Math 424: Daily Log of Material Covered, Readings and Assigned Homework


Readings are noted on the day when they should be completed. Daily homework problems are noted on the day when they are assigned; they will be discussed on the following day. Weekly (graded) homework assignments are noted on the day when they are assigned, and the due date is provided.

WeekDateReading/TopicDaily HomeworkWeekly Homework
8/25 - 8/29 8/25 No reading (first day of class) I.9, I.10 HW #1: II.1, II.7, II.10, II.11 (due Wed 9/3)
8/27 Chapter 2: Axiomatic description of the real numbers II.9
8/29 Chapter 2: Construction of the real numbers II.14
9/1 - 9/5 9/1 No class (Labor Day)
9/3 Chapter 3.1: Metric spaces HW #2: III.1(b)(c), III.4, III.5, III.15 (due Wed 9/10)
9/5 Chapter 3.2: Open and closed sets in metric spaces III.2 (just the sentence about open balls),
Show: a set U in a metric space X is open iff U is a union of a collection of open balls
9/8 - 9/12 9/8 Chapter 3.3: Sequences, convergence, limits
9/10 Chapter 3.4: Cauchy sequences, completeness,
completion of a metric space
Show that the space of continuous functions on [0,1] with the metric
d(f,g) = integral of |f(x)-g(x)| from x=0 to x=1 is not complete.
HW #3: III.12, III.18, III.24, III.32 (due Wed 9/17)
9/12 Chapter 3.5: Compactness Show that every closed subspace of a complete metric space is complete
9/15 - 9/19 9/15 Chapter 3.5: Compactness (continued) Show that the set of sequences of real numbers which are bounded by one,
equipped with the supremum metric, is bounded but not totally bounded.
9/17 Chapter 3.5: Compactness (continued) Give an example of two disjoint closed sets A,B in R^2 so that dist(A,B)=0 HW #4: III.31, III.33, two extra problems (due Fri 9/26)
9/19 Chapter 3.6: Connectedness
9/22 - 9/26 9/22 Chapter 4.1,4.2: Continuity Show that the function f defined by f(x) = 1 for x < 0 and f(x) = x
for x >= 0 is not continuous at x = 0 (Give three different proofs using
each of the three definitions of continuity discussed in class)
9/24 Chapter 4.1,4.2,4.3: Continuity (continued) no homework this week
9/26 Homeomorphisms, bi-Lipschitz maps and isometries IV.1
9/29 - 10/3 9/29 Chapter 4.4: Continuity and compactness,
Extreme Value Theorem, uniform continuity
10/1 MIDTERM EXAM I
10/3 Chapter 4.5: Continuity and connectedness,
Intermediate Value Theorem, Peano curves
HW #5: IV.3, IV.8, IV.16, IV.22(a)(b), IV.27 (due Fri 10/10)
NOTE: IV.16 is a particularly important result!
10/6 - 10/10 10/6 Chapter 4.6: Sequences of functions, pointwise convergence vs. uniform convergence
10/8 Chapter 4.6: Function spaces, uniform metric,
Kuratowski Isometric Embedding Theorem
Show that balls (open or closed) in the metric space (C_b(X),D) of bounded real-valued functions on a metric space X are connected sets.
10/10 Contraction Mapping Principle in complete metric spaces,
Picard Existence and Uniqueness Theorem for first order ODE

(Guest lecturer: Jiri Lebl)
10/13 - 10/17 10/13 Chapter 5.1, 5.2: Definition of the derivative, basic properties, Product, Quotient, Chain Rules V.2 HW #6: V.1(a)(b), V.5, two extra problems
due Mon 10/20
10/15 Chapter 5.3: Mean Value Theorem, higher order derivatives, polynomial approximation, geometric interpretations of derivatives
10/17 Smoothness classes C^k, bump functions, partitions of unity
10/20 - 10/24 10/20 The Riemann-Darboux integral HW #7: VI.11, VI.13, VI.16, VI.22, one extra problem
due Wed 10/29
10/22 Examples of integration, continuous functions are integrable, nets and Moore-Smith limits Is the function f defined on [0,1] by f(x)=1/q if x=p/q is a nonzero rational in lowest terms and f(x)=0 if x is irrational or zero Riemann integrable?
10/24 Properties of Riemann integrable functions, monotone functions are integrable, characterization of integrability via step functions Prove that the Riemann integral is additive as a function of the interval [a,b]
10/27 - 10/31 10/27 Indefinite integrals, Fundamental Theorem of Calculus, integration by parts, change of variables
10/29 Defining functions via indefinite integrals, the Gamma function HW #8 three extra problems
due Wed 11/5
10/31 Discontinuity sets of integrable functions, sets of (Lebesgue) measure zero Show that subsets of sets of measure zero are sets of measure zero
Show that countable unions of sets of measure zero are sets of measure zero
Show that f is continuous at x if and only if the oscillation of f at x is equal to zero
11/3 - 11/7 11/3 (Optional lecture) An introduction to the Lebesgue integral
11/5 MIDTERM EXAM II
11/7 Chapter 7.1: Integration and differentiation of sequences of functions
11/10 - 11/14 11/10 Chapter 7.2: Series, absolute vs. conditional convergence HW #9: VII.5, VII.11, VII.35, two extra problems
due Mon 11/17
11/12 Chapter 7.2: Rearrangements, a series definition for e, irrationality of e
11/14 Chapter 7.2, 7.3: Series of functions, Weierstrass M-test, power series
11/17 - 11/21 11/17 Chapter 7.3: Power series (continued), real analytic functions
11/19 MIDTERM EXAM III
11/21 NO CLASS: HAPPY THANKSGIVING!
12/1 - 12/5 12/1 O/o notation, uniform approximation, Weierstrass Approximation Theorem, Stone-Weierstrass Theorem HW #10: on handout
due Wed 12/10
12/3 Weierstrass Approximation Theorem (proof), accuracy of uniform approximations
12/5 Existence of best approximants
12/8 - 12/10 12/8 Compactness for subsets of C(K), equicontinuity, Arzela-Ascoli theorem
12/10 Weierstrass' examples of continuous nowhere differentiable functions, random walks, Brownian motion, Peano curves

FINAL EXAM: WEDNESDAY 12/17 1:30 - 4:30 IN 345 ALTGELD HALL