Course MT2002 Analysis

Solution 7

  1. (i) Take the sequence (xn) = (1/n) rarrow 0. Then f(1/n) = 1. So, applying f to the sequence (xn) gives the constant sequence converging to 1 noteq f(0). Hence f is not continuous at 0.

    (ii) Take epsilon = 1/2. Then any interval (-delta, delta) containing 0 contains points where f(x) = 1 and so we cannot have |f(x) - f(0)| < epsilon for all the points in such an interval.

  2. Note that the proof that the function f(x) = x2 is easy using the sequential definition.
    Using the epsilon-delta definition: given epsilon > 0 we need to find delta such that |x - 1| < delta implies |x2- 1| < epsilon.
    But |x2- 1| = |x - 1||x + 1| and so provided that x < 2, this is < |x - 1|/3. So taking delta < max{1, epsilon/3} will do.


  3. The graph of the floor function is:
    To show this is discontinuous at any k belongs Z, look at a sequence (k - 1/n) approximating k from above and argue as in Question 1.
    To see that it is continuous at any other point, use the fact that if x is not an integer, then the nearest integer is at least delta away from x for some 0 lte delta lte 1/2. Then on the interval (x - delta, x + delta) the function is constant and hence continuous.


    The [x] function (though be careful, because different references are by no means consistent!) is "x rounded towards zero and so has a graph:

    The proof is similar to that above.

    The fractional part {x} can be written as {x} = x - [x] and so has the same points of discontinuity as [x].

  4. If p > 0 then we can choose a delta so that on the interval (p - delta, p + delta) we have h(x) = g(x) and so h is continuous since g is. Similarly if p < 0.
    Finally at p = 0, given epsilon > 0, we can find delta such that |f(x) - f(0)| < epsilon and |g(x) - g(0)| < epsilon in the interval (-delta, delta). Then we have |h(x) - h(0)| < epsilon on this interval and so h is continuous.

    The function |x| is made by putting together the functions f(x) = x and g(x) = -x and so is continuous by the last result.

    The function |f(x)| is the composite of the function f and x goesto f(x) and so is continuous.

    The function M(x) = 1/2[(f(x) + g(x)) + |f(x) - g(x)|] and so is made from continuous functions using arithmeticc operations and the x goesto |x| function. Hence it is continuous.
    Similarly m(x) = 1/2[(f(x) + g(x)) - |f(x) - g(x)|] is continuous.


  5. Note that the angles are measured in radians so that |x - y| is the length of the arc CD.

    |sin (x) - sin(y)| is the length of the line DE and so the result follows for x, y < p/2. A little thought shows that the result still holds if x, y are in different quadrants.

    Then using the epsilon-delta definition of continuity, we can take delta = epsilon and verify continuity at any point.

    For the cosine function, either argue as above with |cos(x) - cos(y)| = the length of EC or (easier!) use cos(x) = sin(p/2 - x) and compose continuous functions.

    The function tan(x) = sin(x)/cos(x) is then continuous wherever cos(x) noteq 0. That is for x noteq (k + 1/2)p for k belongs Z.