4

Continuous functions

4.1

Some examples

Consider the functions () = 2 and () =

||
.

Figure 6: The graph of () = 2 (a continuous function).

Figure 7: The graph of () =

||

(a function discontinuous at = 0).

By inspecting the graphs of and , you can notice the following dierence: the graph of can be drawn with
a single line stroke (i.e. without lifting the pencil o the paper), but the graph of cannot be drawn like this (once
you arrive at the point = 0, you have to lift the pencil o the paper to continue graphing).
In this section we will describe this type of behaviour of functions, known as continuity.

4.2

The continuity of a real-valued function of a real variable

Intuitively, a function is continuous at a point if its graph does not have jumps at that point. The formal definition
is the following.
Definition 4.1 (Definition of continuity at a point) Let : R R and 0 .
We say that is continuous at = 0 if for any 0 there exists () 0 such that
| () (0 )|

for all with | 0 | ()

(5)

or equivalent4
lim () = (0 )

(6)

(the limit lim0 () exists and equals (0 )).

If is not continuous at = 0 , we say that is discontinuous at = 0 .
If is continuous at every point 0 we say that is continuous on .
Remark 4.2 Note that unlike the definition of the limit lim0 (), the definition of continuity of at = 0
requires to be defined at 0 (i.e. 0 ).
4 In fact, for the two definitions to be equivalent we need to assume that is not an isolated point of . If is an isolated
0
0
point of , then the definition shows that is continuous at 0 .

21

3
Example 4.3 Consider the function : = (1 1) (1 3] {5} R, () = 1
.
We first note that 0 = 5 is an isolated point of , so by the definition is continuous at 0 = 5 (every
function is continuous at an isolated point).
The function is continuous at 0 = 2, because

lim () =

3
= 3 = (2)
21

lim () =

3
3
= = (3)
31
2

Similarly, at 0 = 3, we have
%3

hence is continuous at = 3.
Note that at = 1 the function is not continuous (the function is not defined for = 1).
Also, the function is not continuous at = 1 since is not defined at this point. Another reason for
which the function is not continuous at = 1 is that the lim1 () does not exist (lim%1 () = and
lim&1 () = +).
The above discussion can be summarized by saying that is continuous on = (1 1) (1 3] {5}.
Remark 4.4 As it can be seen from the previous example, if 0 is an isolated point of , then any function
: R R is continuous at 0 (i.e. any function is continuous at an isolated point).
Just as in the case of sided limits, we can define the sided continuity at a point. For example, the notion of
continuity from the left is defined as follows (continuity from the right is defined similarly):
Definition 4.5 Let : R R and 0 . We say that is continuous from the left at = 0 if for any
0 there exists () 0 such that
| () (0 )|

for all with 0 () 0

or equivalent
lim () = (0 )

%0

(lim%0 () exists and equals (0 )).

Remark 4.6 From the definitions above it is easy to see that is continuous at = 0 if and only if it is continuous
both from the left and from the right at = 0 , that is:
lim () = lim () = (0 )

%0

&0

(7)

Example 4.7 It is easy to see that the function : R R defined by

1
0
() =
1
0
is continuous from the left at 0 = 0, but it is not continuous from the right at 0 = 0 (lim%0 () = (0) = 1 6=
1 = lim&0 ()).
The following shows that the continuity is preserved under the usual operations with functions:
Theorem 4.8 Let : R R be continuous at = 0 .
a) The functions , and (provided () 6= 0 ) are also continuous at = 0 ;
b) If () and : R R is continuous at (0 ), then the composition : R R is also
continuous at = 0 .
Proof. The statement follows from the definition with limits of continuity and from the corresponding properties
of limits.
Theorem 4.9 (Weierstrasss boundedness theorem) Let R be real numbers with , and let :
[; ] R be a continuous function. Then is bounded on [ ] and attains its bounds. That is, there exist points
[ ] such that for all [ ] we have
( ) () ( )
22

(8)

Proof. Let = inf [] () and = sup[] (), and therefore

()

[ ]

In order to show that is bounded we have left to show that and are finite, more precisely we have to
show that 6= and 6= +.
If we assume that = , from the definition of = inf [] () it follows that there exists a sequence
( )1 [ ] such that lim ( ) = = .
Since ( )1 is a bounded sequence ( [ ], 1), it contains a convergent subsequence ( )1 , that is
lim = [ ]. Since the function is continuous on [ ], it is continuous in particular at = , so
() = lim ( ) = lim ( ) =

which is a contradiction.
Therefore cannot equal , and similarly it can be shown that cannot equal +, so we have shown that
is bounded on [ ].
Next, we will show that must attains its bounds on [ ]. Assume that there is no [ ] such that
( ) = = inf [] (), and therefore () for all [ ].
The function : [ ] R defined by
() =

()

[ ]

is continuous on [ ] (the function is continuous on [ ] and 6= on [ ]) and also () 0 for [ ]

(since () for [ ]).
By the previous part of the proof it follows that is bounded on [ ], hence 0 = sup[] () 0. We
1
0 or equivalent (recall that by assumption () for all [ ])
have () = ()
() +

1

0

which shows that

inf () +

[]

1

0

in contradiction with our assumption that inf [] () = . The contradiction obtained shows that there exists
[ ] such that ( ) = .
Similarly it can be shown that there exists [ ] such that ( ) = , concluding the proof.
The next result shows that a continuous function defined on a closed and bounded interval assumes every
intermediate value. This means for example that if the function takes the values 1 and 3, then it must take any
value between 1 and 3; it cannot jump from 1 to 3 without taking all the intermediate values between them.
The precise statement is the following.
Theorem 4.10 (Intermediate Value Theorem) Let R be real numbers with , and let : [ ] R
be a continuous function on [ ]. Then for every between () and () there exists 0 [ ] such that (0 ) = .
Proof. Without
loss of generality we may assume that () ().

If +
the proof.
=
,
then we can choose 0 = +
2
2 and conclude
+
+
+
If 2 , consider 1 = 2 and 1 = , and if 2 , consider 1 = and 1 = +
2 .

1 +1

1 +1
1
1
Next, if 1 +
=
and
conclude
the
proof.
If

=
,
we
can
choose

,
consider
2 = 1 +
0
2
2
2
2
1 +1
1 +1
and 2 = 1 , and if
, consider 2 = 1 and 2 = 2 .
2

Inductively, either at some point +

= (concluding the proof), or we can construct a sequence [ ]
2
of nested intervals (i.e. [+1 +1 ] [ ] for each 1), such that ( ) () ( ) and =
2 ,
for all 1.
Note that ( )1 is an increasing and bounded sequence, so it is a convergent sequence. Let 0 = lim
be its limit.
Since = +
2 by construction, it follows that ( )1 is also a convergent sequence, and
lim = lim + lim

23

= 0 + 0 = 0 .
2

We have shown that lim = lim = 0 , and since is continuous at = 0 (it is continuous at any
point of [ ]), it follows that
(0 ) = lim ( ) = lim .

From the construction of the intervals [ ] we have that ( ) ( ) for any 1, and therefore by
passing to the limit with we obtain
(0 ) = lim ( ) lim ( ) = (0 )

and therefore (0 ) = for some 0 [ ], concluding the proof.

Example 4.11 Consider the function () = 3 3 1. Note that (1) = 1 0 and (0) = 1 0. Since
is continuous on the closed bounded interval [1 0], by the Intermediate value theorem it follows that there exists
[1 0] such that () = 0.
In other words, we have shown that the equation 3 3 1 = 0 has a solution in the interval [1 0].
Example 4.12 (Bisection method) Consider again the function () = 3 3 1.
Proceeding as in the proof of the Intermediate value theorem, you can find the approximation of the solution of
the equation 3 3 1 = 0, as follows (the method is known as the bisection method).
Since (1) = 1 0 and (0) = 1 0, you know that the equation () = 0 has a solution in the interval
[1 0]

Since 1+0
2
= (05) 0 and (0) 0, you know that the equation has a solution in the interval [05 0].
Since 05+0
= (025) 0 and (05) 0, you know that the equation has a solution in the interval
2
[05 025].

Since 05025
= (0375) 0 and (025) 0, you know that the equation has a solution in the
2
interval [0375
025].

Since 0375025
= (03125) 0 and (0375) 0, you know that the equation has a solution in the
2
interval [0375
03125].

Since 037503125
= (034375) 0 and (0375) 0, you know that the equation has a solution in
2
the interval[0375 034375].

Since 0375034375
= (0359375) 0 and (034375) 0, you know that the equation has a solution
2
in the interval [0359375 034375].
So one of the solutions of the equation 3 3 1 = 0 is approximately 03. Few more iterations will give you
a better approximation of the solution (more decimals).
4.2.1

Uniform continuity

In the Definition 4.1 of continuity at a point = 0 , the number = () depends in general on the choice of the
point 0 . If however does not depend on the choice of 0 , the continuity of is called uniform, in the sense
that is the same (or uniform) for all points 0 . The formal definition is as follows:
Definition 4.13 We say that the function : R is uniformly continuous on if for any 0 there exists
0 such that
| () ()|
for any with | | .
We have the following:
Proposition 4.14 If : R is uniformly continuous on then it is continuous on (i.e. it is continuous at
any point = 0 ).
Proof. Follows immediately from the definition of uniform continuity by considering = 0 .
The converse of the above theorem is not generally true, as can be checked by considering the function :
(0 1) R with () = 1 which is continuous on (0 1) but it is not uniformly continuous on (0 1).
However, under the additional hypothesis that the domain of is a closed interval, the converse of the above
proposition is true:
Theorem 4.15 If : [ ] R is continuous on the closed interval [ ], then it is uniformly continuous on [ ].
24

Proof. Assuming is not uniformly continuous on [ ], there exists 0 such that for any 0 there exist
points [ ] with | | such that | () ()| .
In particular, choosing = 1 for = 1 2 , we can construct two sequences ( )1 and ( )1 of points
in [ ], such that
1
= 1 2
| |
and
| ( ) ( )|

Since ( )1 [ ] is a bounded sequence, it contains a convergent subsequence, say lim = [ ].

Since | | 1 for all 1, it follows that ( )1 is also a convergent subsequence, and lim = .
Passing to the limit in the inequality | ( ) ( )| with , and using the continuity of we
obtain

lim ( ) lim ( ) = | () ()| = 0

contradicting 0.
The contradiction obtained shows that must be uniformly continuous on [ ], concluding the proof.
The following property is useful for showing a certain function is uniformly continuous:
Proposition 4.16 If : R R and there exists a constant R such that
| () ()| | |

then is uniformly continuous on .

Proof. Given 0, we can choose =

such that for any with | | we have

| () ()| | |

and therefore is uniformly continuous on .

Example 4.17 Using the above proposition we see that the function : [0 3] R given by () = 3 is uniformly
continuous on [0 3], since there exists = 27 such that

| () ()| = 3 3 = ( ) 2 + + 2

2
2

|| + || + || | |

32 + 3 3 + 32 | |
= 27 | |
for any [0 3].
Also note that since is uniformly continuous on [0 3], it is also continuous on [0 3] by Theorem 4.15.

4.3

Continuity of a real-valued function of vector variable

Consider now a function = (1 ) of variables (or a function of a vector variable). We define the
continuity of the function at a point 0 similar to the case = 1 (Definition 4.1), as follows.

Definition
4.18 Let : R R and 0 be a point of . We say that is continuous at 0 =
0
0
1 , if it satisfies for any 0 there exists () 0 such that

| () ()0 |

for all = (1 ) with k 0 k ()

or equivalent
lim () = (0 )

(lim0 () exists and equals (0 )).

25

Example 4.19 Consider the function : R2 {(0 0)} R defined by

(
1 22
if (1 2 ) 6= (0 0)
2 +2

(1 2 ) =
1
2
0
if (1 2 ) = (0 0)

The function is continuous at the point 0 = 01 02 = (0 0) by the definition with of continuity, because
given 0 there exists () = 2 0, such that

1 22
1 22

0 p 2 2
| (1 2 ) (0 0)| = 2
1 + 22
2 |1 2 |
1
=
|2 |
2
1

||||
2
1

2 =
2
p
for any = (1 2 ) R2 {(0 0)} with 0 || 0|| = 21 + 22 () = 2.
Since for (1 2 ) = (0 0) we have trivially | (0 0) (0 0)| = 0 , it follows that for any 0 there exists
() = 2 such that | () (0 0)| for any = (1 2 ) R with || 0|| (), which proves the claim.
Similar to the case when = 1, the properties of sum/dierence, product/quotient and composition of continuous
functions (Theorem 4.8) also hold in this case.

4.4

Continuity of a vector-valued function of vector variable

Consider the function = (1 ) : R R and let 0 = 01 0 .

Definition 4.20 We say that is continuous at 0 = 01 0 , if for each = 1 the function

: R R is continuous at 0 .
We say that the function is continuous on the set if is continuous at any point 0 .
We say that the function is uniformly continuous on if for any 0 there exists 0 such that
|| () ()||

for any with || ||

(or equivalently, that for each = 1 , the function : R R is uniformly continuous on ).

From the above definition, we see that the study of the continuity of a function = (1 ) : R R
reduces to the study of the continuity for each of the coordinate functions 1 : R R.
Example 4.21 The function : R2 R3 , (1 2 ) = (1 + 1 2 + 2 3 + 1 2 ) is continuous at the point 0 =
(0 0) R2 , since each of the functions 1 (1 2 ) = 1 + 1 , 2 (1 2 ) = 2 + 2 and
1 2 ) = 3 + 1 2 are
3 (
continuous at this point. Replacing the point 0 = (0 0) by an arbitrary point 0 = 01 02 R2 , we see that the
function is continuous at any point 0 R2 (since 1 , 2 and 3 are continuous at any point 0 R2 ).

Exercises
1. Study the continuity of the following functions:
2

[0 1]
(a) : [0 2] R, () =
;
+ 1 (1 2]

sin 1 6= 0
(b) : R R, () =
;
0
=0

sin 1 6= 0
(c) : R R, () =
;
0
=0

26

2. Consider the function () =

(0 1), (0 1], [1 ), (1 )?

1 .

3. Determine if the function

On which of the following intervals is the function continuous [0 1),

(
1+
() =
0

||

+ sin 1 6= 0
=0

is continuous from the left / right at = 0. Is continuous at = 0?

4. Use the properties of continuous functions (Theorem 4.8) to determine the intervals on which the following
functions are continuous:

1
1
(a) () = 9 2 , () = 3 9 2 , () = 9
2 , () = 3 92 ;
2

1
(b) () = sin + , () = ln (1 + sin ), () = sin 1
, () =

1
cos ;

5. Determine the value of the constant such that the following functions are continuous:

2 2 + 2 [1 2]
;
(a) : [1 3] R, () =
+ 3
=0
sin((1))
1
1
(b) : R R, () =
;
2 + 1 1
1cos
2 6= 0
(c) : R R, () =
;
2
=0
2

0
1
;
(d) : R R, () =
(1 + ) 0
3+2 27
9 9 6= 1 ;
(e) : R R, () =

=1
sin(2)
2 5+6 2 ;
(f) : R R, () =
2

6. Find the constants R so that the given functions are continuous on R.

0
2 +
sin 1 + 1 0 1 ;
(a) : R R, () =
3
1
+ 2

3 + 1 0
+
01 ;
(b) : R R, () =

+ 2 1

3 + 0
+
01
(c) : R R, () =

+ 4 1
7. Study the uniform continuity of the following functions:
(a) : [2 2] R, () = 2 ;

(b) : R R, () = 2 ;

(c) : (0 1] R, () = cos 1 ;

Hint: a) use the fact that is continuous on a closed bounded interval; b) show that for any 1 there are
points R with | | = 1 for which | ( ) ( )| 1; b) show that for any 1 there are
points (0 1] with | | = 1 for which | ( ) ( )| = 2;
8. Determine if the following functions are continuous at (0 0)

27

(a) : R R, ( ) =
(b) : R2 R, ( ) =
(c) : R2 R, ( ) =
2

(d) : R R, ( ) =
2

(e) : R R, ( ) =
(f) : R2 R, ( ) =

(
(

(
(
(

3 3

0
2 2
2 + 2

2 +2

6=
=
( ) 6= (0 0)
( ) = (0 0)
( ) 6= (0 0)
( ) = (0 0)

sin(4 + 4 )
2 + 2

( ) 6= (0 0)
( ) = (0 0)

1cos(2 + 2 )

2 +2

1cos 2 +2
tan(2 + 2 )
1
2

( ) 6= (0 0)
( ) = (0 0)
( ) 6= (0 0)
( ) = (0 0)

9. Determine if the given functions are continuous at the indicated point:

(a) : R3 R2 , ( ) = ( + sin + 2 + ), at (0 1 2) ;

p
(b) : R3 R3 , ( ) = + 2 + 1 + sin 2 + , at (0 0 0) ;

10. Consider the function () = 3 + 52 4 1. Show that the equation () = 0 has at least one solution
in the interval [0 1].
11. Show that the equation 3 + 2 + + = 0 with 0 has at least one solution. Does the conclusion hold
if 0? Does the conclusion hold if = 0?
12. Show that the equation = 2 has at least one solution.
13. Consider the function () = 2 2 sin 1.
(a) Evaluate (0).
(b) Find a real number 0 such that () 0. Use the Intermediate value theorem to show that there
exists a real number 0 such that () = 0.
(c) Find a real number 0 such that () 0. Use the Intermediate value theorem to show that that
there exists a real number 0 such that () = 0.
14. Suppose that the function is continuous on the interval [0 1], and that 0 () 1 for every [0 1].
Show that there exists [0 1] such that () = .

28