# continuity question

consider the simple function $$f(x) = \left\{ \begin{array}{ll} 1 & \mbox{if x \in [0,1]}\\ 10 & \mbox{if x \in \mathbb{Q} \cap [1,2]}\\ -10 & \mbox{if x \in \mathbb{Q^c} \cap [1,2]}\\ 2 & \mbox{if x \in [2,3]}\ \end{array} \right.$$

is it correct to say that f is continuous on $[0,1] \cup [2,3]$?

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As others have pointed out, it seems reasonable to assume that you meant to define $f$ like this: $$f = \chi_{[0,1]} + 10\chi_{\mathbb{Q}\cap (1,2)} -10\chi_{(1,2)\setminus\mathbb{Q}} +2\chi_{[2,3]},$$ where $\chi_A$ is the indicator function on $A$.

And it is true that $f|_{[0,1]\cup [2,3]}$ is continuous since it's constant on each of its domain's connected components.

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I think you mean $\mathbb{Q}\cap(1,2)$ in the second term –  Ross Millikan Feb 27 '11 at 4:59
@Ross: Thanks for letting me know about that typo. That's part of the reason why my usual preamble contains definitions of the commands \union and \intersect. It's much harder to accidentally mess those up –  kahen Feb 27 '11 at 5:21

Hint: Your function is not well defined at 1 and 2, as those $x$ values each meet two of your criteria. Having fixed that, say by making the interval in the second line $(1,2)$, what happens near 1 and 2?

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This function is not well-defined at some points. For example $f(1) = 1$ since $1 \in [0,1]$, but also $f(1) = 10$ because $1 \in \mathbb{Q} \cap [1,2]$ as well (similarly for $x=2$).

Once you correct this, note that if you define $f(1)=1$, then arbitrarily close to $1$ you can find numbers that are rational (or irrational) and greater than one. Here the function evaluates to $10$ (or $-10$), and so it will not be continuous at $1$ (nor at $2$ for the same reason).

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(Assume the definition of the function is corrected so that $f(1)=1$, $f(2)=2$.)

$f$ is a function on $[1,3]$. The points where $f$ is continuous are $[0,1) \cup (2,3]$. In that sense, one would not say that $f$ is continuous on $[0,1] \cup [2,3]$.

However, what is true is that the restriction $f|_{[0,1] \cup [2,3]}$ of $f$ to $[0,1] \cup [2,3]$ is a continuous function on all of its domain. But strictly speaking this is a different function from $f$.

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