# How can I prove $\sup(A+B)=\sup A+\sup B$ if $A+B=\{a+b\mid a\in A, b\in B\}$

If $A,B$ non empty, upper bounded sets and $A+B=\{a+b\mid a\in A, b\in B\}$, how can I prove that $\sup(A+B)=\sup A+\sup B$?

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The same way you show anything about a supremum: show that the right side is an upper bound of A+B, and then show that any other upper bound is larger. – Nate Eldredge Sep 13 '10 at 17:25
If this is homework, tag it as such. – lhf Oct 22 '10 at 10:23

Show that $\sup(A+B)$ is less than or equal to $\sup(A)+\sup(B)$ by showing that the latter is an upper bound for $A+B$. Then show that $\sup(A)+\sup(B)$ is less than or equal to $\sup(A+B)$ by showing that $\sup(A+B)$ is an upper bound for $A+\sup(B)$ and that $\sup(A+\sup(B)) = \sup(A)+\sup(B)$.
Set $x=\sup A$, $y=\sup B$. Given $a\in A, b\in B$ we have $a\le x, b\le y$ so $a+b\le x+y$ so it's an upper bound. Now take $\varepsilon > 0$ and find $a,b$ such that $a>x-\varepsilon/2, b>y-\varepsilon/2$ and you have $a+b > x+y - \varepsilon$. That suffices (since it means that every potential "smaller upper bound" $x+y-\varepsilon$ is not really an upper bound).