- #1
paalfis
- 69
- 2
Homework Statement
Prove that the image of f(x)=-x2+2x+1 and the semigroup {x-1 : x<0} are not lower bounded.
(I do not know the exact translation to english for this last expression, I think they mean that there is not lower limit)
The Attempt at a Solution
For the case of the semigroup, I thought of something like this (I am just starting with mathematical formal proofs): Suppose (to look for a contradiction) that there is an infimum M, which must exist if the semigroup has a lower bound, because of the continuity of real numbers. Then M<1/x for all x real <0, and M>M' for all M' smaller than the semigroup.
Now if I multiply x<0 by a number between 0 and 1, I get another real number "y" smaller than "x" that is also real and <0; so that 1/y belongs to the semigroup and 1/y>M, so M is not a lower bound, this contradicts the first proposition, so that M does not exist.
I have the feeling that there is something wrong with this, specially in the part of multiplying by another number... help!
For the case of the function I tried to do something similar, first by proving that f(x+1)<f(x) for all x>1/4, but this just prove that the function is monotonically decreasing after x=1/4, it does not prove the absence of a lower limit.