Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-topology-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2014/2/b/i/solution
Past exam of the topology course of the University of Oxford 2014 2 b i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
The interval is compact by the Heine-Borel theorem, so its square is compact by part (a). The half-open interval is not compact because it is not closed in the real line.
Each of the other two products has a continuous surjective coordinate projection onto . If either product were compact, that image would be compact, a contradiction. Compactness is preserved by homeomorphisms, so neither product is homeomorphic to the closed square.
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