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 . Bisect 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 . By completeness these nested intervals shrink to a single point . 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 .
Topics that use this theorem
Related theorems
Step-by-step proofs
No step-by-step proof yet for this theorem.
References
- Bernard Bolzano (1817). Rein analytischer Beweis des Lehrsatzes...
- Walter Rudin (1976). Principles of Mathematical Analysis