MA541 - Real analysis

Tutorial Sheet-1, July-November 2025

Subjective Questions
Q1. If a, b ∈ R, prove the following:

(a) If a + b = 0, then b = −a.

(b) If a · a = a, then either a = 0 or a = 1
(c) ab = 0 if and only if either a = 0 or b = 0
(d) If a ̸= 0 and b ̸= 0, show that (a−1 )−1 = a and 1/(ab) = (1/a)(1/b)

Q2. (a) If a < b and c ≤ d, prove that a + c < b + d

(b) Show that if a < b, then a < 21 (a + b) < b

Q3. Find all x ∈ R that satisfy the following:

(a) |x + 1| + |x − 2| = 7 (b) |x| + |x + 1| < 2

Q4. Let ϵ > 0 and δ > 0, and p ∈ R. Show that Bϵ (p)∪Bδ (p) and Bϵ (p)∩Bδ (p) are γ-neighborhoods
of p for appropriate value of γ.

Q5. Find the supremum and the infimum of the following sets:
(−1)n
   
1
(a) 1 − :n∈N (b) 1 − : n ∈ N
n n
   
1 1 m
(c) − : n, m ∈ N (d) : m, n ∈ N
n m m+n
 
2 1
(e) {x ∈ R : x − 5x + 6 < 0} (f) x + : x ∈ R
x

Q6. Let A and B be two bounded subsets of R. The sum of A and B is defined by

A + B = {a + b : a ∈ A, b ∈ B}.

Show that

(a) inf(A + B) = inf(A) + inf(B)

(b) sup(A + B) = sup(A) + sup(B)
 Q7. Let A be a nonempty bounded subset of R. For a real number x, we define

xA = {xa : a ∈ A}.

Prove that:

(a) If x > 0, then inf(xA) = x · inf(A) and sup(xA) = x · sup(A).

(b) If x < 0, then inf(xA) = x · sup(A) and sup(xA) = x · inf(A).

Q8. Let q1 and q2 be two distinct real numbers. Then show that there exists an irrational number
between them.

Q9. Use the Archimedean property to show that

\  1 1
− , = {0}.
n∈N
n n

1
Q10. For 0 < a < b where a, b ∈ R, prove that there exists an n ∈ N such that < a and b < n.
n

Single-Answer Questions
 √ √
Q1. Consider the set A = x ∈ Q : 0 < ( 2 − 1)x < 2 + 1 as a subset of R. Which of the
following statements is true?
√
(a) sup A = 2 + 2 3
√
(b) sup A = 3 + 2 2
√
(c) inf A = 2 + 2 3
√
(d) inf A = 3 + 2 2

Q2. Let
1 − x4
 
S = x ∈ R : x > 1 and > 22 .
1 − x3
Which of the following is true about S?

(a) S is empty.
(b) There is a bijection between S and N.
(c) There is a bijection between S and R.
(d) There is a bijection between S and a non-empty finite set.

Q3. Let C be the collection of all sets S such that the power set of S is countably infinite. Which
of the following statements is true?

(a) There exists a non-empty finite set in C

(b) There exists a countably infinite set in C
 (c) There exists an uncountable set in C
(d) C is empty

Q4. What is the cardinality of the set of real solutions of ex + x = 1?

(a) 0
(b) 1
(c) Countably infinite
(d) Uncountable

Q5. Consider the following subset of R:

U = x ∈ R : x2 − 9x + 18 ≤ 0, x2 − 7x + 12 ≤ 0 .


Which one of the following statements is true?

(a) inf U = 5
(b) inf U = 4
(c) inf U = 3
(d) inf U = 2

Q6. Let X be a non-empty finite set and

Y = f −1 (0) : f is a real-valued function on X .



Which one of the following statements is true?

(a) Y is an infinite set.

(b) Y has 2|X| elements.
(c) There is a bijective function from X to Y .
(d) There is a surjective function from X to Y .

Q7. Suppose S is an infinite set. Assuming that the axiom of choice holds, which of the following
is true?

(a) S is in bijection with the set of rational numbers.

(b) S is in bijection with the set of real numbers.
(c) S is in bijection with S × S.
(d) S is in bijection with the power set of S.

Q8. Let x, y ∈ [0, 1] be such that x ̸= y. Which of the following statements is true for every ε > 0?

(a) There exists a positive integer N such that |x − y| < 2n ε for every integer n ≥ N .
(b) There exists a positive integer N such that 2n ε < |x − y| for every integer n ≥ N .
 (c) There exists a positive integer N such that |x − y| < 2−n ε for every integer n ≥ N .
(d) For every positive integer N , |x − y| < 2−n ε for some integer n ≥ N .

Q9. Let S = {1, 2, . . . , 100} and let A = {1, 2, . . . , 10} and B = {41, 42, . . . , 50}. What is the total
number of subsets of S, which have non-empty intersection with both A and B?

2100
(a)
220
100!
(b)
10! · 10!
(c) 280 (210 − 1)2
(d) 2100 − 2 · (210 )

Q10. Which of the following sets are countable?

(a) The set of all polynomials with rational coefficients.

(b) The set of all polynomials with real coefficients having rational roots.
(c) The set of all 2 × 2 real matrices with rational eigenvalues.
(d) The set of all real matrices whose row echelon form has rational entries.

Multiple-Answer Questions
Q1. Let {A
S n }n≥1 be a collection of non-empty subsets of Z such that An ∩ Am = ∅ for m ̸= n. If
Z = n≥1 An , then which of the following statements are necessarily true?

(a) An is finite for every integer n ≥ 1.

(b) An is finite for some integer n ≥ 1.
(c) An is infinite for some integer n ≥ 1.
(d) An is countable (finite or infinite) for every integer n ≥ 1.

Q2. Let x be a real number. Which of the following statements are true?

(a) There exists an integer n ≥ 1 such that n2 sin n1 ≥ x.

(b) There exists an integer n ≥ 1 such that n cos n1 ≥ x.
(c) There exists an integer n ≥ 1 such that ne−n ≥ x.
(d) There exists an integer n ≥ 2 such that n(log n)−1 ≥ x.

√ positive real number δ such that whenever |x − y| < δ, we have

Q3. What is the largest
| cos x − cos y| < 2?
√
(a) 2
3
(b) 2
π
(c) 2
 (d) 2

Q4. Consider the following assertions:

S1: ecos(t) ̸= e2022 sin(t) for all t ∈ (0, π).

S2: For each x > 0, there exists a t ∈ (0, x) such that
x = loge (1 + xet ).
S3: e| sin(x)| ≤ e|x| for all x ∈ (−1, 1).

Which of the above assertions are correct?

(a) Only S1
(b) Only S3
(c) Only S1 and S2
(d) Only S2 and S3

Q5. Let Y be a nonempty bounded, open subset of SRn and let Y denote its closure. Let {Uj }j≥1 be
a collection of open sets in Rn such that Y ⊆ j≥1 Uj . Which of the following statements are
true?
SN
(a) There exist finitely many positive integers j1 , . . . , jN such that Y ⊆ k=1 Ujk .
(b) There exists a positive integer N such that Y ⊆ N
S
j=1 Uj .
S∞
(c) For every subsequence j1 , j2 , . . ., we have Y ⊆ k=1 Ujk .
(d) There exists a subsequence j1 , j2 , . . . such that Y = ∞
S
k=1 Ujk .