[Math] Prove: A set containing limit points of a sequence is a closed set

general-topologyproof-verificationreal-analysis

The question:

Prove that a set, $S'$, containing the limit points of the sequence $S \subset \mathbb{R}$, is closed.

What I have so far:

I want to prove this by showing that the complement of $S'$ is open. In other words, $\mathbb{R} \backslash S' $ is open.

So take any limit point $x$ of $\mathbb{R} \backslash S' $. Clearly, $x$ is not a limit point of $S$.

I'm at a loss on how to proceed from here.

Best Answer

Another nice way to see this would be the following. Suppose $x\in \bar{S'}$. then there exists a sequence of numbers in $S'$ which converges to $x$. Let that sequence be $(x_n)$. But again as $x_n\in S'$, we have the following,

\begin{align*} x_{11}, &x_{12}, x_{13},\cdots \ \ \ \ \rightarrow x_1 && (\text{a sequence converging to} \ x_1) \\ x_{21}, &x_{22}, x_{23},\cdots \ \ \ \ \rightarrow x_2 && (\text{a sequence converging to} \ x_2) \\ x_{31}, &x_{32}, x_{33},\cdots \ \ \ \ \rightarrow x_3 && (\text{a sequence converging to} \ x_3) \\ \vdots \\ x_{n1}, &x_{n2}, x_{n3},\cdots \ \ \ \ \rightarrow x_n && (\text{a sequence converging to} \ x_n) \end{align*} Note that all the numbers $x_{ij}\in S$. Now use a diagonal argument to get a sequence in $S$ converging to the limit, $x=\lim_{n\rightarrow\infty}x_n$. This shows that $x\in S'$ by definition of $S'$.