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Methods of Proof

This document discusses various methods of proof in mathematics, including: 1. Direct proof, which assumes a statement P is true and shows it forces statement Q to be true. 2. Contrapositive proof, which proves the logically equivalent statement of "not Q implies not P". 3. Mathematical induction, which proves an infinite sequence of statements S1, S2, S3, etc. are true by proving the first is true and each implies the next. 4. A counterexample can disprove a universally quantified statement by producing an example where the statement is false.

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Muhammad Fadhlan Perdana
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86 views18 pages

Methods of Proof

This document discusses various methods of proof in mathematics, including: 1. Direct proof, which assumes a statement P is true and shows it forces statement Q to be true. 2. Contrapositive proof, which proves the logically equivalent statement of "not Q implies not P". 3. Mathematical induction, which proves an infinite sequence of statements S1, S2, S3, etc. are true by proving the first is true and each implies the next. 4. A counterexample can disprove a universally quantified statement by producing an example where the statement is false.

Uploaded by

Muhammad Fadhlan Perdana
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Mathematics

Week 2

Methods of Proof
Acknowledgement
<<Title>>
These slides have been adapted
from:

Epp, S.S., 2010. Discrete mathematics with


applications. Cengage learning.

Hammack, R.H., 2013. Book of proof.


Richard Hammack.
LO 1 :
Explain basics concepts of logic,
methods of proof, set theory and
function.

.
Contents
Methods of Proofing

1 Direct Proof
1
2 2
Contrapositive Proof

3 3
Mathematical Induction
. 4 4
Counter Example
A theorem is a mathematical statement that is
true and can be (and has been) verified as
true.

A proof of a theorem is a written verification


that shows that the theorem is definitely and
unequivocally true.

A definition is an exact, unambiguous


explanation of the meaning of a mathematical
word or phrase.
Several Definition in Number Theory

Suppose a and b are integers. We say


that a divides b, written a|b, if b = ac for
An integer n is even if n = 2a for some some c  Z. In this case we also say that
integer a  Z. a is adivisor of b, and that b is a multiple
of a.
Example : 10 is even because 10= 2.5 Example : 5 divides 15 because 15= 5. 3.
We write this as 5|15.
An integer n is odd if n = 2a + 1 for
some integer a  Z. The greatest common divisor of
integers a and b, denoted gcd(a,b), is
Example : 7 =2.3+1 the largest integer that divides both a
and b. The least common multiple of
non-zero integers a and b, denoted
.
A natural number n is prime if it has lcm(a,b), is smallest positive integer
exactly two positive divisors, 1 and n. that is a multiple of both a and b.
Example : gcd(18,24) = 6
Example : is prime, as are 5 and 17. lcm(4,6) = 12,
Methods of Proofing

There are various strategy in methods of proofing :

 Direct Proof
 Contrapositive Proof
 Mathematical Induction
 Counter Example
Direct Proof
In the direct proof, the goal is to show that conditional statement of form
P → Q is true.
Begin by assuming that P is true and show this forces Q to be true.

Outline for Direct Proof

Proposition If P, then Q.

Proof. Suppose P.
…

Therefore Q.
Example

Proposition If x is odd, then x2 is odd.

Proof. Suppose x odd.


Then x =2a+1 for some a  Z, by definition of an odd number.
Thus x2 = (2a+1)2 = 4a2+4a+4a+1=2 (2a2+2a)+1,
so x2 =2b+1 where b = 2a2 +2a  Z.
Therefore x2 is odd, by definition of an odd number.
Contrapositive Proof
We observed that P → Q is logically equivalent to ~Q → ~P .
The expression ~Q → ~P is called the contrapositive form of P → Q .

Outline for Contrapositive Proof

Proposition If P, then Q.

Proof. Suppose ~Q.


…

Therefore ~P.
Example
Proposition Suppose x  Z. If 7x+9 is even, then x is odd.

Proof. Suppose x is not odd.


Thus x is even, so x = 2a for some integer a.
Then 7x+9 = 7(2a)+9 = 14a+8+1 = 2(7a+4)+1.
Therefore 7x+9 =2b+1, where b is the integer 7a+4.
Consequently 7x+9 is odd.
Therefore 7x+9 is not even.

Note :
P : 7x+9 is even Q : x is odd
~P : 7x+9 is not even (odd) ~Q : x is not odd (even)
Mathematical Induction
Mathematical induction is designed to answer when we have a set of
statements S1,S2,S3,...,Sn,..., and we need to prove that they are all true.
To visualize it, think of the statements as dominoes, lined up in a row.

Outline for Proof by Induction

Proposition The statements S1,S2,S3,S≥,... are all true.

Proof. (Induction)
(1) Prove that the first statement S1 is true.
(2) Given any integer k ≥ 1, prove that the statement Sk Sk+1 is true.

It follows by mathematical induction that every Sn is true.


Domino’s Effect
Proposition If n  N, then 1+3+5+7+…+(2n+1) =n2.
Proof. We will prove this with mathematical induction.
(1) Observe that if n = 1, this statement is 1 = 12, which is obviously true.
(2) We must now prove Sk Sk+1 for any k ≥ 1. That is, we must show
that if 1+3+5+7+…+(2k-1) = k2, then 1+3+5+7+…+ 2(k+1)-1) = (k+1)2.
We use direct proof. Suppose 1+3+5+7+…+(2k+1) = k2. Then

Thus 1+3+5+7+…+(2(k+1)-1) = (k+1)2. This proves that Sk Sk+1.


It follows by induction that 1+3+5+7+…+(2n-1)= n2 for every n  N.
Counterexample
As we know, many theorems are universally quantified statements, x  S,
P(x). To disprove this statement, we must prove its negation,
~ (x  S, P(x))=  x  S, ~P(x) .
To prove the negation is true, we just need to produce an example of x  S
that makes ~P(x) true, that is, an x that makes P(x) false.

Outline Counterexample

How to disprove x  S, P(x).


Produce an example of an x  S
that makes P(x) false.
Example
For every n  Z, the integer f (n) = n2 –n+11 is prime.

Disproof. The statement “For every n  Z, the integer f (n) = n2 –n+11 is


prime
,” is false. For a counterexample, note that for n = 11, the integer
f (11) = 121 = 11 . 11 is not prime.
REFERENCES

Epp, S.Susanna., 2010. Discrete mathematics with applications.


Cengage learning.

Hammack, R.H., 2013. Book of proof. Richard Hammack.


Thank You

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