BINOMIAL THEOREM AND ITS APPLICATIONS

4.2.1 Expansion using the Pascal’s Triangle

Definition 4.1
A binomial is a sum or a difference of two terms.
E.g. x +y, 2x + 3y are binomials.
Consider the following expansions;

a  b  1
0

a  b  a  b
1

 a  b   a 2  2ab  b 2
2

`
 a  b   a3  3a 2b  3ab 2  b3
3

 a  b   a 4  4a3b  6a 2b 2  4ab3  b 4
4

Writing the coefficients in a triangular array gives;

1
1 1
1 2 1
1 3 3 1
1 4 6 4 1
This triangular array is called the Pascal‟s Triangle (up to degree 4). The
entries of any row in the Pascal‟s triangle can be obtained from the row
immediately above it by simply adding consecutive entries of the latter
row.
Example 4.1

1
Expand  2 x  3 y  in descending powers of x.
3

Solution
This is a binomial of degree 3. Thus from the Pascal‟s triangle the
coefficients are

1, 3, 3, 1
Therefore letting a  2 x and b  3 y we have,

 2x  3 y    2 x   3  2 x   3 y   3  2 x  3 y    3 y 
3 3 2 2 3

=8 x3  36 x 2 y  54 xy 2  27 y 3

Example 4.2
4
 1
Obtain the expansion of  2 x  
 2  , in descending powers of x.
Solution
This is a binomial of degree 4. Thus from the Pascal‟s triangle the
coefficients are
1, 4, 6, 4, 1

Therefore letting a  2 x and b1

2 we have,
4 2 3 4
 1 3 1 2 1  1  1
 2x     2x  4  2x     6 2x      4 2x        
4

 2  2  2  2  2
 1 1  1  1
=16x 4  4  8 x3      6  4 x 2     4  2 x    
 2 4  8  16
1
=16x 4  16 x3  6 x 2  x  .
16

2
4.2.2 Binomial Theorem

Consider the binomial  a  b  of degree 3. Expanding we get

3

a 3  3a 2b  3ab 2  b3 .
Observe that the coefficients in this expansion can also be obtained as
follows;
 3  3  3  3
1   , 3   , 3   , 1    .
0 1  2  3
In general, we have
Theorem 4.1 (The Binomial Theorem)
If n is a positive integer,
n n n n
a  b    a n    a n 1b    a n  2b 2 
n
   b n , where
0 1  2 n

n n!
  
 r  r !  n  r !
.

Example 4.3

 2 x  3
14
10
Find the coefficient of x in the expansion of .
Solution
14  14  14 
 2 x  3     2 x      2 x   3      2 x   3 
14 14 13 10 4

0 1 4

Therefore the coefficient of x10 is

14  10
   2   3  83, 026, 944 .
4

4

3
Example 4.4
10
 1 
Obtain the first four terms of the expansion of 1  x  in ascending
 2 
powers of x. Hence find the value of 1.005
10
correct to four decimal
places.
Solution

10  10 10  9  1  10  8  1  10  7  1 

10 2 3
 1 
 1  x    1   1  x    1  x    1  x  
 2  0  1  2   2  2   3  2 
45 2
 1  5x  x  15 x3   4.1
4
Since
10
 1 
1.005  1  .005 and comparing with 1  2 x  we get
10 10

 
1 x  0.005
2
 x  2  0.005  0.01

Substituting this value of x in equation  4.1 we obtain

45
1.005  1  5  0.01 
 0.01  15  0.01 
10 2 3

4
=1+0.05+0.001125+0.000015+
=1.0511 (4 dp)

Exercise
1. Write the coefficients of the terms indicated in the
expansions of the following
a)  2 x  316 , 10th term

4
 b)   x  2 16 , 20th term
2. Use Binomial Theorem to find the value of
1.01 , 3 dp b)  2.00110 , 6 sigf
10

4.2.3 Binomial Theorem for any Index

Theorem 4.2
For any rational number n, the binomial theorem is given by
n  n  1 n  n  1 n  2 
1  x 
n
 1  nx  x2  x3  ,
2! 3!

provided 1  x  1 ie x  1.

Example 4.6
1
Expand 1  x in ascending powers of x as far as the term in x3 .

Solution
1
 1  x 
1
 n  -1
1 x
Therefore

 1 2   1 2  3

1  x   1   1  x   x x
1 2 3
 
2! 3!
=1  x  x 2  x 3 , provided x  1.

Example 4.7

5
Obtain the first five terms of the expansion 1  2x in ascending
powers of x. State the values of x for which the expansion is valid.

Solution

1  2 x  1  2 x  2 , n  1
1

2
Therefore

 1   1   1   1    3 
1  2 x  2x  2x  2 2
 
2 2x 
1 2 2 2 3
2
 1 1
2 2! 3!
 12   12    3 2   5 2   2 x  4

4!
=1  x  1 x 2  1 x 3  5 x 4 
2 2 8

The expansion is valid for 1  2 x  1 ie x1 .

2
Example 4.8
1
Expand
 2  x  in ascending powers of x as far as the term in x3 and
2

state the values of x for which the expansion is valid.

Solution

6
 2
1   x 
 2  x
2
  2 1   
2  x   2 
2

2
2 x
 2 1  
 2
  x 
= 1 1   2    
  2  3   x 
2
 2  3  4   x 
3

4   +   + 
  2  2!  2  3! 2 
= 1 1  x  3 x 2  1 x3  
4 4 2 
= 1  1 x  3 x 2  1 x3 
4 4 16 8

For the expansion to be valid,

1  1 x  1 ie x  2.
2
Example 4.9

1 2x
Expand up to the term including x3 .
1 x
Solution

1 2x
 1  2 x  2 1  x 
1 1

1 x
Now,

 1   1   1   1    3 
1  2 x   2x  2x  2 2
 
2 2x 
1
2
 1 1 2 2 2 3
2 2! 3!
 1  x  1 x 2  1 x3 
2 2

7
 and
(1)(2) (1)(2)(3)
1  x 
1
 1  (1)( x)  ( x) 2  ( x)3 
2! 3!
=1  x  x 2  x3 

Therefore

1 2x
1 x 2 
 1  x  1 x 2  1 x3 
2  1  x  x 2
 x 3  

= 1  x  x 2  x 3     x  x 2  x 3     1 x 2  1 x 3  
2 2 
 1 x3 
2
 
=1  2 x + 3 x 2  2 x 3 
2

Example 4.10

Find the first four terms in the expansion of 1  8x  in ascending

1
2

1
powers of x. Substitute x  23 correct
100 and obtain the value of
to five significant figures.
Solution

 1   1   1   1    3 
1  8 x  (8 x)  2 2 2 (8 x) 
1
2
 1 1 (8 x)  2 2 2 3
2 2! 3!
=1  4 x  8 x 2  32 x
3

1
Substituting x with we have,
100

8
 1 1 1 1
 8  2
 92   23  4 
2 2
 4  2
 23
1
 1         
2

 100   100   100   100 

2
= 23
10
Also
1
 8  2

 1    1  4(0.01)  8(0.01) 2  32(0.01)3

 100 
=1  0.04  0.0008  0.000032
=0.959168
2
 23  0.959168
10
0.959168 10
 23   4.79584
2
 4.7958.

Exercise
1. Expand the following in ascending powers of x as far as the term in
x3

1 1 x
a ) 1  x 
1
3
b) c)
2  x2 1 x

2. Expand 1  2x  x  as far as the terms in

2 6
x3 .

3. Obtain the first four terms of the expansion of 1  8x 

1
2
in

9
 1
ascending powers of x. Putting x  obtain the value of 3
100
correct to five decimal places.
4. Show that if x is small enough for its cube and higher powers to be
neglected,

1 x x2
 1 x  .
1 x 2

10
 SET THEORY
5.2.1 Introduction to Sets
Definition 5.1
A set is a well-defined list or collection of objects. The different objects
that form a set are called members or elements of the set. The members
making up a set are enclosed in braces (curly brackets) i.e. { }. We
usually denote sets by capital letters. For example

A  1, 10, 5, 3 is a set having four members.

A set is finite or infinite according to whether it has a finite or infinite
number of members. For example

i) A  a, b, c, d  is a finite set.

ii) N  1, 2, 3,  is an infinite set.
There are two ways of describing a set;
i) By listing down all of its members.
ii) By stating the properties characterizing each one of the members.
For example

a) A  a, b, c, d , e, f  denotes a set A whose members are a, b, c, d,

e and f.
b) B   x : x  0 and x is an integer . Then the members of B are 1,
2, 3, …
 
c) E  x x  3x  2  0 and x is a real number . Then the members of
2

E are all real numbers satisfying the equation x  3 x  2  0 , that

2

is E  1, 2 .
Null or Empty Set

11
It is a set with no members and it is denoted by  or { }.
Example 5.1

 
a) The set x x  1  0 and x is a real number is empty for x  1  0
2 2

has no real solution.

b) The set
x : x is an even integer lying between 10 and 11, 10 not included
is empty.
Membership of a Set
The symbol  means is a „member of‟ or „belong to‟.

Thus if A  1, 5, 6, 7 , then 1  A .

The symbol  means „is not a member of‟ or „doesn‟t belong to‟. Thus
if B  a, b, e, d  , then x  B .
Equality of Sets
Two sets A and B are said to be equal, written A  B , if they have
exactly the same members.

Remark 5.1
The order in which members of a set are listed down is immaterial.
For example
A  a, b, c, d , e, f  and B   f , d , e, a, c, b are equal.

Remark 5.2
It is not allowed to repeat a member of a set more than once.

Thus if A  a, b, a, d , e, e, f  and B  a, b, d , e, f  , then A B.

12
Cardinality of a set
The cardinality or the order of a set A is the number of elements in A. It
is denoted by n  A or A . For example if B  3, 7, 8, 9, 11 , then
n  B  5 .

Subsets
If every member of a set A is also a member of a set B, then A is said to
be a subset of B or A is contained in B. If A is contained in B, we denote
this by A  B . If A is a subset of B, then B is called a superset of A.
The notation A  B means A is contained in B but A  B . In this
case, A is called a proper subset of B. Furthermore the symbol A  B
means A is not contained in B, thus we can find x  A but xB.
Example 5.2

Find all the subsets of A  1, 2,3 .

Solution

a)  b) {1} c) {2} d) {3} e) {1, 2} f) {1, 3} g) {2, 3}

h) A  {1, 2, 3}
Remark 5.3
The empty set  is a subset of any other set since it has no members.
The subsets a) to g) are proper subsets of A.
If A contains an element which is not in B, the A cannot be a subset of B.
We denote this by A  B .

Example 5.3

13
If A  1, 2, 4, 5 and B  4, 5, 7, 8 , then A B since
1, 2  A but 1, 2  B.

If n  A  m , then the number N of all subsets of A is N  2 .

m

Example 5.4

If n  A  3 , then the number of all subsets of A is 23  8 .

Equality of Sets
A set A is said to be equal to B written A  B if A  B and B  A .
Therefore in order to prove that A  B we need to show that
x  A  x  B and x  B  x  A .
Universal Set
If we have some sets under consideration, a fixed set which contains all
these subsets is called the universal set and it is denoted by U.
Example 5.5

Let A  1, 2, 3, 4 and B  5, 7, 9 and C  10,12,13 . Then we can

take the universal set to be either

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10,11,12,13 ,
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,10,11,12,13,14,15 , N  1, 2, 3, ... or
Z  ...,  2,  1, 0,1, 2, ... .

14
5.2.2 Venn Diagrams and Set Operations
5.2.2.1 Venn Diagrams
Set and set problems may be represented by diagrams called Venn
diagrams. The universal set is represented by a rectangle while subsets
of the universal set are represented by circles or discs lying inside the
rectangle as illustrated below;

Complement of a set
If U is the universal set and A is a subset of U, then all elements of U
which do not belong to A form the complement of A. The complement of
A is denoted by A c or A ' . Thus

Ac   x : x  U and x  A .

15
Diagrammatically,

A
Ac

Shaded area represents Ac .

Example 5.6

Let U  1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and A  1, 3, 5 . Then

Ac  2, 4, 6 .

5.2.2.2 Set Operations

We consider the following set operations;
Intersection
Let A and B be two sets. Then the set of elements which are common to
both A and B is called the intersection of A and B, denoted by A  B .
Thus

A  B  x : x  A and x  B .

16
Diagrammatically,

A
B

The shaded region represents A B .

Examples 5.7

If A  1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and B  7, 9,11 , find A B .

Solution

A  B  7, 9

If A and B have no elements in common i.e. A  B   , then A and B are

said to be disjoint.
Diagrammatically,

A B

17
Example 5.8

If A  1, 3, 5, 7 and B  2, 4, 6, 8 , then A and B are disjoint since

A B  .
Union
The union of two sets A and B is the set of all elements contained in A or
B. The union of two sets A and B is denoted by A  B (read A union B).
Therefore

A  B  x x  A or x  B .

Diagrammatically,

A B

Shade area represents A B .

Difference of Two Sets
The relative complement of a set B with respect to a set A, or simply the
difference of A and B denoted by A \ B (or A  B ) is the set of elements
which belong to A but do not belong to B.
Therefore

A \ B  A  B  x x  A, x  B .

18
Diagrammatically,

A B

Shaded area is A\ B .

Example 5.9

Let A  1, 2, 3, 4 and B  3, 4, 6 . Then

a) A \ B  1, 2 and b) B \ A  6

Example 5.9

Let A  1, 2, 3, 4 and B  3, 4, 6 . Then

a) A \ B  1, 2 and b) B \ A  6

Exercise
Let A  1, 2, 3, 4 and B  3, 4, 5

Find (i) A B (ii) A B (iii) A B (iv) B A

19
5.2.3 Algebra of sets
Theorem 5.1 (Set Laws)
Let A, B and C be sets. Then
1. A  A  A A A  A Idempotent Law
a)  A  B   C  A   B  C 
2. Associative Law
b)  A  B   C  A   B  C 

a) A  B  B  A
3. b) A  B  B  A Commutative Law

4. a) A   B  C    A  B   A  C 
Distributive laws

b) A   B  C    A  B   A  C 

5. a) A   A
b) A U  A Indentity Laws

c) A U  U

d) A   

6. A 
c c
A Involution Law

7. a) A  A  U
c

b) A  Ac   Complement Laws

c) Uc 

20
 d) c  U
8. De Morgan‟s Laws

 A  B
c
a)  Ac  Bc

 A  B
c
b)  Ac  Bc

Remark 5.4
To prove equations involving set operations we use definition of
equality of two sets. The alternative method of proof involves use of a
Venn diagram.
Example 5.10
We prove the first of the De Morgan‟s Laws.
Proof
Method 1

We first show that  A  B   Ac  Bc . If x   A  B  , then x   A  B  .

c c

Thus x  A and x  B , so that x  Ac and x  B c . Hence x  Ac  B c .

Next we show that Ac  Bc   A  B  . Let x  A  B , then x  A and

c c c c

x  B c , so x  A and x  B . Hence x   A  B  , so x   A  B  .
c

 A  B
c
Together, these inclusions prove that  Ac  Bc .

Method 2
Using Venn Diagrams

21
 Figure I Figure II

U
U U
shaded

A
A
A B B
B

Shaded region is shaded

shaded
Shaded

Figure III

A B

shaded
22
Since the shaded region in Figures I and III are identical then,
 A  B   Ac  Bc .
c

Example 5.11
Use set algebra to simplify

a) A  A  B c

b)  S  T    S c  T    S  T c 

Solution
a) A  Ac  B   A  Ac    A  B 
 U   A  B
 A B.

b)  S  T    S c  T    S  T c    S c  T    S  T    S  T c  

=  S c  T    S  (T  T c ) 
=  S c  T    S U 
= Sc T   S
=  S c  S   T  S 
=U   T  S 
= T  S  .

23
5.2.4 Applications of Set Theory to Counting
A set is finite or infinite according to whether it has a finite or infinite
number of elements.
For example

a) A  a, b, c is finite since n  A  3   .

b) N  1, 2,3,... is an infinite set.
Lemma 5.2
If A and B are disjoint finite sets, then A  B is finite and

n  A  B   n  A  n  B  .

Proof
In counting elements of A  B , first count those that are in A. There are
n  A  of these. The only other elements of A  B are those that are in B
but not in A. But since A and B are disjoint, no elements of B is in A, so
there are n  B  elements that are in B and not in A. Therefore

n  A  B   n  A  n  B  .

Theorem 5.3 [Inclusion-Exclusion Principle]

Let A and B be any finite sets, then A  B is finite and
n  A  B   n  A  n  B   n  A  B  .

Proof

This follows from the fact that when we add n  A  and n  B  , we have
counted the elements of A  B twice.
This Principle holds for any number of sets.

24
For three sets we have
Theorem 5.4
For any finite sets A, B, C we have
n  A  B  C   n  A  n  B   n  C   n  A  B   n  A  C   n  B  C   n  A  B  C 
.
Example 5.12
Among 50 students in a class, 26 got an A in the first examination and
21 got an A in the second examination. If 17 students did not get an A in
either examination, how many students got A in both the examinations?
Solution
Let P be the set of students who scored A in the first exam, then P  26
Let Q be the set of students who scored A in the second exam, then
P  21
Also

U  50 and  P  Q   17 . Therefore
c

P  Q  50  17  33 .
But
P Q  P  Q  P Q

and so
33  26  21  P  Q

 P  Q  26  21  33  14
Hence 14 Students scored an A in both exams.
Example 5.13
In a survey of 60 people, it was found that

25
 25 people read the Newsweek magazine
26 read Time
26 read Fortune
9 read both Newsweek and Fortune
11 read both Newsweek and Time
8 read both Time and Fortune
3 read all the three magazine
a) Find the number of people who read at least one of the three
magazines.
b) Fill in the correct number of people in a Venn diagram.
c) Find the number of people who read exactly one magazine.
Solution

a) We need to find n  N  T  F  . Now

n  N  T  F   n  N   n T   n  F   n  N  T   n  N  F   n T  F   n  N  T  F 

 25  26  26 11 9  8  3  52
b) The required Venn diagram is obtained as follows;
3 read all the three magazines
11-3 = 8 read Newsweek and Time but not all the three
magazines
9-3 = 6 read Newsweek and Fortune but not all the three
magazines
8-3 = 5 read Time and Fortune but not all the three magazines

26
 25-8-6-3 = 8 read only Newsweek
26-8-5-3 = 10 read only Time
26-6-5-3 = 12 read only Fortune
60-52 = 8 read no magazine at all

8
6
3 T

12 5 10

c) 8+10+12 = 30 read only one magazine.

Exercise
1. In a class of 80 students, 50 students know English, 55 know
French and 46 know German language. 37 students know
English and French, 28 students know French and Germany, 25
students know English and Germany and 7 students know none
of the languages. Find out

27
 a) How many students know all the three languages?
b) How many students know exactly 2 languages?
c) How many know only one language?
2. Prove the following identities

i)  A  B    A  B   A  B  A  B .
c c

ii) A   B  C    A  B    A  C 

5.4 References
1. Goldstein, L., Schneider, D. and Siegel, M., Finite Mathematics
and its applications, 7th Ed., Prentice Hall, 1998.
2. Grimaldi, R.P., Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics. An
applied introduction, 5th Ed., Pearson Addison Wesley, 2004.
3. Edgar, G., Goodaire, M., Parmenter, M., Discrete Mathematics
with graph theory, 2nd Ed., 2002.
4. Seymour Lipschutz and Marc Lipson. Schaum‟s Outline Serires
Discrete Mathematics, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,
2007.
https://alas.matf.bg.ac.rs/~mi10164/Materijali/DS.pdf

28
 LOGIC

Logic is a language for reasoning. It is a collection of rules we use when

doing logical reasoning. In logic we are interested in true or false of
statements, and how the truth/falsehood of a statement can be
determined from other statements. However, instead of dealing with
individual specific statements, we are going to use symbols to represent
arbitrary statements so that the results can be used in many similar but
different cases..

6.2.1 Introduction to Propositions

Many proofs in Mathematics and many algorithms in Computer Science
use logical expressions of the form
„IF p THEN q ‟ or „1F p1 AND p2 , THEN q1 OR q2 ‟ .
It is necessary to know the cases in which these expressions are either
TRUE or FALSE; what we refer to as the truth values of such
expression.
Definition 6.1
A proposition (or a statement) is a declarative sentence which is either
true or false but not both. Consider the following eight sentences;
a) Paris is in France b) 1+1 = 2
c) 2+2 =3 d) London is in Denmark
e) 9<6 f) x = 2 is a solution of x2  4

g) Where are you going? h) Do your homework

All are propositions except g) and h). Moreover a), b) and f) are true
whereas c), d) and e) are false.

29
6.2.1.1 Compound propositions
A logical connective is a symbol or word used to connect two or more
propositions in a grammatically valid way, such that the sense of the
resulting proposition (called compound proposition) depends only on the
original proposition. A proposition which cannot be broken down into
simpler propositions is called a primitive proposition.
Example 6.1
a) Roses are red and violets are blue is a compound proposition with
sub propositions „Roses are red‟ and „Violets are blue.‟
b) John is intelligent or studies every night is a compound proposition
with sub propositions „John is intelligent‟ and „John studies every
night.‟

6.2.2 Basic Logical Operations

Conjunction pq
Any two propositions p and q can be combined by the word „and‟
denoted  to form a compound proposition called conjunction of the
original propositions. Symbolically this is written
p  q,
and is read „p and q‟. Since p  q is a proposition, it has truth values
that depend only on truth values of p and q.
Definition 6.3
If p and q are true, then p  q is true; otherwise p  q is false.
The truth values of pq may be defined equivalently by the following
table:
pq

30
p q pq
T T T
T F F
F T F
F F F

The four lines correspond to the four possible combinations of T and F

for sub propositions p and q.

Example 6.2
Consider the following statements
i) Paris is in France and 2+2 = 4
ii) Paris is in France and 2+2 = 5
iii) Paris is in England and 2+2 = 4
iv)Paris is in England and 2+2 = 5
Only the first statement is true. Each of the other statements is false
since at least one of its sub statements is false.

Disjunction pq
Any two propositions p and q can be combined by the word „or‟ denoted
 to form a compound proposition called disjunction of the original
propositions. Symbolically this is written
pq

31
and is read as p or q. The truth values of pq depends only on the
truth values of p and q as follows;
Definition 6.4

If p and q are false, then p  q is false; otherwise p  q is true.

Truth value of p  q may be defined equivalently by the table;

pq
p q pq
T T T
T F T
F T T
F F F

Example 6.3
Consider the following statements
i) Paris is in France or 2+2 = 4
ii) Paris is in France or 2+2 = 5
iii) Paris is in England or 2+2 = 4

32
 iv)Paris is in England or 2+2 = 5
Only the last statement is false. Each of the other statements is true since
at least one of its sub statements is true.
Negation ~p
Given any proposition p, another proposition called negation of p, can be
formed by writing „it is not the case that ….‟ or „it is false that …‟
before p or if possible by inserting in p the word not.
Symbolically this is written
~p
and is read „not p ‟ or negation of p.
Definition 6.5
If p is true, then ~p is false, and if p is false, then ~p is true.

~p
p ~p

T F
F T

Exercise

1. Determine the truth values of each of the following statements;

a) 4+2 = 5 and 6+3 = 9
b) 3+2 = 5 or 6+1 = 7

33
6.2.3 Propositions and Truth Tables

Let P  p1 , p2 , , pn  denote an expression constructed from the

logical variables p1 , p2 ,..., pn , which take truth value TRUE (T) or
FALSE (F) and various logical connectives ,  and ~ . Such an
expression P  p1 , p2 , , pn  will be called a compound proposition. The
main property of the proposition P  p1 , p2 , , pn  is that its truth
value depends exclusively upon the truth values of the variable. A
simple and concise way to show this property is through a truth table.

6.2.3.1 Steps for constructing Truth Table

1. In the first row of the truth table the first n columns are for the
variables p1 , p2 ,..., pn . Next, ensure that there are enough rows in
the table to allow for all possible combinations of T and F for these
variables. (For two variables, 4 rows are necessary; for three
variables, 8 rows are necessary and in general for n variables, 2n
rows are necessary.
2. There is then a column for each elementary stage of construction
of the proposition, the truth value of each step being determined
from previous stages by definition of connectives
,  and ~.
3. Finally we obtain the truth values of the proposition
P  p1 , p2 , , pn  which appears in the last column.
Example 6.4

34
Construct the truth table for the proposition ~  p  ~ q  .
Solution

~  p ~ q 
p q ~q p ~ q ~  p ~ q 

T T F F T
T F T T F
F T F F T
F F T F T

Remark 6.1
We adopt the following order of precedence for logical connectives;

~ has precedence over  which has precedence over 

Eg ~ pq means  ~ p   q and not ~  p  q  .
Example 6.5

Construct the truth table for the proposition pqr .

Solution

By Remark 2.1, the given proposition can be written as p   q  r  .

35
 p  q  r 
p q r qr p  q  r 

T T T T T
T T F F T
T F T F T
T F F F T
F T T T T
F T F F F
F F T F F
F F F F F

6.2.3.2 Tautologies and Contradictions

Some propositions P  p1 , p2 , , pn  contain only T in the last column

of their truth tables or, in other words, they are true for any truth values
of their variables. Such propositions are called tautologies.

Analogously, a proposition P  p1 , p2 , , pn  is called a contradiction if

it contains only F in the last column of its truth table, in other words, it
is false for any truth values of its variables.
Example 6.6
The proposition p or not p, that is p  ~ p is a tautology, and the
proposition p and not p, that is p  ~ p is a contradiction.

a) p ~ p b) p  ~ p

36
p ~p p ~ p p ~p p ~ p
T F T T F F
F T T F T F

Example 6.7
Determine whether or not pq p is a tautology or contradiction.
Solution

The given proposition can be written as p   q  p 

p  q  p

p q q p p  q  p

T T T T
T F F T
F T F F
F F F F

Hence p   q  p  is neither a tautology nor a contradiction.

6.2.3.3 Logical Equivalence

37
Two propositions P  p1 , p2 , , pn  and Q  q1 , q2 , , qn  are said to be
logically equivalent or equivalent, denoted
P  p1 , p2 , , pn   Q  q1 , q2 , , qn 

if they have identical truth tables.

Example 6.8

Consider the truth tables of ~  p  q  and ~ p ~ q

a) ~  p  q  b) ~ p ~ q
p q p  q ~  p  q p q ~p ~q ~ p ~ q

T T T F
T T F F F
T F F T
T F F T T
F T F T
F T T F T
F F F T
F F T T T

Observe that the last columns of both tables are the same; that is both
propositions are false in the first case and true in the other cases.
Accordingly, we write
~  p  q   ~ p ~ q .

Example 6.9

Show that ~  p  q   ~ p  ~ q.

Solution

Consider the truth tables of ~  p  q  and ~ p  ~ q

38
a) ~  p  q b) ~ p ~ q
pq ~ pq
p q   p q ~p ~q ~ p ~ q
T T T F
T F T F T T F F F

F T T F T F F T F

F F F T F T T F F
F F T T T

Hence ~  p  q  ~ p ~ q.

Exercise
Verify that the proposition p ~  p  q  is a tautology

6.2.4 Conditional and Biconditional Statements

Many statements, particularly in Mathematics are of the form „if p then
q‟. Such statements are called conditional statements and are denoted by
pq.
The conditional statement pq is frequently read as „p implies q‟.

39
Another common statement is of the form „ p if and only if q‟. Such
statements are called biconditional statements and are denoted by
pq.
Definition 6.6
a) The conditional statement p  q is false only if the first part p is
true and the second part q is false.
Accordingly, when p is false, the conditional pq is true
regardless of the truth value of q.
b) The biconditional p  q is true whenever p and q have the same
truth values and false otherwise.
a) pq b) p  q
p q pq p q pq

T T T T T T

T F F T F F

F T T F T F

F F T F F T

Now consider the following truth table of ~ pq.

c) ~ pq
p q ~p ~ pq
T T F T
T F F F
F T T T

40
 F F T T

Then the truth tables of ~ p  q and p  q are identical, that is,

they are both false only in the second case. Accordingly p  q is
logically equivalent to ~ p  q ; that is p  q ~ p  q .
Example 6.10
Rewrite the following statements without using conditionals.
a) If it is cold, he wears a hat.
b) If productivity increases, then the wages rise.
Solution
a) Let p be „It is cold‟ and q be „He wears a hat‟. Then using
p  q ~ p  q , we have
It is not cold or he wears a hat.
b) Similarly if we let p be „Productivity increases‟ and q be
„Wages rise‟ then using p  q ~ p  q we get
Productivity does not increase or wages rise.

6.2.4.1 Converse, Inverse and Contrapositive

Consider the conditional proposition p  q . Then the simple
propositions q  p, ~ p ~ q and ~ q ~ p are called
respectively, the converse, inverse and contrapositive of pq.
Which of these propositions are logically equivalent to pq?
Consider the truth table below;

41
p q ~p ~q Conditional Converse Inverse Contrapositive
pq q p ~ p ~ q ~ q ~ p
T T F F T T T T
T F F T F T T F
F T T F T F F T
F F T T T T T T

We observe that columns 5 and 8 are identical, thus only the

contrapositive ~ q ~ p is logically equivalent to the original
conditional proposition p  q .That is
p  q ~ q ~ p .
In addition columns 6 and 7 are identical, thus q  p ~ p ~ q .
Example 6.11
Give the converse, inverse and contrapositive of each of the following;
i) If it snows, they will drive the car.
ii) Only if Mark studies will he pass the examination.
Solution
i) Let p be „It snows‟ and q be „They will drive the car‟. Then
Converse q  p
If they drive the car, then it will snow.
Inverse ~ p ~ q
If it does not snow, then they will not drive the car.
Contrapositive ~ q ~ p
If they will not drive the car, then it will not snow.

42
 i) The given statement can be written as;
If Mark passes the examination, then he studied. Thus if we let p
be „Mark passes the examination‟ and q be „Mark studied‟ then
Converse q  p
If Mark studies, then he will pass the examination.
Inverse ~ p ~ q
If Mark does not pass the examination, then he did not study.

Contrapositive ~ q ~ p
If Mark does not study, then he will not pass the examination.

Exercise
Show that

i) p   q  r    p  q    p  r 
ii) ~  ~ p   p
iii) pq  q p

6.3 References

1. Goldstein, L., Schneider, D. and Siegel, M., Finite Mathematics

and its applications, 7th Ed., Prentice Hall, 1998.
2. Grimaldi, R.P., Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics. An
applied introduction, 5th Ed., Pearson Addison Wesley, 2004.
3. Edgar, G., Goodaire, M., Parmenter, M., Discrete Mathematics
with graph theory, 2nd Ed., 2002.
4. Seymour Lipschutz and Marc Lipson. Schaum‟s Outline Serires
Discrete Mathematics, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,
2007.
https://alas.matf.bg.ac.rs/~mi10164/Materijali/DS.pdf

43
 LECTURER SEVEN
METHODS OF PROOF
7.2.1 Direct Proof
Direct proof is a way of showing the truth or falsehood of a given
statement by a straightforward combination of established facts, usually
axioms, existing lemmas and theorems, without making any further
assumptions. Logical deduction is employed to reason from assumptions
to conclusion.
A direct proof assumes that the hypothesis of a conjecture is true, and
then uses a series of logical deductions to prove that the conclusion of
the conjecture is true.

You simply show pq directly.

Example 7.1
Show that the square of an even integer is even.
Proof
Suppose n is an even integer, then n  2m for some integer m. Therefore

 
n 2   2m   4m 2  2 2m 2 .
2

Hence n 2 is even.
Exercise
Prove that the sum of two odd integers is an even integer.

44
7.2.2 Indirect Proof
In an indirect proof, instead of showing that the conclusion to be proved
is true, you show that all of the alternatives are false. To do this, you
must assume the negation of the statement to be proved. Then, deductive
reasoning will lead to a contradiction: two statements that cannot both be
true.
There are three types of indirect proofs: contradiction, contraposition
and counterexample.
7.2.2.1 Contrapositive Proof
Given a set of hypotheses H1 , H 2 ,..., H n from which we want to infer a
conclusion C, for contrapositive proof we need to show that
~ C ~  H1  H 2  ...  H n  .

That is, we show that negation of the conclusion implies negation of the
hypothesis.
Example 7.3
2
Prove that if n is even, then n is even.
Solution
2
We prove the contraposition that if n is not even, then n is not even
If n is not even (is odd), then n  2k  1 for some integer k.
Therefore,

n2   2k  1
2

 4k 2  4k  1

45
 
 2 2k 2  2k  1 
2
Hence then n is not even (is odd).

7.2.2.2 Proof by Contradiction

Sometimes the only (or the best) way to show why some conclusions
holds, is to assume that it doesn‟t. If this leads to „nonsense‟ contrary to
reality or a result contrary to the hypotheses, then we have reached a
contradiction. Such a proof is called a proof by contradiction.
Example 7.2

Prove that 2 is irrational.

p
(A number is rational if it can be written in the form q with p and q

integers q  0 and gcd of p and q is 1 i.e.  p, q   1 and is irrational if

it is not rational.)
Proof
Assume to the contrary that 2 is rational. Then

2
p
q
, with  p, q   1 , q  0 and p and q are integers.

p2
Therefore 2  q 2  p  2q .
2 2

2
Hence p is even so that p is also even. This implies that
p  2k for some integer k , thus

 2k   4k 2  2q 2 and therefore q  2k .
2 2
2

46
Thus q2 and q are also even. Therefore both p and q are even,

contradicting our earlier statement. Hence 2 is irrational.

7.2.2.3 Counter Example

A counterexample is a special kind of example that disproves a
statement or proposition. Identifying counterexamples is a way to show
that a mathematical statement is false.
Obtaining counterexamples is a very important part of mathematics,
because doing mathematics requires that you develop a critical attitude
toward claims. When you have an idea or when someone tells you
something, test the idea by trying examples. If you find a
counterexample which shows that the idea is false, that's good: Progress
comes not only through doing the right thing, but also by correcting your
mistakes.
Example 7.7
a) The statement “All prime numbers are odd numbers” is false since
for example 2 is a prime number and it‟s not odd. In this case 2 is
counter example.

b) The statement “for all real numbers x, we have  x  1  x  1 ”

2 2

 
2
is false since for example 1 is a real number and 1  1  12  1
i.e. 4  2 . In this case x  1 is a counter example.

47
 Exercise
1. Prove the following statement by a) contradiction b)
contraposition;
If 3n+5 is odd, then n is even.
2. Disproof by counter example that n 2  n  17 is prime

7.2.3 Proof by Induction

This is an important tool used when proving theorems on natural
numbers (positive integers) i.e.  1, 2, 3, .
Theorem 7.1

Let p  n  be a statement that is either true or false for each n  N , then

p  n  is true for all n  N provided that

i) p 1 is true.

ii) For each k  N , if p  k  is true, then p  k  1 is true.

Example 7.4

Prove that 1  2  3   n  1 n  n  1 for any natural numbers n.

2
Proof

Let p  n   1 2 n  n  1 , then

48
 1
i) If n  1, LHS  1 and RHS  p 1  1 2   1 , hence the
2
statement is true for n  1 .
ii) Assume that the statement is true for some integer k  1 , that is
p  k   1  2  3   k  1 k  k  1 and show that p  k  1 is true.
2
Now,

p  k  1  1  2  3   k   k  1  p  k    k  1


1 k  k  1   k  1
2

= 1 2  k  1 k  2 

2
1 k  1  k  1  1

Hence p  k  1 is true. Hence by inductive hypothesis the statement is

true for all natural numbers n.
Example 7.5

Prove that 7  4 is a multiple of 3 for all n.

n n

Proof

i) Let p  n   7  4 . If n  1 , p 1  3 , which is divisible by 3.

n n

Hence the statement is true for n  1 .

ii) Next, assume that the statement is true for some integer k  1 , that
is p  k   7  4  3m , for some m  N. We want to show that
k k

p  k  1 is a multiple of 3.

Now,

49
 p  k  1  7k 1  4k 1  7k  7   4k  4 

 7 k  4  3  4 k  4 

 7 k  4   7 k  3  4k  4 

 4  7k  4k   7k  3

 4  p  k   7k  3 ; but p  k   3m

 4  3m   7k  3

 3  4m  7k  , which is a multiple of 3.

Hence p  k  1 is true so that by inductive hypothesis the

statement is true for all natural numbers.
Example 7.6

Prove that 2  4  6   2n  n  n  1 for all n   .

Solution

Let p  n   n  n  1 . Then

i) If n  1 , LHS  2 and RHS  p 1  11  1  1 2   2 . Hence the

statement is true for n  1 .
ii) Assume that the statement is true for some integer k  1 , that is
p  k   2  4  6   2k  k  k  1 and show that p  k  1 is
true.
Now,

50
 p  k  1  2  4  6   2k  2  k  1  p  k   2  k  1

 k  k  1  2  k  1
 k 2  k  2k  2
 k 2  3k  2
  k  1 k  2 
  k  1  k  1  1

Hence p  k  1 is true so that by inductive hypothesis the statement is true

for all natural numbers.
Exercise
1. Prove that
1 3  5    2n  1  n2 for all n  N .

2. 9n  7 is always divisible by 8

7.3 Assessment
1. Prove that the sum of two odd integers is an even integer.
2. Prove that
12  22   n 2  1 n  n  1 2n  1 ,
6 n N .

3. Prove that 9  7 is always divisible by 8.

n

7.4 References

1. Goldstein, L., Schneider, D. and Siegel, M., Finite Mathematics

and its applications, 7th Ed., Prentice Hall, 1998.

51
2. Grimaldi, R.P., Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics. An
applied introduction, 5th Ed., Pearson Addison Wesley, 2004.
3. Edgar, G., Goodaire, M., Parmenter, M., Discrete Mathematics
with graph theory, 2nd Ed., 2002.
4. Seymour Lipschutz and Marc Lipson. Schaum‟s Outline Serires
Discrete Mathematics, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,
2007.
https://alas.matf.bg.ac.rs/~mi10164/Materijali/DS.pdf

52
 COMPLEX NUMBERS
The set of all real numbers is incomplete in the sense that standard
operations applied to some real numbers do not yield a real number
result (e.g., square root: 1 ). It is surprisingly easy to enlarge the set
of real numbers producing a set of numbers that is closed under standard
operations, that is the subject of this lecture.

8.2.1 Introduction to Complex Numbers

Consider the quadratic equation x  1  0 . Then x 2  1 , hence

2

x 2  1  0 has no real roots.

To solve an equation of this type, we need another category of numbers
called complex numbers.

We define i  1 , where i is an imaginary unit. This can be extended

to find the square root of other negative numbers.

Eg. 25   25  1

= 25 1
=  5i
Definition 8.1
The general form of a complex number z is x  iy , where x and y are
real numbers and i is the imaginary unit. The numbers x and y are called
the real and imaginary parts of z respectively written
x  Re  z  and y  Im  z  .

For example if z  2  7i , then Re  z   2 and Im  z   7 .

The set of all complex umbers is denoted by .
Definition 8.2

53
Let z  x  iy be a complex number, then the number x  iy denoted

by z is called the complex conjugate of z.

Example 8.1

If z  3  2i, then z  3  2i.

8.2.1.1 Arithmetic operations on Complex Numbers

Let z1  x1  iy1 , z2  x2  iy2 , then we have

1. z1  z2   x1  iy1    x2  iy2 

  x1  x2   i  y1  y2 

2. z1  z2   x1  iy1    x2  iy2 

  x1  x2   i  y1  y2 

3. z1 z2   x1  iy1  x2  iy2 

 x1 x2  x1 y2i  x2 y1i  y1 y2i

2

 x1 x2  i ( x1 y2  x2 y1 )  y1 y2

  x1 x2  y1 y2   i ( x1 y2  x2 y1 )

In particular

z1 z1   x1  iy1  x1  iy1 
 x12  x1 y1i  x1 y1i  y12i 2
=x12  y12 (real number)

54
 z1 x1  iy1
4. z  x  iy
2 2 2

We can rationalize the denominator by multiplying by the conjugate

of z2 in the numerator and denominator;

z1 z1 z2  x1  iy1  x2  iy2 
 
z2 z2 z2  x2  iy2  x2  iy2 

x1 x2  x1 y2i  x2 y1i  y1 y2

x2 2  x2 y2i  x2 y2i  y2 2

( x1 x2  y1 y2 )  i ( x2 y1  x1 y2 )

x2 2  y2 2

xx  y y  x y x y 
  1 22 1 2 2   i  2 21 1 2 2  .
 x2  y2   x2  y2 

Example 8.2

Let z1  1  i, z2  2  3i . Find

a) z1  z2 b) z1  z2 c) z1 z2 d)
z1
z2
Solution


1. z1  z2  1  i   2  3i 

55
 
 3  1 3 i 
2. z1  z2  1  i   2  3i  

 1  1  3 i 

3. z1 z2  1  i  2  3i 
 2  3i  2i  3
 2 3   32 i 
4. Rationalizing the denominator, we get

z1 z1 z2

z2 z2 z2

1  i   2  3i 

 2  3i  2  3i 
2  3i  2i  3

4  2 3i  2 3i  3


2  3  2  3i
7

2 3 2 3
 i .
7 7
8.2.1.2 Equal Complex Numbers

56
If z1  x1  iy1 and z2  x2  iy2 , then z1  z2 if and only if
x1  x2 and y1  y2 .

Example 8.3
Solve for x and y if

a) 3  4i   x  iy 1  i 

b) 3 x  2iy  7  5i  xi  5 y
x  iy
c)  5i
2i
Solution
a) 3  4i  x  ix  iy  y

  x  y  i  x  y

Therefore
x y 3
x y 4
- 2 y  -1 y 1
2
x7
2
b) Rearranging the given equation
3x  5 y  i  2 y  x   7  5i
Therefore
3x  5 y  7
x  2 y  5  x  1
y2

57
 x  iy
c)  5  i implies that
2i
x  iy  (5  i )(2  i )

 10  5i  2i 1
 11  3i
 x  11 and y  3.
Exercise

1. Simplify
a)  2  i  3  4i  b)  5  4i  7  i  c)  3  i  4  i 
2. Express with rational denominators
1 i 3i  2 5  4i 1
a) b) c) d)
1 i 1  2i 5  4i 1  i 
2

8.2.2 Geometric Representation of Complex numbers

The complex number z  x  iy can be represented by the ordered pair
 x, y  . This suggests that z can be represented in the xy-plane called the
z-plane or the complex plane or the Argand diagram. On an Argand
diagram, real numbers are represented on the x-axis and imaginary
numbers on the y-axis.
Thus the complex number P in the figure below for example can be read
as  2,5 or 2  5i.

The Argand Diagram

58
 Imz
(z)

Re (z)

8.2.2.1 Modulus and Argument

Let P represent the complex number z where z  x  iy , then P has
Cartesian coordinates ( x, y ) . Consider the figure below

r
y

By Pythagoras Theorem,

59
r 2  x2  y 2  r  x2  y 2 .

Also

cos   x , sin   y and tan   y

r r x .
Definition 8.3

Given any complex number z  x  iy , the modulus of z, denoted z

is defined by

z  r  x2  y 2 .

The argument of z denoted arg z, is defined by

 y
arg z    tan 1  
 x .

y
There is an infinite set of angles whose tangent is , so there is also an
x
infinite set of arguments for x  iy . But the position of  x, y  is unique
and corresponds to only one value of  in the range      . This
value is called the principal argument of z.
Now,

x
cos    x  rcos
r
and
y
sin    y  r sin 
r

60
Thus a non-zero complex number z, can also be written as
z  x  iy  r cos   i r sin 

 r  cos   i sin   ................................................()

() is called the polar form of the complex number z. The polar
coordinates of z are  r ,   .

(where  is the principal value of arg z).

Example 8.4

Let z  2  2i , find z , arg z and the polar form of z.

Solution
Modulus

z  2 2   2 
2

2 2

Also z is in the 4th quadrant;

61
  2 
Principal value  tan 1    tan 1  1  2    7  .
 2  4 4

Therefore

arg z  7   2n , n  0, 1, 2,
4

And the polar form of z is


z  2 2 cos 7   i sin 7  .
4 4 
Example 8.5
Let z  i , find z and arg z

Solution

The complex number z  i is on the y-axis;

62
 -i

z  0  i  1 and r  z  02   1

2

1

3
Principal value is   2.

 arg z  3  2n , n  0, 1, 2,
2

8.2.2.2 Products and Quotients of Complex Numbers

We can use polar form to multiply complex numbers.

If z1  r1  cos 1  i sin 1  and z2  r2  cos 2  i sin 2  , then

z1 z2  r1  cos 1  i sin 1  . r2  cos 2  i sin 2 

 r1r2  cos 1 cos 2  sin 1 sin 2   i  cos 2 sin 1  cos 1 sin 2 

 r1r2 cos 1  2   i sin 1  2 

63
Thus 1  2  is the principal argument of z1 z2 , hence

arg  z1 z2   arg z1 + arg z 2 .

Also

z1 z2  z1 z2 .

Since multiplication and division are inverse operations, it can be

deduced that
z1 r1
  cos 1   2   i sin 1   2  
z2 r2 

z 

arg  1   arg z1  arg z2
 z2 
and

z1 z
 1 .
z2 z2

Remark 8.1

It is sometimes convenient to write cos  i sin  as e i or cis  .

so that

rcis  rei  r  cos   i sin   .

i
The expression e  cos   i sin  is called the Euler‟s formula.
The Euler‟s formula can be generalized to

64
e z  e x iy  e x .eiy  e x  cos y  i sin y  .

Example 8.6

3
If z1   1 2  i and z2  1  i 3 , find
2

a) z1 z2

b) arg  z1 z2 
 z1 
c)
arg  
 z2 
Solution

z z   1 i 3 1 i 3
a) 1 2 2 2

 1 2  2 .

b) arg  z1 z2   arg z1  arg z2

Now,

 3 
arg z1  tan 1

2   tan 1  3    
 
 1 2 
3
 
2 .
3

and

arg z2  tan 1  3   3 .
65
 Thus

arg  z1 z2   2      .
3 3

 z1  2
c) arg    3  3   3.
 z2 
Exercise

3 1
1. Find the modulus and argument of w given that w  i.
2 2

1 i
2. Express the quotient in its polar form.
3 i

8.2.3 De Moivere’s Theorem and its Applications

8.2.3.1 Powers of Complex Numbers

Let z  r  cos   i sin   and let z1  z2  z , then

z1 z2  z 2  r 2  cos 2  i sin 2  .

In general, if z1  z2   zn  z , then
z n  r n  cos n  i sin n  ................................1) .

If z  r  1 , then equation 1) becomes

 cos  i sin    cos n  i sin n .

n

66
Theorem 8.1 (De Moivere’s Theorem)

Let  be any angle and n be any integer, then

 cos  i sin    cos n  i sin n .

n

If n is a negative integer, then

 cos  i sin    cos  n   i sin  n  .

n

Proof

We wish to show that  cos  i sin    cos n  i sin n . We proceed by

n

induction. If n = 1,

LHS   cos  i sin    cos  i sin  and

1

RHS  cos1   sin1( )  cos   i sin  .

Hence the result is true for n = 1.

Assume that the result holds for some integer k, that is

 cos  i sin    cos k  i sin k .

k

Then

 cos  i sin     cos  i sin    cos  i sin  

k 1 k

  cos k  i sin k  cos   i sin  

 cos k cos  i cos k sin   i sin k cos  sin k sin 

67
  cos k cos   sin k sin   i  cos k sin   sin k cos  

 cos  k     i sin  k   

 cos  k  1  i sin  k  1

Hence the theorem is true for the positive integer k + 1. Hence by the
principal of mathematical induction it holds for any positive integer. It
can similarly be shown that  cos  i sin    cos  n   i sin  n  .
n

Example 8.7
Use De Moivere‟s theorem to evaluate
10
 1 i 3 
 
5
a) 4i 4 3 b)  1  i 3 
 
Solution

We write 4  i 4 3 in polar form;

4  i 4 3  42  4 3  
2
8 and  
arg 4  i 4 3  
3

 
4  i 4 3  8 cos   i sin 
3 3 
By De Moivere‟s Theorem,

   85 (cos   i sin  )5
5
4i 4 3
3 3

68
  85 (cos 5   i sin 5  )
3 3

 85  1  i 3 
 2 2

Example 8.8
By using De Moivere‟s theorem show that

3tan   tan 3 
tan 3  .
1  3tan 2 
Solution
sin 3
tan 3 
cos 3

By De Moivere‟s theorem,

cos3  i sin 3   cos   i sin  

3

 cos3   3i cos 2  sin   3cos  sin 2   i sin 3 

 cos3   3cos  sin 2   i  3cos 2  sin   sin 3  

Equating the real and imaginary parts,

cos 3  cos3   3cos  sin 2  .........................................i)

sin3  3cos 2  sin   sin 3  .........................................ii)

3cos 2  sin   sin 3 

 tan 3 
cos3   3cos  sin 2 

69
 3cos 2  sin  sin 3 

 cos 3
cos3 
cos3  3cos  sin 2 

cos3  cos3 
3 tan   tan 3 
 .
1  3 tan 2 

Example 8.9
Use De Moivere‟s theorem to show that
sin 5
 16 cos 4   12 cos 2   1
sin 

Solution
By De Moivere‟s theorem,

cos5  i sin 5   cos   i sin  

5

But

 cos  i sin    cos5   5i cos4  sin  10cos3  sin 2  10i cos 2 sin 3   5cos  sin 4   i sin5 
5

 cos5   10cos3  sin 2   5cos  sin 4   i(5cos 4  sin   10cos 2 sin 3   sin 5  )

Equating the real and imaginary parts

cos 5  cos5   10 cos3  sin 2   5cos  sin 4  and

sin 5  5cos 4  sin   10 cos 2 sin 3   sin 5 

Now,

70
sin 5
 5cos 4   10 cos 2 sin 2   sin 4 
sin 

 5cos4   10cos 2  1  cos 2    1  cos 2  

2

 5cos 4   10 cos 2   10 cos 4   1  2 cos 2   cos 4 

 16 cos 4   12 cos 2   1 .

8.2.3.2 Roots of Complex Numbers

A complex number z is said to be the nth root of the complex number
z0 if

z n  z0 ..........................................................1)

Thus if z  r  cos   i sin   and z0  r0  cos 0  i sin 0  , then we

have

r n  cos n  i sin n   r0  cos 0  i sin n0  .

Since cos   i sin   1 for all real  , then

1
r n  r0  r  r0 n

and

n  0  2 k , for k  0,  1,  2,

 0  2 k
  , for k  0,  1,  2,
n

71
 1     2 k    0  2 k   z0 for
 z  r0 n cos  0   i sin    is the nth root of
  n   n 
n  0, 1, 2, ..., n  1.

Thus there are n distinct roots to be determined, the rest are merely
repeated.
Example 8.10

Find all values of z for which z  32  0 .

5

Solution

z 5  32  0  z 5  32

In polar form

32  32 cos   2 k   i sin   2 k  , where k  0,  1,  2,

.
Now,

z   32   32 5 cos   2 k   i sin   2 k  

1 1 1
5 5

   2 k   2 k 
 2 cos  i sin  , where k  0, 1, 2, 3, 4.
 5 5 

The values of z are;

  
w0  2  cos  i sin  , for k  0
 5 5

 3 3 
w1  2  cos  i sin  , for k  1
 5 5 

72
 w2  2  cos   i sin   , for k  2

 7 
w3  2  cos  i sin 7  , for k  3
 5 5

 9 9 
w4  2  cos  i sin , for k  4
 5 5 
Example 8.11
Find all the cube roots of  2  i 2 .
Solution

Let z0   2  i 2 . Then

z0  2  2  2 and arg z0  tan 1  1  3  .

4
Thus

 4  
4 
z0  2 cos 3   2 k  i sin 3   2 k  ,
  k  0,  1,  2,

Now,

  3   2 k   3   2 k  
 2 cos    i sin  4   , k  0, 1, 2
1 1
z  z0 3 3 4
  3   3 
    

1    2 k    2 k  
 2 3 cos     i sin    , k  0, 1, 2 .
  4 3   4 3 

The three roots are

73
 1   
w0  2 3 cos  i sin  , for k  0
 4 4

 111 11 
w1  2 3  cos  i sin , for k  1
 12 12 

1  19 19 
w2  2 3  cos  i sin , for k  2 .
 12 12 

Example 8.12
1
 1 i  6
Evaluate  1  i  .
 
Solution
Since


1  i  2 cos   i sin 
4 4    
and 1  i  2 cos   4  i sin   4  
we have

 
1
1  2 cos   i sin   6

 1 i  6
 4 4 
 
  
 
 1 i 
  
 2 cos   4  i sin   4 


  
1

   
1 6
  cos   i sin  cos    i sin   
 4 4 4 4 

  
1
 cos   i sin  cos   i sin 
6

4 4 4 4

74
  
1

 cos   i sin 
2 6

4 4

 
1
 cos   i sin 
3
4 4

 cos   12
 2 k
3   i sin  12  2 k 3  , k  0, 1, 2.

The three roots are;

w0  cos   i sin  , for k  0

12 12

w1  cos 3  i sin 3 , for k  1

4 4

w2  cos 17  i sin 17 , for k  2 .

12 12

Exercise
1. Use De Moivere‟s Theorem to simplify
cos3  i sin 3
 cos  i sin    cos3  i sin 3 
2
i) ii)
 cos  i sin  
2

 .
6
2. Find 3 i

8.3 Assessment
1. Solve for x and y

75
 2  5i
a)  x  iy
1 i
b) 2 x  3iy  4ix  2 y  5  10i  x  y  2   y  x  3 i

2. Use De Moivere‟s theorem to show that

4 tan   4 tan 3 
i) i) tan 4 
1  6 tan 2   tan 4 
5 tan   10 tan 3   tan 5 
ii) tan 5 
1  10 tan 2   5 tan 4 
iii) cos 5  16cos5   20cos3   5cos 

3. Solve the equation z  16i  0.

4

8.4 References

1. Backhouse, J. and Houldsworth, S. (1985). Pure Mathematics

Book I, Longman Publishers Ltd.
2. Spiegel, M. (1999). Shaum‟s Outline of Theory and Problems of
Complex Variables, McGraw-Hill.

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77
 ANSWERS
Lesson One Assessment Questions

1. a) 25 b) 3 c) 5
4 4 2

x2
4. a) Either the set of all x such that 3 or the set of all x such that
x 3
4.

3  x  5
b) Either the set of all x such that .

Lesson Two Assessment Questions

 77
1. a) -7 b) 27

a4 b  13 4 x3  13x  6   x  2 2 x  1 2x  3

2. ,

Lesson Three Assessment Questions

1. 1820
2. a) 144 b) 7776 c) 756

Lesson Four Assessment Questions

1. 1  12 x  54 x 2  100 x3 

1  8 x 
1
2. 2
 1  4 x  8 x 2  32 x 3 and 3  1.73205

Lesson Five Assessment Questions

1. a) 12 b) 54 c) 7

Lesson Eight Assessment Questions

78
1. a) x   3 and y7 b) x   53 and y   34
2 2 7 7

3. 
w0  2 cos   i sin 
4 4 

w1  2 cos 3  i sin 3
4 4 

w2  2 cos 5  i sin 5
4 4 

w3  2 cos 7  i sin 7
4 4 

79
 RESOURCES

1. Backhouse, J. and Houldsworth, S. (1985). Pure Mathematics

Book I, Longman Publishers Ltd.
2. Bostock, L., Chandler, S. and Rourke, C. (1982). Further Pure
Mathematics. Stanley Thornes Publishers Ltd.
3. Larson, R. and Hostetler, R. (1997). Precalculus, Houghton
Company.
4. Goldstein, L., Schneider, D. and Siegel, M., Finite Mathematics
and its applications, 7th Ed., Prentice Hall, 1998.
5. Grimaldi, R.P., Discrete and Combinatorial Mathematics. An
applied introduction, 5th Ed., Pearson Addison Wesley, 2004.
6. Edgar, G., Goodaire, M., Parmenter, M., Discrete Mathematics
with graph theory, 2nd Ed., 2002.
7. Seymour Lipschutz and Marc Lipson. Schaum‟s Outline Serires
Discrete Mathematics, 3rd edition, McGraw-Hill Companies,Inc.,
2007.
https://alas.matf.bg.ac.rs/~mi10164/Materijali/DS.pdf

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