Are there some tricks to decide whether a space is path-connected?

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An exercise in Munkres' Topology asks us to decide whether a given space, such as product space and the closure of a path-connected subset of a space $X$, is path-connected.

I'd like to know if there are some tricks to decide whether a space is path-connected?

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  • Most obvious: given two arbitrary points, try to construct a path. This should work for the product problem (hint: if the factors are path connected, then this provides you with some paths to work with...)

  • Look for counterexamples. The topologist's sine curve and its variants are the most commonly encountered counterexamples to path connectedness. This should help you disprove the closure problem (consider the set $\{(t, \sin(1/t)): 0 < t < 1\}$).

  • Useful theorem: if a space is connected and locally path connected, then it is path connected. This is useful for open subsets of $\mathbb{R}^n$. Digesting the proof of this theorem will also provide some helpful insight into working with path connectedness.