[Math] Any nonempty subset of $\mathbb R$ that is bounded above has a least upper bound

real-analysis

Is the statement "any nonempty subset of R that is bounded above has a least upper bound" an axiom or there is a way to prove it?

I am asking because this statement not immediately obvious to me to proclaim it an axiom.

Best Answer

The answers to your two questions are "yes" and "yes".

First, this statement is one of the standard axioms for real numbers, called the "completeness axiom".

Second, in the standard "Dedekind cut" construction of the real numbers, one starts from an axiomatic description of the rational numbers, and then one constructs the real numbers and proves that all of their axioms hold, including the completeness axiom.