Least-upper-bound property 2026-09-29
The least-upper-bound property states that every nonempty set of real numbers that has an upper bound has a supremum in the real numbers. It is an order-theoretic formulation of the completeness of the real numbers.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2016 ia Paper 4 2E Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-06
For a nonempty set , an upper bound in a partially ordered set is a real number such that for every . Its supremum, or least upper bound, is an upper bound with for every upper bound . The least-upper-bound property asserts that every nonempty set of real numbers bounded above has a real supremum.
Let be a bounded, increasing sequence; here increasing allows . Apply the least-upper-bound property to its set of terms and put . Given , the number cannot be an upper bound, so some satisfies . The monotone sequence property then givesHence for all . This proves the monotone bounded sequence result, with limit .
For the two series, define their partial sums and . Positivity makes both partial-sum sequences increasing, and termwise comparison gives . Since is a convergent sequence, it is bounded above, and therefore so is . Applying the monotone bounded sequence result already proved shows that converges. By the definition of a convergent series, converges. This is the comparison test for series for positive terms.
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2020 ii Paper 4 16H a Solution Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-09-29
Zorn lemma states that if every chain in a nonempty partially ordered set has an upper bound in that set, then the set has a maximal element. It is equivalent, over the usual axioms of set theory, to the axiom of choice.