For a singular -simplex , define the cochain-level cup product by
If and lies in , its front -face also lies in , so the first factor vanishes. Thus .
For the projections from , the exterior product in cohomology is
For CW pairs over a field , subject to the usual finite-type condition that makes the graded tensor product commute with the relevant direct products, the Künneth theorem says that
More generally the conclusion holds over a principal ideal domain when one factor has degreewise finitely generated free cohomology. It fails over in general: is in degree zero and in degree two, but the integral Künneth and universal coefficient theorem for cohomology calculations give
The tensor product of the two cohomology groups has no degree-three term, so is not surjective.
Use the homeomorphism
which carries the diagonal to . Hence
The punctured torus deformation retracts onto a wedge of two circles. Let be the degree-one generators from the first torus and those from the punctured torus. Since all cohomology groups are free, the Künneth theorem identifies the integral cohomology ring as
Thus , , , , and form a basis in degree two; and form a basis in degree three; and all higher positive degrees vanish.