Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2005/ib/paper-2/4a/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 ib Paper 2 4A Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Suppose the union has a separation into disjoint, nonempty, relatively open subsets. Each connected must lie entirely in one of them: otherwise its intersections with and would separate in its subspace topology. In particular lies on one side, say . Every other intersects , so it cannot lie in and must also lie in . Then , contradicting . The union is connected. This is the connected union with a connected hub argument.
For path-connectedness, take any and . Choose and . There is a path from to inside , a path from to inside , and a path from to inside . Concatenate the three paths on successive thirds of . They agree at the joining points, so the resulting map is continuous and remains in . The union is path-connected. There need not be a single point common to all the subsets.
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