Assignment 4

Stephanie Bryan February 1, 2012

5.10 Theorem: 3 is not rational. Proof: For a contradiction, suppose that 3 is rational. Then there exist m, n Z such that n = 0 and 3 = m . We may choose m and n such that they have no n common factor. It follows that n 3 = m so that 3n2 = m2 . If m and n are even, they would share a common factor of 2, so we will assume that they are odd. Based on the denition of an odd number, this means there exist a, b Z such that n = 2a + 1 and m = 2b + 1. Substituting these equations for m and n, we get 3(2a + 1)2 = (2b + 1)2 . This can be expanded and then simplied to 6(a2 + a) + 1 = 2(b2 + b). By the denitions of odd and even numbers, the left side must be odd and the right side must be even, thus leading to a contradiction since an even number cannot equal an odd number. 5.14 (a) Theorem: For x R, |x| x |x|. Proof: For x R, there are 3 possible cases.

Case 1 x < 0. In this case, |x| = x by the denition of absolute value. Therefore |x| = (x) = x. Also, |x| = x and x > 0, so |x| > 0 > x. Overall, we have |x| = x < |x|. Case 2 x = 0. In this case, |x| = 0 by the denition of absolute value. Therefore |x| = 0 as well, and |x| = x. Overall, we have |x| = x = |x|.

Case 3 x > 0. In this case, |x| = x by the denition of absolute value. Therefore |x| = x where x < 0 < x. Also, |x| = x so we have |x| < x = |x|. (b) Theorem: Let a 0. |x| a if and only if a x a. Proof: First we assume that a x a. Since a 0 then a 0. We must look at the upper and lower limits of x, which are -a and a. If x = a then |x| = x = (a) = a by the denition of absolute value. If x = a then |x| = x = a by the same denition. Therefore if a x a then |x| a. 1

Now, for the converse, we assume that |x| a. According to the denition of absolute value, |x| = x or |x| = x. In other words, |x| = x. If the greatest possible value for |x| is a then we see that a x a.

Since we have proven this implication and its converse, we can conclude that |x| a if and only if a x a. (c) Theorem: Let x and y be real numbers. Then |x + y | |x| + |y |. Proof: From |x + y | |x| + |y | we can set |x| + |y | = a and use the inequality proven in part (b) to get (|x| + |y |) x + y |x| + |y |. Since the theorem from part (a) tells us that x |x| and y |y |, we can see that our inequality holds. Therefore, based on the implication in part (b), we know that |x + y | |x| + |y |.

5.17 Conjecture: There are no positive integers x and y such that x2 y 2 = 10. Proof: We can factor the left side of the equation x2 y 2 = 10 to get (x + y )(x y ) = 10. In this equation, (x + y ) and (x y ) must each be a factor of 10. The rst possibility is that (x + y ) = 1 and (x y ) = 10 or (x + y ) = 10 and (x y ) = 1. Solving either system of equations will lead to 2x = 11. Dividing by two, we see that x = 11 = 5.5 which is not an integer. 2 The next possibility is that (x + y ) = 5 and (x y ) = 2 or (x + y ) = 2 and (x y ) = 5. Solving these systems of equations will give us 2x = 7, leading to the solution x = 7 = 3.5 which is also not an integer. 2 The nal case would be if (x + y ) = 5, 2, 10, 1. None of these solutions are possible as they would require either x or y to be a negative integer. Therefore, the conjecture that there are no positive integers x and y such that 2 x y 2 = 10 is correct. Theorem: x N, x2 + x + 41 is prime. Proof: To disprove the theorem, there must exist at least one x N such that 2 x + x + 41 is not prime. If we take x = 41, we get (41)2 + 41 + 41 = 1763. 41 is a common factor since (41)(43) = 1763. This violates the denition of a prime number, and disproves the theorem.