets.

2. Hence deffinition (2) can be state as X,  is connected if it is not a uonion of two disjoint
non-empty closed sets.

79
 A space X is connected the only subsets of X that are both open and closed are X and .

3. From definition (4) observe that

A  A ∩ u   A ∩ v ,   A ∩ u  ∩ A ∩ v 
 A ⊂ u  v, u ∩ v ⊂ A c
Therefore u  v is a disconnection iff A ∩ u ≠  , A ∩ v ≠ 
A ⊂ u  v , u ∩ v ⊂ Ac.

Example 6.18:
1.  is connected.
2. Any space with only one element p is connected.
3. X, I indiscrete space is connected.

Example 6.19:
Let
X  1, 2, 3, 4, 5,  1  X, , 1, 1, 2,  2  X, , 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Then  1 is connected and  2 is disconnected.

Example 6.20:
Let X  a, b, c, d, e,   X, , a, b, c, c, d, e, c.
Take A  a, d, e. Then let u  a, b, c, v  c, d, e
 A ∩ u  a ≠  and A ∩ v  d, c ≠  such that
A  A ∩ u  A ∩ v.
Thus A is disconnected.

Theorem 6.21:
X,  is connected  the only non- empty sets which is open and closed
are X,  itself.

Proof :
Assume X,  is connected. Let u be a non-empty set such that u is open
and closed .We have to prove
that X  u??
∵ u is closed  u c is open.
Hence X  u  u c , u ∩u c  
 X is a union of two disjoint open sets  X is not connected
 .Therefore X  u.

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 Conversely ,suppose X is the only set ( non- empty set) which is both
open and closed .
Assume X is disconnected.
 ∃ two non- empty disjoint open sets s.t.
X  uv ,u ∩ v   , u, v ∈ 
 u  v is closed  v  X and u   
c

Hence X must be connected.

Example 6.22:
1. Let X  a, b, c, d, e,   X, , a, c, d, a, c, d, b, c, d, e
The closed sets are
, X , b, c, d, e, a, b, e, b, e, a
∵ X  a  b, c, d, e ( a, b, c, d, e are both open -and closed ).
Thus X is disconnected .

2. Let A  b, d, e   A  A,  , d

∵ A,  are the only open and closed sets  A is connected .

Example 6.23:
R ,  are connected .
Since R,  are the only subsets of R which are both open and closed .

Theorem 6.24:
Continuous images of connected sets are connected .

Proof :
Let f : X  Y be a continuous map from a connected space X into a
topological space Y . Thus
f : X  fX is continuous (where fX ⊆ Y has the relative topology )
.
We want to prove that fX is connected .Suppose fX is disconnected .
 ∃ two disjoint open sets of fX such that
fX  u  v, u ∩ v  
∵ f is continuous f −1 u , f −1 v are open subsets of X.
Consider f −1 u  f −1 v  f −1 u  v  f −1 fX  X.

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 and f −1 u ∩ f −1 v  f −1 u ∩ v  f −1   
Thus X is a union of two disjoint open subsets  X is disconnected

Therefore fX is Connected .

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