Topology Homework #1—Solutions

1. Let A ⊆ R (in the usual topology) and suppose A is connected. Prove that if a, b ∈ A
and a < c < b, then c ∈ A. (Baum, pp. 100)
[This shows that the connected subsets of R are intervals.]

Proof: Suppose not. That is, suppose that A is connected, a, b ∈ A and a < c < b, but
c∈/ A. Then A ⊆ {c}c = (−∞, c)∪(c, ∞). Now A∩(−∞, c) and A∩(c, ∞) are disjoint open
subsets of A whose union is all of A. In addition, they are non-empty, since a ∈ A∩(−∞, c)
and b ∈ A ∩ (c, ∞). Thus they constitute a separation of A. This contradicts A being
connected. Hence, it must be false that c ∈ / A. That is, c ∈ A.

2. Let T and T 0 be topologies on X. If T 0 ⊃ T , what does connectedness of X in one

topology imply about connectedness in the other? (Munkres, pp. 151)

Solution: That X is connected in a given topology means that no pair of non-empty

open sets forms a separation of X. Hence, in any smaller (coarser) topology there is no
separation. A larger (finer) topology, on the other hand, might have a pair of open sets
that separates X.
That is, if X is connected under T 0 , then X is connected under T . Conversely, if
X is connected under T , X may not be connected under T 0 . For example, the indiscrete
topology is contained in the discrete topology for any set X. If X has more than one
point, X is connected under the indiscrete topology, but not connected under the discrete
topology.

3. Prove the following theorem:

Theorem. Let {Aα } be a collection of connected subsets of a topological space
[ X. Let
A be another connected subset of X. Suppose A ∩ Aα 6= ∅ for each α. Then Aα ∪ A
is connected.
[Hint: Use Lemma 1.2 from Munkres.]
[ 
Proof: Let Y = Aα ∪ A. Let U, V be any non-empty, disjoint open sets of X such
that Y ⊆ U ∪ V . By Lemma 1.2, since A ⊆ Y ⊆ U ∪ V , we have that A is entirely
contained within one of U or V . Say A ⊆ U , so A ∩ V = ∅. For any α, Aα ⊆ Y ⊆ U ∪ V ,
so we similarly have that Aα is entirely contained in one of U or V (and disjoint from the
other). But Aα ∩ [A 6= ∅,
 so Aα ∩ U 6= ∅. Hence, Aα ⊆ U (and Aα ∩ V = ∅) for each α.
Therefore, Y = Aα ∪ A ⊆ U and Y ∩ V = ∅. Since no pair of non-empty, disjoint
open sets forms a separation of Y , we conclude that Y is connected.