Past exam of the real and harmonic analysis course of the University of Oxford / 2007 / 1 / b / i

For a signed measure define its total variation measure byThe value at the empty set is zero. For disjoint measurable sets $A_j$ with union $A$, any finite partition $E_r$ of $A$ givesTaking the supremum proves one inequality. In the reverse direction choose, for the first $k$ sets, finite partitions approaching their variation values. Combining these partitions and the remaining set $A\setminus {\bigcup }_{j\le k}{A}_j$ givesIf one term is infinite, its partition sums can instead be made arbitrarily large. Letting $\epsilon \downarrow 0$ and $k\to \infty$ proves countable additivity, including infinite values. Thus $|\mu |$ is a positive measure. This uses only countable additivity of $\mu$, without assuming a Hahn decomposition.