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Homework Statement
Show that every metrizable space with a countable dense subset has a countable basis.
The Attempt at a Solution
Let A be a countable dense subset of the metric space (X, d). For any x in A, take the countable collection of open balls {B(x, 1/n) : n is a positive integer}. Since A is countable, the family (call it F) of all such open balls is countable. We claim that it is a basis for X.
First of all, F covers X. Since Cl(A) = X, for any x0 in X, there exists a sequence xn of points of A such that xn --> x. So, for any ε > 0, there exists a positive integer N such that for n >= N, xn is in the open ball B(x0, ε). But now, for any such xn, the open ball B(xn, ε) contains x0, so F indeed covers all of X.
Clearly if x is in the intersection of any two elements of F, there exists another element of F (i.e. some positive integer N) such that B(x, 1/N) is contained in the intersection.