# Is every function with the intermediate value property a derivative?

As it is well known every continuous function has the intermediate value property, but even some discontinuous functions like
$$f(x)=\left\{ \begin{array}{cl} \sin\left(\frac{1}{x}\right) & x\neq 0 \\ 0 & x=0 \end{array} \right.$$
are having this property.
In fact we know that a derivative always have this property.

My question is, if for every function $f$ with the intermediate value property exists a function $F$ such that $F’=f$. And if so, is $F$ unique (up to a constant you may add)?

My attempts till now: (Just skip them if you feel so)

The most natural way of finding those functions would be integrating, so I guess the question can be reduced to, if functions with the intermediate value property can be integrated.
This one depends heavy on how you define when a functions is integrable, we (my analysis class) said that we call a function integrable when it is a regulated function (the limits $x\to x_0^+ f(x)$ and $x\to x_0^- f(x)$ exists ) .
As my example above shows, not every function with the intermediate value property is a regulated function. But if we say a function is integrabel when every riemann sum converges the above function is integrable, so it seems like this would be a better definition for my problem.

Edit: As Kevin Carlson points out in a commentar that being a derivative is different from being riemann integrable, he even gave an example for a function which is differentiable but it’s derivative is not riemann integrable. So we can’t show that those functions are riemann integrable as they are not riemann integrable in general. Now I have no clue how to find an answer.

## Answer

If you compose $\tan^{-1}$ with Conway’s Base-$13$ Function, then you get a bounded real-valued function on the open interval $(0,1)$ that satisfies the Intermediate Value Property but is discontinuous at every point in $(0,1)$. Therefore, by Lebesgue’s theorem on the necessary and sufficient conditions for Riemann-integrability, this function is not Riemann-integrable on any non-degenerate closed sub-interval of $(0,1)$.

Now, it cannot be the derivative of any function either, because by the Baire Category Theorem, if a function defined on an open interval has an antiderivative, then the function must be continuous on a dense set of points. This thread may be of interest to you. 🙂

Attribution
Source : Link , Question Author : Dominic Michaelis , Answer Author : Community