Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2004/iii/paper-6/4/iii/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2004 iii Paper 6 4 iii Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-10-03 Updated 2026-10-14
Let be the convex hull of all terms of the sequence, meaning the set of their finite convex combinations. Suppose . Part (ii) then gives a continuous linear functional with for every . In particular for every , contradicting . Therefore the ball meets .
A point of that intersection is a finite combination with nonnegative coefficients summing to one. Set , combine repeated indices and insert zero coefficients for omitted indices. This givesThus zero lies in the norm closure of the convex hull. The same argument applies to every tail of the sequence and, by choosing errors tending to zero, also gives the usual Mazur lemma. Completeness of is not required for this conclusion.
The hypothesis needed is precisely convergence to zero against every continuous linear functional, namely weak convergence. The PDF says only “continuous” for the testing maps. If that is interpreted as including arbitrary nonlinear continuous maps, the constant map makes the hypothesis impossible. The proof above establishes the substantive conclusion under the intended, weaker linear-testing hypothesis, and therefore also the implication under the literal stronger wording.
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