Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford / 2015 / Prelims / Mathematics IV / 7 / a / ii / Solution

Set $H(x)=g(x)-x$. This function is continuous on $[a,b]$. Since $g$ takes values in $[a,b]$,The intermediate value theorem therefore supplies $\xi \in [a,b]$ with $H(\xi )=0$, equivalently $g(\xi )=\xi$. This includes the possibility that one endpoint is already a fixed point.

For uniqueness, the mean value theorem gives, for any $x,y\in [a,b]$,If both $\xi$ and $\eta$ are fixed points, thenSince $\gamma <1$, this forces $|\xi -\eta |=0$. Thus there exists exactly one fixed point. When $a=b$, the conclusion follows immediately from $g(a)=a$; otherwise the argument above applies. The contraction mapping estimate also proves convergence of the associated fixed-point iteration, as used next.