CHAPTER 2

THE REAL NUMBERS

I this chapter we will discuss the essential properties of the real number system R Although it is possible to give a formal construction of this system on the basis of a more primitive set (such as the set N of natural numbers or the set Q of rational numbers), we have chosen not to do so. Instead, we exhibit a list of fundamental properties associated with the real numbers and show how further properties can be deduced from them. This kind of activity is much more useful in l e a i n g the tools of analysis than examining the logical diffculties of constructing a model for R The real number system can be described as a "complete ordered feld", and we will discuss that description in considerable detail. In Section 2.1, we frst introduce the "algebraic" properties-{fen called the "feld" properties in abstact algebra-that are based on the two operations of addition and multiplication. We continue the section with the introduction of the "order" properties of R and we derive some consequences of these properties and illustrate their use in working with inequalities. The notion of absolute value, which is based on the order properties, is discussed in Section 2.2. In Section 2.3, we make the fnal step by adding the crucial "completeness" property to the algebraic and order properties of R It is this property, which was not fully understood until the late nineteenth century, that underlies the theory of limits and continuity and essentially all that follows in this book. The rigorous development of real analysis would not be possible without this essential property. In Section 2.4, we apply the Completeness Property to derive several fundamental results concering K, including the Archimedean Property, the existence of square roots, and the density of rational numbers in R We establish, in Section 2.5, the Nested Interval Property and use it to prove the uncountability of R We also discuss its relation to binary and decimal representations of real numbers. Part of the purpose of Sections 2.1 and 2.2 is to provide examples of proofs of elementary theorems from explicitly stated assumptions. Students can thus gain experience in writing formal proofs before encountering the more subtle and complicated arguments related to the Completeness Property and its consequences. However, students who have previously studied the axiomatic method and the technique of proofs (perhaps in a course on abstract algebra) can move to Section 2.3 after a cursory look at the earlier sections. A brief discussion of logic and types of proofs can be found in Appendix A at the back of the book.

Section 2.1

The Algebraic and Order Properties of l

We begin with a brief discussion of the "algebraic structure" of the real number system. We will give a short list of basic properties of addition and multiplication from which all other algebraic properties can be derived as theorems. In the terminology of abstract algebra, the system of real numbers is a "feld" with respect to addition and multiplication. The basic 22

properties listed in 2.1.1 are known as the feld axioms. A binar opertion associates with each pair (a, b) a unique element B(a, b), but we will use the conventional notations of a + b and a b when discussing the properties of addition and multiplication. 2.1.1 Algebraic Properties of R On the set R of real numbers there are two binary operations, denoted by + and . and called addition and multiplication, respectively. These operations satisfy the following properties: (AI) (A2) (A3) a + b = b + a for all a, b in l (commutative prpert of addition); (a + b) + c = a + (b + c) for all a, b, c in R (associative propert of addition); there exists an element 0 in R such that 0 + a = a and a + 0 = a for all a in R (existence of a zer element); (A4) for each a in R there exists an element -a in R such that a + (-a) = 0 and (a) + a = 0 (existence of negative elements); (MI) a b = b a for all a, b in R (commutative propert of multiplication); (M2) (a b) c = a (b c) for all a, b, c in R (associative prpert of multiplication); (M3) there exists an element 1 in R distinct frm 0 such that 1 . a = a and a 1 = a for all a in R (existence of a unit element); (M4) for each a / 0 in l there exists an element I/a in R such that a (l/a) = 1 and (1 /a) -a = 1 (existence of reciprocals); (D) a (b + c) = (a b) + (a c) and (b + c) a = (b a) + (c a) for all a, b, c in R (distributive prpert of multiplication over addition). These properties should be familiar to the reader. The first four are concered with addition, the next four with multiplication, and the last one connects the two operations. The point of the list is that all the familiar techniques of algebra can be derived from these nine properties, in much the same spirit that the theorems of Euclidean geomety can be deduced from the fve basic axioms stated by Euclid in his Elements. Since this task more properly belongs to a course in abstract algebra, we will not carry it out here. However, to exhibit the spirit of the endeavor, we will sample a few results and their proofs. We first establish the basic fact that the elements 0 and 1, whose existence were asserted in (A3) and (M3), are in fact unique. We also show that multiplication by 0 always results in O. 2.1.2 Theorem (a) I z and a are elements in R with z + a = a, then z = 0. (b) If u and b ^0 are elements in R with u b = b, then u 1. (c) I a E R, then a 0 = 0. Poof (a) Using (A3), (A4), (A2), the hypothesis z + a = a, and (A4), we get z

= z + 0 = z+ (a + (-a)) = (z + a) + (-a) = a + (-a) = 0.

(b) Using (M3), (M4), (M2), the assumed equality u b = b, and (M4) again, we get u = u . 1 = u (b (\/b)) = ( u - b ) - (\/b) = b (\/b) = 1. (c) We have (why?) a + a-0 = a . l + a - 0 = a . (l + 0) = a .l= a. Therefore, we conclude from (a) that a 0 = 0. Q.E.D.

We next establish two important properties of multiplication: the uniqueness of reciprocals and the fact that a product of two numbers is zero only when one of the factors is zero.