MathLabs
TheoremProved

Bolzano–Weierstrass theorem

Statement

Every bounded sequence of real numbers has a convergent subsequence.

Why is it true?

Infinitely many points squeezed into one finite interval have nowhere to spread out to: they must pile up (accumulate) somewhere, and following that pile-up gives a subsequence that settles down to a single limit.

Proof sketch

Suppose the sequence lies in [A,B][A,B]. Bisect [A,B][A,B] into two halves; at least one half contains infinitely many terms of the sequence, so keep that half. Repeat, bisecting and keeping a half with infinitely many terms at each step, producing a nested sequence of intervals whose lengths shrink to 00. By completeness these nested intervals shrink to a single point LL. Picking one sequence term from each successive interval (with strictly increasing indices, always possible since each interval still contains infinitely many terms) yields a subsequence converging to LL.

Topics that use this theorem

Related theorems

Step-by-step proofs

No step-by-step proof yet for this theorem.

References

  1. Bernard Bolzano (1817). Rein analytischer Beweis des Lehrsatzes...
  2. Walter Rudin (1976). Principles of Mathematical Analysis