Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/prelims/mathematics-ii/1/c/i/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford 2015 Prelims Mathematics II 1 c i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Choose beyond every peak of a sequence of both and . Every term with index at least has a strictly larger later term and a strictly smaller later term.
Suppose for a contradiction that . Starting at , recursively select a strictly increasing subsequence and a strictly decreasing subsequence. Both must have limit of a sequence . If their second terms are and , respectively, passage to their limits of sequences givesa contradiction. Hence does not converge. This argument includes the possibility that either set of peaks of a sequence is empty.
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