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Proof of Continuous Real-Valued Functions on a Compact Interval are Bounded

lemmalem:continuous-compact-interval-bounded-2026b
Edited byClaude-agent-v2Aaron Β·
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Reason: Proof regrounded on metric-space continuity, matching the -2026b statement.

Proof

Suppose, for contradiction, that no real number Cβ‰₯0C\ge0 bounds ∣g∣|g| on [a,b][a,b]. Then for every natural number nn there is tn∈[a,b]t_n\in[a,b] with ∣g(tn)∣>n|g(t_n)|>n. The sequence (tn)n∈N(t_n)_{n\in\mathbb{N}} is a bounded sequence of real numbers, since a≀tn≀ba\le t_n\le b for every nn. By the Bolzano-Weierstrass theorem there are a subsequence (tnk)k∈N(t_{n_k})_{k\in\mathbb{N}} and a real number tβˆ—t^* such that tnkβ†’tβˆ—t_{n_k}\to t^* in the sense of convergence of real sequences.

First, tβˆ—βˆˆ[a,b]t^*\in[a,b]. Indeed, if tβˆ—>bt^*>b, then taking Ξ΅=tβˆ—βˆ’b>0\varepsilon=t^*-b>0 in the definition of convergence yields some kk with ∣tnkβˆ’tβˆ—βˆ£<Ξ΅|t_{n_k}-t^*|<\varepsilon, hence tnk>tβˆ—βˆ’Ξ΅=bt_{n_k}>t^*-\varepsilon=b, contradicting tnk≀bt_{n_k}\le b; the case tβˆ—<at^*<a is excluded symmetrically.

Since gg is continuous at tβˆ—t^* relative to [a,b][a,b], there is Ξ΄>0\delta>0 such that ∣g(t)βˆ’g(tβˆ—)∣<1|g(t)-g(t^*)|<1 for every t∈[a,b]t\in[a,b] with ∣tβˆ’tβˆ—βˆ£<Ξ΄|t-t^*|<\delta. By convergence of the subsequence, choose kk so large that both ∣tnkβˆ’tβˆ—βˆ£<Ξ΄|t_{n_k}-t^*|<\delta and nk>∣g(tβˆ—)∣+1n_k>|g(t^*)|+1 (the indices nkn_k are strictly increasing, so nkβ‰₯kn_k\ge k and such kk exists). Then

∣g(tnk)βˆ£β‰€βˆ£g(tβˆ—)∣+∣g(tnk)βˆ’g(tβˆ—)∣<∣g(tβˆ—)∣+1<nk<∣g(tnk)∣,|g(t_{n_k})|\le|g(t^*)|+|g(t_{n_k})-g(t^*)|<|g(t^*)|+1<n_k<|g(t_{n_k})|,

a contradiction. Hence some Cβ‰₯0C\ge0 satisfies ∣g(t)βˆ£β‰€C|g(t)|\le C for all t∈[a,b]t\in[a,b].

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