[Math] If $f$ is a bounded function on an interval E, and E has measure $0$ , Is $f$ measurable? What is the value of it’s $\int_E f$

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If $f$ is a bounded function on an interval E, and E has measure $0$, Is $f$ measurable? What is the value of $\int_E f$?

I have the question above in Royden Analysis 4e.

Intuition suggests that f is measurable because E is , and that $\int_E f = 0$ because the lebesgue integral ignores intervals of measure 0.

If anybody could show me a more rigorous proof, I'd appreciate it.

Best Answer

The original exercise from Royden is as follows:

Let $E$ have measure zero. Show that if $f$ is a bounded function on $E$, then $f$ is measurable and $\int_E f = 0.$

Let $F$ be a measurable subset of $\mathbb R$. Then $f^{-1}(F)$ is a subset of $E$, and since subsets of measure zero sets have measure zero, $f^{-1}(F)$ has measure zero. In particular $f^{-1}(F)$ is measurable, so $f$ is measurable. Now modify the proof of Theorem 4 from section 4.2 (bounded measurable functions over a set of finite measure are integrable) to conclude that $\int_E f = 0$.