Theory of Computation

Lecture – 02 : DEFINITIONS, THEOREMS AND PROOFS

Instructor: Trushna Parida (email: trushnaparida@soa.ac.in)

Department of Computer Science and Engineering
Institute of Technical Education & Research, SOA University
Definitions, Theorems and Proofs:
▪ The only way to determine the truth or falsity of a mathematical statement is with a mathematical

proof.

▪ Finding proofs isn’t always easy;

▪ It can’t be reduced to a simple set of rules or processes.

▪ To provide proofs

▪ Read the statement carefully which you want to prove.

▪ Understand the entire notation and then rewriting the statement in your own words

▪ Break down it into parts and considered each part separately to find the proofs.
Definitions, Theorems and Proofs:
▪ For example, suppose we want to prove “P if and only if Q”

➢ Reading and understanding the notations:

Often written “P iff Q” and also can be written as P↔ Q, where both P and Q are
mathematical statements

➢ Breaking down it into parts and considered each part separately to find the proofs.

The first part is : - “P only if Q,” which means: If P is true, then Q is true

We can write it as P → Q.

The second part is:- “P if Q,” which means: If Q is true, then P is true

We can write it as Q → P

➢ We must prove each to get the proof for the original problem.
Definitions, Theorems and Proofs:
▪ Definitions describe the objects and notions that we use.

▪ A definition may be simple, as in the definition of set given earlier in this chapter, or complex.

▪ Precision and clarity are essential for any mathematical definition

▪ we must make clear what constitutes that object and what does not

▪ Once objects and notations are defined, we then proceed with making the mathematical statements
about them

▪ A statement expresses the various properties of the object.

▪ A statement may or may not be true; but must be precise

▪ No ambiguity about its meaning is allowed

Definitions, Theorems and Proofs:

▪ A proof is a convincing logical argument that tries to show that a statement is true

▪ A Theorem is a mathematical statement which is proven to be true.

▪ Some statements are proved as they assist in proving some other more significant

▪ A statement that has been proven true in order to further help in proving another statement is called
a lemma.

▪ A theorem / proof which allows to conclude that some other related statements are true, are called
corollary
TYPES OF PROOF:

▪ PROOF BY CONSTRUCTION/DIRECT PROOF

▪ PROOF BY CONTRADICTION

▪ PROOF BY INDUCTION
PROOF BY CONSTRUCTION/DIRECT PROOF
▪ Many theorems state that a specific type of an object exists.

▪ One method for proving the existence of such an object is to prove that P ⇒ Q (P implies Q)

▪ In other words, we would demonstrate how we would build/construct that object to show that it can
exist

▪ So, this technique is called as the “Proof by Construction” or “Direct Proof”.

▪ There are only two steps to a direct proof :

❑ Assume that P is true.

❑ Use P to show that Q must be true

PROOF BY CONSTRUCTION II
▪ Let’s use a proof by construction to prove the following theorem.

▪ Theorem: If a and b are consecutive integers, the sum of a + b must be an odd number.

▪ Proof:

▪ Following the steps, we laid out before, we first assume that our theorem is true

▪ Since a and b are consecutive integers, b is equal to a + 1

▪ In that case, a + b can be rewritten as a + a + 1 or 2a + 1

▪ Therefore, we can say that a + b = 2a + 1 ( Let’s consider this as P & use P to show that Q i.e,
a + b is an odd number)
PROOF BY CONSTRUCTION III

▪ We know that

➢ any number multiplied by an even number must be even

➢ also if we add 1 to any even number, it becomes odd.

▪ Given these, we can say: a + b = 2a + 1 shows that a + b is odd.

PROOF BY CONTRADICTION
▪ A common form of proving a theorem is assuming the theorem is false, and then show that the
assumption is false itself,

▪ That means the proof contradicts the assumption; therefore it is called “Proof by Contradiction”

▪ Let’s use a proof by contradiction to prove the following theorem.

▪ Theorem: If n² is even, then n is even.

▪ Proof:

▪ Given this theorem, let’s assume that n² is even but n is odd.

▪ So We’re assuming that the theorem is false.

▪ As we showed in the previous example, an odd number can be characterized by n = 2k + 1.

PROOF BY CONTRADICTION
▪ Using that definition for an odd number we say the following:

▪ If n = 2k + 1 then

n² = (2k + 1)²

= 4k²+ 4k + 1 = 2(2k² + 2k) + 1

▪ more concisely, n² = 2(2k² + 2k) + 1. Let’s take 2k² + 2k = m

So, n² = 2m + 1. -------> This is the definition for odd numbers

▪ Using the definition for odd numbers, we must say that n² is odd

▪ But In our assumption, we declared n² to be even

▪ That’s a contradiction to our assumption

▪ Thus we can say n² must be even, and we’ve proven the original theorem
PROOF BY INDUCTION
▪ Proof by induction is a more advanced method of proving things

▪ This method is used to show that all elements in an infinite set have a certain property

▪ In a proof by induction, we generally have 2 parts,

▪ a basis or a base condition (it is the simplest version of the problem)

▪ the inductive step.

▪ For example, suppose we want to prove that 1 + 2 + 3 + … + n = n (n + 1)/2.

▪ In our example, the basis is,

▪ For n=1 our theorem is true since, 1 = 1(1 + 1)/2 .

▪ The next part of the proof is the inductive step. The inductive step is the part where we will
generalize our basis and take it a step further.
PROOF BY INDUCTION II
▪ The inductive step:

▪ Suppose our theorem is true for some n = k ≥ 1, that is: 1 + 2 + 3 + . . . + k = k(k + 1)/2.

▪ the induction step, proves that if the statement holds for any given case n = k,

▪ then it must also hold for the next case i.e., for n = k + 1.

▪ So, we have to prove that our theorem is true for n = k + 1, meaning:

▪ The sum of k +1 natural numbers will be equal to (k + 1)(k + 2)/2

𝑘
= 𝑘+1 +1
2

𝑘+1 𝑘+2
=
2
PROOF BY INDUCTION III

𝑘+1 𝑘+2
▪ we have proved 1 + 2 + 3 … + 𝑘 + 𝑘 + 1 =
2

▪ So, the statement holds for 𝑛 = 𝑘 + 1,

▪ We’ve followed a logical progression from the basis or the base case, to the inductive step, all the way

through to the final part of the proof.

PROBLEMS

0.10 Find the error in the following proof that 2 = 1.

Consider the equation a = b.
Multiply both sides by a to obtain a2 = ab.
Subtract b2 from both sides to get a2−b2 = ab−b2.
Now factor each side, (a + b)(a − b) = b(a − b), and divide each side by (a − b) to get a + b = b.
Finally, let a and b equal 1, which shows that 2 = 1.
PROBLEMS
0.11 Let S(n) = 1+2+· · · + n be the sum of the first n natural numbers and let C(n) = 13 + 23 + · · · + n3 be the sum of the
first n cubes. Prove the following equalities by induction on n, to arrive at the curious conclusion that C(n) = S 2(n)
for every n
1
a. 𝑆 𝑛 = 𝑛 𝑛+1
2
1 1
b. 𝑐 𝑛 = 4 𝑛4 + 2𝑛3 + 𝑛2 = 4 𝑛2 𝑛 + 1 2