Math 320-1: Midterm 2 Practice Solutions

Northwestern University, Fall 2014

1. Give an example of each of the following. Justify your answer.

(a) A function on (1, 2) which is continuous but not uniformly continuous.
(b) A function which sends Cauchy sequences to Cauchy sequences but is not uniformly con-
tinuous.
(c) A function f on R for which limx→π f (x) exists but where f is not continuous at π.
(d) A function f on R for which limh→0 f (1+h)−f 2h
(1−h)
exists but f 0 (1) does not. (The point here
is that if f 0 (1) exists, one can show that this limit does as well and equals f 0 (1), but the existence
of this limit is not enough to guarantee the existence of f 0 (1).)
(e) A function which is twice differentiable on R but not three-times differentiable.
1
Solution. (a) The function f (x) = x−1 is continuous on (1, 2) since it is a quotient of never zero
continuous functions, but is not uniformly on (1, 2) since it is unbounded. (Recall that a uniformly
continuous function on a bounded interval must be bounded.)
(b) The function f (x) = x2 on R is not uniformly continuous but sends Cauchy sequences to
Cauchy sequences since “Cauchy” means the same thing as “convergent” on R.
(c) Define f (x) = 1 for x 6= π and f (π) = 0. Then limx→π f (x) = 1, which is not f (π) so f is
not continuous at π.
(d) Define f (x) = 1 for x 6= 1 and f (1) = 100. Then for any h 6= 0, f (1+h)−f (1−h) = 1−1 = 0
so limh→0 f (1+h)−f
2h
(1−h)
= 0, but f is not differentiable at 1 since it is not even continuous at 1.
(e) The function defined by f (x) = x4 sin x1 for x 6= 0 and f (0) = 0 works, as seen on Homework
5. Check the solutions to Homework 5 for the justification.

2. Show that the function f defined by f (x) = x3x−1 is continuous on (1, ∞) by directly verifying
the -δ definition of continuity. Is this function uniformly continuous on (1, ∞)?

The solution below is wrong since I computed f (x) − f (a) incorrectly; it should be

x a x(a3 − 1) − a(x3 − 1) xa3 − ax3 + a − x

f (x) − f (a) = − = = .
x3 − 1 a3 − 1 (x3 − 1)(a3 − 1) (x3 − 1)(a3 − 1)

But now the issue is that this correct expression becomes tough to bound correctly—in fact, I would
not expect that you be able to do this easily, certainly not in the time required on an exam. So,
for the sake of getting across the idea I meant the problem to emphasize, go ahead and ignore my
error and assume that
x a
f (x) − f (a) = 3 − 3
x −1 a −1
was in fact correct. Start with this and figure out how to come up with the appropriate bounds.
So in actuality, we’re not showing that f (x) = x3x−1 is continuous, but rather that whatever
function satisfies
x a
f (x) − f (a) = 3 − 3
x −1 a −1
is continuous. (I should have double-checked my work!)

Thoughts. Before giving the proof, let’s work out some details to see where the subtlety is. We
want to make  
 x a  |x − a|
|f (x) − f (a)| =  3 − 3 =
x −1 a −1  |x − 1||a3 − 1|
3
small. Here a is the point we are checking continuity, but x varies so we need a bound on this
expression which only depends on |x − a| (which will be smaller than δ) and a. This means we need
to make the denominator smaller by making the |x3 − 1| term smaller. We have

|x3 − 1| = |x − 1||x2 + x + 1| > |x − 1|

since |1 + x + x2 | > 1 given that x ∈ (1, ∞). Hence the problem boils down to finding a positive
lower bound on |x − 1|. The point is that since the values of x we will consider should be close to
a and 1 < a, being close enough to a will guarantee that x − 1 > a−12 . Indeed, we just need x to
(a−1)
be within 2 away from a. (Draw a picture!)

Proof. Let a ∈ (1, ∞) and let  > 0. Set δ = min a−1 a−1 3

2 , 2 |a − 1| > 0 and suppose that
|x − a| < δ. Then |x − a| < a−12 so

a−1 a−1 a−1

− < x − a, and thus =a− − 1 < x − 1.
2 2 2
Hence
a−1
|x3 − 1| = |x − 1||x2 + x + 1| > |x − 1| >
.
Thus we get
 
 x a  |x − a| δ
|f (x) − f (a)| =  3
 − 3 = 3 < a−1 3 ≤ .
x −1 a −1  |x − 1||a3 − 1| 2 |a − 1|

We conclude that f is continuous at a, so f is continuous on (1, ∞) since a ∈ (1, ∞) was arbitrary.

We claim that f is not uniformly continuous on (1, ∞). Indeed, if f was uniformly continuous
on (1, ∞) it would be uniformly continuous on any smaller interval as well, and so on (1, 2). But f
is unbounded on this interval since it gets arbitrarily large as x approaches 1, so is not uniformly
continuous on (1, 2) since uniformly continuous functions on bounded intervals are bounded. Thus
f is also not uniformly continuous on (1, ∞).

3. Determine, with justification, the points at which the function f : R → R defined by

(
(x − 1)2 x∈Q
f (x) = 1
(x − 1) sin x−1 x ∈
/Q

is continuous.

Yet another mistake on my part. The issue in the presented solution is when I claim that
1
(a − 1) sin 6= (a − 1)2
a−1
for a 6= 1. In fact, if you graph the function
1
g(x) = (x − 1) sin − (x − 1)2
x−1
you’ll see that there are plenty of points where this is zero, giving various values of a 6= 1 where
1
(a − 1) sin = (a − 1)2
a−1
is true. This function is continuous at all such points, but the problem is that such points cannot
be determined precisely. So, the answer should be that f is continuous at any a satisfying
1
(a − 1) sin = (a − 1)2 .
a−1
I’ll leave the incorrect solution as is since the basic idea is right, but be sure to note where my
mistake is.
√
Solution. First we claim that f is continuous at x = 1. Indeed, let  > 0 and set δ = min{, }.
Suppose that |x − 1| < δ. Then if x ∈ Q we have

|f (x) − f (1)| = |x − 1|2 < δ 2 ≤ ,

while if x ∈
/ Q we have
 
 1 
|f (x) − f (1)| = |x − 1| sin
 ≤ |x − 1| < δ ≤ .
x − 1
Thus |x − 1| < δ implies |f (x) − f (1)| < , so f is continuous at 1 as claimed.
Second we claim that f is continuous nowhere else. Indeed, if a 6= 1 and a ∈ Q, taking a
sequence yn of irrationals converging to a gives
1 1
f (yn ) = (yn − 1) sin → (a − 1) sin 6= (a − 1)2 ,
yn − 1 a−1
while if a 6= 1 and a ∈
/ Q, taking a sequence rn of rationals converging to a gives
1
f (rn ) = (rn − 1)2 → (a − 1)2 6= (a − 1) sin .
a−1
Thus either way, f is not continuous at a 6= 1.

4. Show that a function f : R → R is continuous if and only if the preimage of any open subset
of R is open. Recall that the preimage f −1 (U ) of a subset U ∈ R is the set of all x ∈ R which are
sent to something inside U :
f −1 (U ) := {x ∈ R | f (x) ∈ U } .
(This gives a characterization of continuity solely in terms of open sets. Technically this problem
is not a good problem for the purposes of reflecting exam material since I’ve said additional topics
we spoke about, such as open sets, won’t show up on exams; however, thinking about this problem
might help to better understand the true meaning behind the -δ definition of continuity.)

Proof. Suppose that f is continuous and let U ⊆ R be an open set. We want to show that f −1 (U )
is open. To this end, let a ∈ f −1 (U ), so that f (a) ∈ U . Since U is open, there exists  > 0 such
that
(f (a) − , f (a) + ) ⊆ U.
Since f is continuous at a, there then exists δ > 0 such that

|x − a| < δ implies |f (x) − f (a)| < .

But this can be reinterpreted as

x ∈ (a − δ, a + δ) implies f (x) ∈ (f (a) − , f (a) + ,

and since (f (a) − , f (a) + ) ⊆ U , this says that anything in (a − δ, a + δ) is send to something in
U . Thus (a − δ, a + δ) ⊆ f −1 (U ), showing that f −1 (U ) is open.
Conversely, suppose that the preimage of any open set under f is open. We want to show that
f is continuous at any a ∈ R. Let a ∈ R and let  > 0. Since U = (f (a) − , f (a) + ) is open,
f −1 (U ) is open as well. Thus since a ∈ f −1 (U ), there exists δ > 0 such that

(a − δ, a + δ) ⊆ f −1 (U ).

This means that anything in (a − δ, a + δ) is sent to something in U = (f (a) − , f (a) + ), or in

other words:
|x − a| < δ implies |f (x) − f (a)| < .
Hence f is continuous at a as claimed.

5. Show that a function f is uniformly continuous on R if and only if for any sequences (xn ) and
(yn ) such that (xn − yn ) → 0, we have (f (xn ) − f (yn )) → 0 as well. (This gives a characterization
of uniform continuity in terms of sequences.)

Proof. Suppose that f is uniformly continuous on R and let (xn ) and (yn ) be sequences such that
(xn − yn ) → 0. We must show that (f (xn ) − f (yn )) → 0. Let  > 0. Since f is uniformly continuous
there exists δ > 0 such that

|x − y| < δ implies |f (x) − f (y)| < .

Since (xn − yn ) converges to 0, there exists N such that

|xn − yn | < δ for n ≥ N.

But then for n ≥ N we also have

|f (xn ) − f (yn )| < 
by the chose of δ. Thus (f (xn ) − f (yn )) converges to 0 as claimed.
To prove the converse we instead prove its contrapositive: if f is not uniformly continuous,
there exist sequences (xn ) and (yn ) such that (xn − yn ) → 0 but (f (xn ) − f (yn )) 6→ 0. If f is not
uniformly continuous then there exists  > 0 such that for any δ > 0 we can find x, y ∈ R such that

|x − y| < δ but |f (x) − f (y)| ≥ .

1
In particular, for each n applying this condition to δ = n gives xn , yn satisfying

1
|xn − yn | < and |f (xn ) − f (yn )| ≥ .
n
These number thus define sequences (xn ) and (yn ) such that (xn − yn ) converges to 0, which we
see by applying the squeeze theorem to
1
0 ≤ |xn − yn | < ,
n
but (f (xn ) − f (yn )) does not converge to 0 since it is does not converge at all given that all terms
are at least  away from 0.
6. Suppose that a continuous function f : R → R is uniformly continuous on (−∞, 0] and uniformly
continuous on [0, ∞). Show that f is uniformly continuous on R.
(Here’s the subtlety. For any  > 0 the fact that f is uniformly continuous on the first interval
gives an appropriate δ1 and the fact that it is uniformly continuous on the second gives an appro-
priate δ2 , so at first glance it might seem that to satisfy the requirement of uniform continuity on
all of R taking δ = min{δ1 , δ2 } would work. Certainly, if |x − y| < δ and both x, y are nonpositive,
then we can apply what we know about δ1 and if |x − y| < δ and both x, y are nonnegative, we can
apply what we know about δ2 ; but what happens if |x − y| < δ and one of x, y is negative and the
other positive? Do you see why this matters? How might the fact that f is continuous at 0 help to
overcome this?)

Proof. Let  > 0. Since f is uniformly continuous on (−∞, 0] there exits δ1 > 0 such that

for x, y ∈ (−∞, 0] such that |x − y| < δ1 , |f (x) − f (y)| < .

Since f is uniformly continuous on [0, ∞) there exits δ2 > 0 such that

for x, y ∈ [0, ∞) such that |x − y| < δ2 , |f (x) − f (y)| < .

Finally, since f is continuous at 0 (since it is continuous on all of R) there exists δ3 > 0 such that

if |x| < δ3 , then |f (x) − f (0)| < .
2
Set δ = min{δ1 , δ2 , δ3 }, which is positive, and suppose that x, y ∈ R satisfy |x − y| < δ. If x
and y are both nonpositive, then |x − y| < δ1 implies that |f (x) − f (y)| < . If x and y are both
nonnegative, then |x − y| < δ2 implies that |f (x) − f (y)| < . Now, consider the case where one of
x and y is negative and the other positive—say that x < 0 and y > 0. Since |x − y| < δ3 , we must
have both |x| < δ3 and |y| < δ3 because otherwise the distance between x and y would be

|x| + |y| ≥ 2δ3 .

Thus the choice of δ3 implies that

 
|f (x) − f (0)| < and |f (y) − f (0)| < ,
2 2
so
 
|f (x) − f (y)| ≤ |f (x) − f (0)| + |f (0) − f (y)| < + = .
2 2
Hence no matter where x, y ∈ R are, we have

|x − y| < δ implies |f (x) − f (y)| < ,

so f is uniformly continuous on R as claimed.

7. Determine where the function from Quiz 5 is differentiable, which was what that quiz was
actually supposed to ask. (The TA misread the problem asked to determine where the function
was continuous instead.)

Proof. Included on the solutions to Quiz 5.

8. Suppose that f : R → R is differentiable at a ∈ R and f 0 (a) > 0. Show that there exists an
interval around a such that f (x) ≤ f (a) ≤ f (y) for any x to the left of a and y to the right of a in
that interval. (Careful: don’t assume that f is differentiable anywhere apart from a.)

Proof. Since
f (x) − f (a)
f 0 (a) = lim > 0,
x→a x−a
there exists δ > 0 such that
f (x) − f (a)
for x ∈ (a − δ, a + δ), > 0.
x−a
Thus for x ∈ (a − δ, a + δ), f (x) − f (a) and x − a have the same sign; hence if x < a < y, x − a < 0
and y − a > 0 so

f (x) − f (a) < 0 and f (y) − f (a) > 0, giving f (x) < f (a) < f (y),

as desired.

9. Wade, 4.3.1. Prove that each of the following inequalities holds.

(a) 2x + 0.7 < ex for all x ≥ 1
√
(b) log x < x − 0.6 for all x ≥ 4.
(c) sin2 x ≤ 2|x| for all x ∈ R.
(d) 1 − sin x ≤ ex for all x ≥ 0.

Solution. (a) Let f (x) = ex − 2x, which is differentiable everywhere. For any x ≥ 1, by the Mean
Value Theorem there exists c between x and 1 such that

f (x) − f (1) = f 0 (c)(x − 1),

so
(ex − 2x) − (e − 2) = (ec − 2)(x − 1) ≥ 0
since x ≥ 1 and ec > 2 for c ≥ 1. Thus

ex − 2x ≥ e − 2 > 0.7,

which gives the desired inequality.

(b) (Note that here log x means ln x; 99.999999% of the time when a mathematician says “log”
they mean natural log.)
√
Let f (x) = log x − x, which is differentiable at all x > 0. For x ≥ 4 by the Mean Value
Theorem there exists c between 4 and x such that

f (x) − f (4) = f 0 (c)(x − 4),

so
√
 
1 1
log x − x − (log 4 − 2) = − √ (x − 4).
c 2 c
√ 1 1
Since c > 4, c2 > 2 c which implies that c − √
2 c
< 0. Since x > 4, the right side is negative, so
√
log x − x < log 4 − 2 < −0.6,
from which the desired inequality follows.
(c) This is certainly true at x = 0 since both sides are then 0. Assume that x > 0. Applying
the Mean Value Theorem to f (x) = sin2 −2x gives that there exist c such that

(sin2 x − 2x) − (0 − 0) = (2 sin c cos c − 2)(x − 0).

Since x > 0 and sin c cos c ≤ 1, the right side is ≤ 0 so sin2 x ≤ 2x = 2|x| since x > 0.
If x < 0, we instead apply the Mean Value Theorem to g(x) = sin2 x + 2x to get

(sin2 x + 2x) − (0 − 0) = (2 sin c cos c + 2)(x − 0)

for some c. Then x − 0 < 0 and 2 sin c cos c + 2 ≥ 0, so the right side is ≤ 0 and hence

sin2 x + 2x ≤ 0, giving sin2 x ≤ −2x = 2|x|

since x < 0.
(d) Applying the Mean Value Theorem to f (x) = ex + sin x gives that for any x ≥ 0 there exists
c > 0 such that
ex + sin x − (1 − 0) = (ec + cos c)x.
Since c > 0, ec > 1 > cos c, so the right side is positive and hence ex + sin x > 1 as required.

10. Suppose that f, g : R → R are functions such that

p
|f (x) − f (y)| ≤ |g(x) − g(y)| |x − y| for any x, y ∈ R.

If g is differentiable with bounded derivative on all of R, show that f is constant. (Note: I

really like this problem, since it brings together much of what we covered when speaking about
differentiability.)

Proof. Say that M > 0 is a bound on g 0 , meaning that |g 0 (x)| ≤ M for all x ∈ R. By the Mean
6 y ∈ R there exists c between x and y such that
Value Theorem, for any x =

|g(x) − g(y)| = |g 0 (c)||x − y|, so |g(x) − g(y)| ≤ M |x − y|.

Thus for any x, y ∈ R we have

p p
|f (x) − f (y)| ≤ |g(x) − g(y)| |x − y| ≤ M |x − y| |x − y|.

Hence  
 f (x) − f (y)  p
  ≤ M |x − y| for any x, y ∈ R.
 x−y 
Fixing y and taking the limit as x → y thus gives
 
 f (x) − f (y) 
lim   = 0,
x→y  x−y 
p
since |x − y| → 0 as x → y. This implies that
f (x) − f (y)
lim = 0,
x→y x−y
so f 0 (y) exists and equals 0. Since y ∈ R was arbitrary, f 0 (y) = 0 for all y ∈ R, which implies that
f is constant as claimed.