Principles of Mathematical Analysis, Rudin, 3th ed, Chapter 2, Problem 14

Problem

Give an example of an open cover of the segment $(0,1)$ which has no finite subcover.

Answer

Consider a family of sets $\{(1/n,1)\}_{n=2}^\infty$. For any $x \in (0,1)$, there exists $N \in \mathbb{N}$ such that $1/N < x$, which means $x \in (1/N,1)$. This means that $\{(1/n,1)\}_{n=2}^\infty$ covers $(0,1)$. Consider an arbitrary finite subcover $\{(1/n_1,1),\cdots,(1/n_K)\}$ of $\{(1/n,1)\}_{n=2}^\infty$. Then $\bigcup_{k=1}^K(1/n_k,1)=(1/n_\ast,1)$ where $n_\ast=\max(n_1,\cdots,n_K)$, which cannot cover $(0,1)$.

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