Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2015/ia/paper-1/10d/b/solution

Away from integer multiples of , the function is a composition of continuous functions. At zero, the bound gives by the squeeze theorem. This is oscillation multiplied by a vanishing amplitude.
Fix and set and . Then , , and
So is discontinuous at every nonzero integer multiple of . Its set of continuity points is
On , for , while . With as above, . Consequently the supremum is and is not attained. This illustrates that supremum can fail to be attained at an oscillatory endpoint.
On , set . It lies strictly inside the interval, and , so . Choose . On ,
On , is a continuous function, so the extreme value theorem gives a maximum there, at least . It exceeds every value on the discarded interval. Therefore does attain its supremum on . This is the interior-value criterion for an attained maximum.
Figure 1.
Oscillatory function near pi: an unattained left supremum and a right interior value above the endpoint envelope
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