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Metric Spaces Questions and Answers

1.

Which of the following statements are TRUE?

P : The set \(\{x \in R : |\cos x| \le \frac{1}{2}\}\) is compact.
Q : The set \(\{x \in R : \tan x\) is not differentiable\(\}\) is complete.
R : The set \(\left\{x \in R : \sum_{n=0}^{\infty} \frac{(-1)^{n} x^{2n+1}}{(2n+1)!}\right.\) is convergent\(\}\) is bounded.
S : The set \(\{x \in R : f(x) = \cos x\) has a local maxima\(\}\) is closed.

Exam Year(s)

GATE Mathematics - 2012,

Answer: C

The true statements are Q and S.

Q: \(\tan x\) fails to be differentiable exactly at \(x = \pi/2 + k\pi\). That set is closed in \(R\) (its points are isolated with no limit point outside it), and a closed subset of the complete space \(R\) is complete. S: \(\cos x\) has its local maxima at \(x = 2k\pi\), again a closed discrete set.

P is false: \(|\cos x| \le \frac{1}{2}\) holds on infinitely many intervals \([\pi/3 + k\pi, 2\pi/3 + k\pi]\), so the set is closed but unbounded, and not compact. R is false: the series is the Maclaurin series of \(\sin x\), which converges for every real \(x\), so the set is all of \(R\) and is unbounded. Any option containing P or R is wrong.

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2.

Let \(d_{1}\) and \(d_{2}\) denote the usual metric and the discrete metric on \(\mathbb{R}\), respectively. Let \(f : (\mathbb{R}, d_{1}) \to (\mathbb{R}, d_{2})\) be defined by \(f(x) = x,\ x \in \mathbb{R}\). Then

Exam Year(s)

GATE Mathematics - 2015,

Answer: B

\(f^{-1}\) is continuous but \(f\) is NOT continuous.

In the discrete metric every set is open, in particular every singleton \(\{a\}\). Its preimage under \(f\) is the singleton \(\{a\}\) in the usual metric, which is not open. So \(f\) is not continuous.

\(f^{-1} : (\mathbb{R}, d_{2}) \to (\mathbb{R}, d_{1})\) is the identity from a discrete space. Every function on a discrete space is continuous, because every preimage is automatically open.

That rules out the options saying \(f\) is continuous, and the one saying neither map is continuous.

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3.

Let \(X\) and \(Y\) be metric spaces, and let \(f : X \to Y\) be a continuous map. For any subset \(S\) of \(X\), which one of the following statements is true?

Exam Year(s)

GATE Mathematics - 2018,

Answer: B

The true statement is: if \(S\) is connected, then \(f(S)\) is connected.

A continuous image of a connected set is connected: if \(f(S)\) split into two disjoint relatively open pieces, their preimages would split \(S\) the same way.

The others fail. Open: \(f(x) = 0\) on \(\mathbb{R}\) sends the open set \(\mathbb{R}\) to \(\{0\}\), which is not open. Closed: \(f(x) = e^{x}\) sends the closed set \(\mathbb{R}\) to \((0, \infty)\), which is not closed. Bounded: \(f(x) = 1/x\) on \(X = (0, 1)\) sends the bounded set \((0, 1)\) to \((1, \infty)\). Continuity preserves compactness and connectedness, not openness, closedness or boundedness.

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4.

Consider \(\mathbb{R}^{2}\) with the usual metric. Let \(A = \{(x,y) \in \mathbb{R}^{2} : x^{2} + y^{2} \leq 1\}\) and \(B = \{(x,y) \in \mathbb{R}^{2} : (x-2)^{2} + y^{2} \leq 1\}\). Let \(M = A \cup B\) and \(N = \text{interior}(A) \cup \text{interior}(B)\). Then, which of the following statements is TRUE?

Exam Year(s)

GATE Mathematics - 2022,

Answer: C

The answer is M is connected and N is not connected.

A is the closed unit disc at the origin and B the closed unit disc centred at (2, 0). The centres are 2 apart, equal to the sum of the radii, so the discs touch at exactly one point, (1, 0).

M = A ∪ B is a union of two connected sets sharing the point (1, 0), so it is connected. N is the union of the two open discs, which do not contain (1, 0) and are disjoint open sets; they separate N, so N is not connected.

That rules out 'M and N are connected' and 'N is connected', and 'neither is connected' fails because M is connected.

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5.

Let \((\mathbb{Q}, d)\) be the metric space with d(x, y) = |x-y|. Let \(E = \{p \in \mathbb{Q} : 2 \lt p^{2} \lt 3\}\). Then, the set E is

Exam Year(s)

GATE Mathematics - 2022,

Answer: A

The set E is closed but not compact.

In \(\mathbb{Q}\), E is the set of rationals in \((-\sqrt{3}, -\sqrt{2}) \cup (\sqrt{2}, \sqrt{3})\). The endpoints are irrational, so no rational lies on them and

\[ \begin{aligned} E = \mathbb{Q} \cap \big(&[-\sqrt{3}, -\sqrt{2}] \\ &\cup [\sqrt{2}, \sqrt{3}]\big) \end{aligned} \]

That is the intersection of \(\mathbb{Q}\) with a closed subset of \(\mathbb{R}\), so E is closed in \(\mathbb{Q}\).

E is not compact: a sequence of rationals in E increasing to \(\sqrt{3}\) has no subsequence converging to a point of E, because its only possible limit, \(\sqrt{3}\), is not rational. Compactness would require E to be complete, and it is not. So 'compact' and 'not closed but compact' fail, and 'neither closed nor compact' fails because E is closed.

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6.

Consider \(\mathbb{R}^{2}\) with the usual Euclidean metric. Let

\[ \begin{aligned} X = &\{(x, x\sin\tfrac{1}{x}) \in \mathbb{R}^{2} : x \in (0,1]\} \\ &\cup \{(0,y) \in \mathbb{R}^{2} : -\infty \lt y \lt \infty\} \end{aligned} \]

and

\[ \begin{aligned} Y = &\{(x, \sin\tfrac{1}{x}) \in \mathbb{R}^{2} : x \in (0,1]\} \\ &\cup \{(0,y) \in \mathbb{R}^{2} : -\infty \lt y \lt \infty\}. \end{aligned} \]

Consider the following statements:

P: X is a connected subset of \(\mathbb{R}^{2}\).
Q: Y is a connected subset of \(\mathbb{R}^{2}\).

Then

Exam Year(s)

GATE Mathematics - 2023,

Answer: A

Both P and Q are TRUE.

Use the fact that if A is connected and \(A \subseteq B \subseteq \overline{A}\), then B is connected, and that two connected sets with a common point have a connected union.

X: the graph of \(x\sin(1/x)\) on (0, 1] is connected (a continuous image of an interval) and tends to (0, 0) as \(x \to 0\). Adding the point (0, 0) keeps it connected, and the y-axis, which is connected and contains (0, 0), joins it. So X is connected.

Y: the graph of \(\sin(1/x)\) has closure containing the segment \(\{0\} \times [-1, 1]\), so the graph plus that segment is connected (the topologist's sine curve). The whole y-axis is connected and contains the segment, so Y is connected too. Y is not path-connected, but connectedness is all that is asked.

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7.

Let \(C[0,1] = \{f : [0,1] \to \mathbb{R} : f \text{ is continuous}\}\).

Consider the metric space \((C[0,1], d_{\infty})\), where \(d_{\infty}(f,g) = \sup\{|f(x)-g(x)| : x \in [0,1]\}\) for \(f, g \in C[0,1]\).

Let \(f_{0}(x) = 0\) for all \(x \in [0,1]\) and \(X = \{f \in (C[0,1], d_{\infty}) : d_{\infty}(f_{0}, f) \ge \frac{1}{2}\}\).

Let \(f_{1}, f_{2} \in C[0,1]\) be defined by \(f_{1}(x) = x\) and \(f_{2}(x) = 1-x\) for all \(x \in [0,1]\).

Consider the following statements:

P: \(f_{1}\) is in the interior of X.
Q: \(f_{2}\) is in the interior of X.

Which of the following statements is correct?

Exam Year(s)

GATE Mathematics - 2023,

Answer: D

Both P and Q are TRUE.

X is the set of continuous functions whose supremum norm is at least 1/2. Both \(f_{1}(x) = x\) and \(f_{2}(x) = 1-x\) have norm 1 (at x = 1 and x = 0 respectively).

Take any g with \(d_{\infty}(g, f_{1}) \lt \tfrac{1}{2}\). Then \(|g(1)| \gt 1 - \tfrac{1}{2} = \tfrac{1}{2}\), so \(\|g\|_{\infty} \gt \tfrac{1}{2}\) and g is in X. The open ball of radius 1/2 around \(f_{1}\) lies inside X, so \(f_{1}\) is an interior point. The same argument at x = 0 shows \(f_{2}\) is interior.

A boundary point of X would need norm exactly 1/2; neither function is near that, so neither is on the boundary.

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8.

Consider the metrics \(\rho_{1}\) and \(\rho_{2}\) on \(\mathbb{R}\), defined by

\[ \rho_{1}(x,y) = |x-y| \text{ and } \rho_{2}(x,y) = \begin{cases} 0, & \text{if } x = y \\ 1, & \text{if } x \ne y \end{cases} \]

Let \(X = \{n \in \mathbb{N} : n \ge 3\}\) and \(Y = \{n + \frac{1}{n} : n \in \mathbb{N}\}\). Define \(f : X \cup Y \to \mathbb{R}\) by

\[ f(x) = \begin{cases} 2, & \text{if } x \in X \\ 3, & \text{if } x \in Y \end{cases} \]

Consider the following statements:

P: The function \(f : (X \cup Y, \rho_{1}) \to (\mathbb{R}, \rho_{1})\) is uniformly continuous.
Q: The function \(f : (X \cup Y, \rho_{2}) \to (\mathbb{R}, \rho_{1})\) is uniformly continuous.

Then

Exam Year(s)

GATE Mathematics - 2023,

Answer: B

P is FALSE and Q is TRUE.

P: with the usual metric, the points n in X and n + 1/n in Y (for n at least 3) are only 1/n apart, yet f takes the values 2 and 3 there. So no single \(\delta\) makes \(|f(x)-f(y)| \lt \tfrac{1}{2}\) whenever \(|x-y| \lt \delta\): f is not uniformly continuous.

Q: with the discrete metric \(\rho_{2}\), taking \(\delta = \tfrac{1}{2}\) means \(\rho_{2}(x,y) \lt \delta\) only when x = y, so \(|f(x)-f(y)| = 0\). Every function on a discrete metric space is uniformly continuous.

Note that f is continuous in P's setting too, since every point of X ∪ Y is isolated; it is the uniformity that fails.

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9.

Consider the metric spaces \(X = (\mathbb{R}, d_{1})\) and \(Y = ([0,1], d_{2})\) with the metrics defined by \(d_{1}(x,y) = |x - y|,\ x, y \in \mathbb{R}\) and \(d_{2}(x,y) = |x - y|,\ x, y \in [0,1]\), respectively. Then, which one of the following is TRUE?

Exam Year(s)

GATE Mathematics - 2025,

Answer: B

\([0, \tfrac{1}{4})\) is open in Y but not in X.

In \(X = \mathbb{R}\), no open interval around 0 lies inside \([0, \tfrac{1}{4})\), because every such interval contains negative numbers. So the set is not open in X.

In Y = [0, 1] with the same metric, the open ball of radius 1/4 about 0 is \(\{y \in [0, 1] : |y| \lt \tfrac{1}{4}\} = [0, \tfrac{1}{4})\), and every other point of the set has a small ball inside it. So the set is open in Y; it equals \((-\tfrac{1}{4}, \tfrac{1}{4}) \cap [0, 1]\), open in the subspace topology. Openness depends on the ambient space, which is the point of the question.

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10.

Let X be a set with at least two elements. Let \(d_1\), \(d_2\) and \(d_3\) be metrics on X. Which one of the following is NOT a metric on X?

Exam Year(s)

GATE Mathematics - 2026,

Answer: B

The one that is not a metric is \(d(x, y) := \max(d_2(x, y), 3)\).

A metric must give \(d(x, x) = 0\). Here \(d(x, x) = \max(0, 3) = 3\), so it fails at once.

The others are metrics. Truncating a metric with \(\min(d_1, 3)\) keeps the triangle inequality. \(\frac{10 d_3}{1 + d_3}\) is a positive multiple of the standard bounded metric \(\frac{d}{1+d}\), built from an increasing, subadditive function. An average of metrics, \(\frac{1}{3}(d_1 + d_2 + d_3)\), is again a metric, since each property survives addition and scaling.

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