Let U⊆Rn be a set. What does it mean to say that U is open? Show that if U is open and if f:U→{0,1} is a continuous function then f is also differentiable, and that its derivative is zero.
Suppose that g:U→R is differentiable and that ∥(Dg)∣x∥⩽M for all x, where (Dg)∣x denotes the derivative of g at x and ∥⋅∥ is the operator norm. Suppose that a,b∈Rn and that the line segment [a,b]={λa+(1−λ)b:λ∈[0,1]} lies wholly in U. Prove that ∣g(a)−g(b)∣⩽M∥a−b∥.
Let ℓ1,…,ℓk be (infinite) lines in R3, and write V=R3\(ℓ1∪⋯∪ℓk). If a,b∈V, show that there is some c∈V such that the line segments [a,c] and [c,b] both lie inside V. [You may assume without proof that R3 may not be written as the union of finitely many planes.]
Show that if V→{0,1} is a continuous function then f is constant on V.