Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-topology-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2017/2/b/i/solution
Past exam of the topology course of the University of Oxford 2017 2 b i Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
The set consists of the equivalence classes for . The canonical surjection , , defines its quotient topology:The quotient space includes this topology, not just the collection of equivalence classes.
Regard the circle as and use the continuous surjectionDefine precisely when . This is an equivalence relation, being equality of function values. Equivalently or , so the construction is the circle modulo reflection.
Since is constant on each equivalence class, it induces a bijectionIt is continuous by the universal property of the quotient topology, because is continuous. The circle is compact by the Heine-Borel theorem, and its quotient space is a continuous image of a compact space, hence compact. The closed interval is Hausdorff. Part (a)(ii) therefore provesGeometrically, the equivalence relation folds the upper and lower semicircles together, retaining the two real endpoints separately.
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