Section 1.

3 - The Completeness Axiom

1. R needs one more axiom to deal with limits. There is more than one way to state the
completeness axiom. We will use the idea of a bounded set.
2. Let A be a set of real numbers.
(a) If there is a real number b for which x b for every x A, then b is said to be an
upper bound for A. (A is bounded above.)
(b) If there is a real number c for which c x for every x A, then c is said to be an lower
bound for A. (A is bounded below.)
(c) Define bounded and unbounded.
3. Let A R be bounded above. The number b is a least upper bound (l.u.b.) if
(a) b is an upper bound of A, and
(b) If c is also an upper bound of A, then b c. (Note contrapositive.)
4. Let A R be bounded below. The number b is a greatest lower bound (g.l.b.) if
(a) b is a lower bound of A, and
(b) If c is also a lower bound of A, then c b. (Note contrapositive.)
5. Let S be an ordered field. Then S is complete if for 6= A S that is bounded above, S
contains the l.u.b. of A.
6. The Axiom of Completeness (for real numbers):
A9 The real numbers are complete. (Note that Q is not.)
7. Theorem: If the l.u.b. and g.l.b. of a set of real numbers exist, they are unique.
(Book does l.u.b.s.)
pf. Assume that there are two g.l.bs, and .
8. Let x (1, ), and let r be a positive irrational number. Then xr is the l.u.b. of
A = {xp |p is a positive rational number less than r}.
If 0 < x < 1 and r is a positive irrational number, then xr = 1/y r where y = 1/x.
Note: xr = 1/xr .
9. Theorem:
(a) A number is the l.u.b. of A R
i. is an upper bound of A, and
ii. Given any > 0, there exists a number x() A for which x() > .
(b) A number is the g.l.b. of A R
i. is a lower bound of A, and
ii. Given any > 0, there exists a number x() A for which x() < + .

pf. Part (a). (i) follows by definition. Suppose is an l.u.b., and > 0 is given.
< is not a u.b x 3 < x < .
Now assume (i) and (ii) hold. (i) is an u.b. Let
be another u.b. Assume >

let =
>0
isnt a u.b. C .
Proof of part (b) is similar.

n
1 2 3
10. Example: Let A = { 2 , 3 , 4 , } =
n N}.
n + 1
The l.u.b. is 1. Pick = .1, .01, .001, . Observe that we pick first, then we can find an
element of A that exceeds 1 .
Note that the l.u.b. is not in A, but we could let B = A {1}.
11. If A is a finite set, the l.u.b. is the largest element of A.
12. Theorem: Let
/ A be the l.u.b. of A. Then for any > 0, ( , ) contains an infinite
number of points of A.
pf. by contradiction. If not, then ( , ) contains a finite number of points of A, say
x1 , , xn , arranged in ascending order. Then xn a for all a A and xn < xn is the
l.u.b. of A. C!
13. Let A be a set of real numbers, and let c be a real number. Then
cA = {cx|x A.}
14. Theorem: Let A be a bounded set of real numbers with c R. Then
(a) If c > 0 then
i. l.u.b.(cA) = c l.u.b. A.
ii. g.l.b.(cA) = c g.l.b. A.
(b) If c < 0 then
i. l.u.b.(cA) = c g.l.b. A.
ii. g.l.b.(cA) = c l.u.b. A.
Dont prove.
15. Theorem (The Archimedean Principle): If a and b are real numbers with a > 0, then there
exists n Z+ such that na > b.
pf. Let A = {ka|k Z+ }.
If A isnt bounded above, then b cant be an upper bound (na > b), done.
Assume A is bounded above (contradiction) A has an l.u.b () by Completeness.
Since a > 0, a < a isnt an upper bound for A, and hence there exists N
such that a < N a.
It follows that < (N + 1)a A so that is not an upper bound for A. C!

16. Cardinality:
Two sets A and B have the same cardinality if there is a 1-1 onto function (bijection)
from A to B.
A set S is finite with cardinality n if there is a bijection from S to {1, . . . , n}.
The empty set has cardinality 0.
Sets that dont have finite cardinality are called infinite sets.
A set S is countable if it has the same cardinality as some subset of the positive
integers.
Sets that are not countable are uncountable.
17. Example:
(a) The set of integers is countable with

f (n) =

2n + 1 if n 0
2n if n < 0.

(b) Rational numbers are countable: p/q 2p 3q , but real numbers are uncountable.
18. Theorem: The union of a countable collection of countable subsets is countable.
Dont prove.
19. Theorem: The real numbers in (0, 1) form an uncountable set.
pf.
Note that any real number in (0, 1) can be written as an infinite decimal.
Suppose that the set can be enumerated with elements x1 , x2 , x3 , . . ..
x1 = .a11 a12 a13 , x2 = .a21 a22 a23 , x3 = .a31 a32 a33 ,
Let b = .b1 b2 b3 , where

bi =

1, if aii =
6 1
2, if aii = 1

Observe that b differs from every xi , as it is different in the ith position.

20. Cantors Theorem: (Why there can be no largest set)
For any set X, let P(X) denote the set of subsets of X. Then the cardinal number of P(X)
is strictly larger than the cardinal number of X.
Dont prove.