Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2017 / ib / Paper 2 / 4E (Metric and Topological Spaces)

The continuity condition at $x\in X$ between metric spaces isThe function is continuous when this holds at every $x$.

If $f$ is continuous and $U\subseteq Y$ is an open set, take $x\in f^{-1}(U)$. Some $ϵ$-ball around $f(x)$ lies in $U$. Continuity gives a $\delta$-ball around $x$ mapped into that ball and hence contained in $f^{-1}(U)$. Thus $f^{-1}(U)$ is open, including the empty set, in the notation for the image and preimage of a function.

Conversely, suppose every open set has open preimage. For fixed $x$ and $ϵ>0$, the preimage of the open ball $B_e(f(x),ϵ)$ is open and contains $x$, so contains some $B_d(x,\delta )$. This gives the displayed metric definition. Therefore $\boxed{f\text{ is continuous}⟺f^{-1}(U)\text{ is open for every open }U}$.

Let $X=\mathbb{R}$ with the usual metric and let $Y=\mathbb{R}$ with the discrete metric, and take $f(x)=x$. Every subset of $Y$ is an open set, so the image of every open subset of $X$ is open: $f$ is an open map.

It is not continuous at any point. For $ϵ=1/2$, every $\delta >0$ allows a distinct $y$ with $|y-x|<\delta$, but the distance between $f(y)$ and $f(x)$ in the discrete metric is 1. Equivalently, the preimage of the open singleton $\{x\}\subset Y$ is not open in $X$. Thus $\boxed{\text{an open map need not be continuous}}$ even between metric spaces.