prove that no closed interval is the union of two mutually exclusive closed poin
ID: 3183958 • Letter: P
Question
prove that no closed interval is the union of two mutually exclusive closed point sets.
Notes:
you could use the Completness Axion __> if M is a point set and there is a point to the right of every point of M then there is either a right-most point of M or a first point to the right of M.
also you could use if f is a continuous function whose domain includes the closed interval [a,b] and there is a point x in [a,b] so that f(x) is greater than or equal to zero then the set of all numbers x element of [a,b] such that f(x) >= 0 is a closed point set.
you could use this as well if f is a continuouse function whose domain includes a closed interval [a,b] and p is an element of [a,b] then the set of all numbers x is an elemnt [a,b] such that f(x) = f(p) is a closed point set.
you also could use the definition that says the statment that the point sets H and K are disjointed or mutually exclusive means that they have no point in common.
Explanation / Answer
Proof:
Let H=[aH,bH] and K=[aK,bK] where H and K are mutually exclusive.
Since H and K are both closed point sets they each have a leftmost point and a right most point (by the definition of a closed point set).
If there is a point pH between any two points m and n of K, then by axiom 1.6, there is a point q between both (m and q) and (q and n). Thus HK is not a closed interval.
If H<K then by axiom 1.6 there exists some point pxbetween the right most point of H
and the leftmost point of K where pxHK and again, no closed interval exists.
By symmetrical argument for the case where K<H there is a point between the leftmost point and right most point of KH that is not a member.
the union of two mutually exclusive closed point sets in not a closed interval.
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