MATH 108

DISCRETE MATHEMATICS
LECTURE 3

DR. ŞENİZ DEMİR

PROOF

¡ A valid argument that establishes the truth of a mathematical statement

¡ Ingredients:
¡ the hypotheses of the theorem
¡ (if any) axioms assumed to be true
¡ previously proven theorems

¡ Methodology: rules of inference

¡ Result: Fınal step of the proof which establishes the truth of the statement being proved
TERMINOLOGY

¡ Theorem: a statement that can be shown to be true

¡ Proposition: a statement or assertion that expresses a judgement or opinion
¡ Axiom: a proposition regarded as self-evidently true without proof
¡ Lemma: a less important theorem that is helpful in the proof of other results
¡ Corollary: a theorem that can be established directly from a theorem that has been proved
¡ Conjecture: a statement that is being proposed to be a true statement, usually on the basis of
some partial evidence, a heuristic argument, or the intuition of an expert
PROOF METHODS – DIRECT PROOF

Direct Proof: Often straightforward but tricky

¡ Conditional statement: p → q
¡ Assumption: p is true
¡ Goal: q to be true (the combination p true and q false never occurs)
¡ Methodology: construct subsequent steps using rules of inference, axioms, definitions, and previously
proven theorems
DIRECT PROOF

Theorem: “If n is an odd integer, then n2 is odd”

Conditional Statement: ∀nP ((n) → Q(n))
P(n): “n is an odd integer”
Q(n): “n2 is odd”
Proof:
¡ Assume that n is odd, thus n = 2k + 1 where k is some integer
¡ Show that n2 is also odd
¡ Square both sides of the equation n = 2k + 1
¡ n2 = (2k + 1)2 = 4k2 + 4k + 1 = 2(2k2 + 2k) + 1
¡ 2(2k2 + 2k) + 1 is an odd integer and hence n2 is an odd integer (it is one more than twice an integer)
¡ Thus, we prove the theorem
DIRECT PROOF

Theorem: “If m and n are both perfect squares, then nm is also a perfect square”
Conditional Statement: p → q
p: “m and n are both perfect squares”
q: “nm is also a perfect square”
Proof:
¡ Assume that m and n are perfect squares, thus m=s2 and n=t2
¡ mn= s2t2 = (ss)(tt) = (st)(st) = (st)2, using commutativity and associativity of multiplication
¡ (st)2 is a perfect square and hence mn is a perfect square
¡ Thus, we prove the theorem
PROOF BY CONTRAPOSITION

Indirect Proof: do not start from premises and end with the conclusion

¡ Conditional statement: p → q ≡ q→ p
¡ Premise: q
¡ Goal: p follows q
¡ Methodology: construct subsequent steps using rules of inference, axioms, definitions, and previously
proven theorems
PROOF BY CONTRAPOSITION

Theorem: “If 3n + 2 is odd, then n is odd”

Conditional Statement: p → q ≡ q→ p
p: “3n+2 is odd”
q: “n is odd”

Proof:
¡ Assume that “If 3n + 2 is odd, then n is odd” is false; namely, assume that n is even (premise: q)
¡ n = 2k for some integer k
¡ 3n + 2 = 3(2k) + 2 = 6k + 2 = 2(3k + 1), thus 3n + 2 is even and not odd
¡ 3n+2 is even ( p), the negation of the premise of the theorem
¡ Thus, we prove the theorem
PROOF BY CONTRAPOSITION

Theorem: “if n = ab, where a and b are positive integers, then a ≤√n or b ≤√n”
Conditional Statement: p → q ≡ q→ p
p: n = ab, where a and b are positive integers
q: a ≤√n or b ≤√n
Proof:
¡ Assume that the theorem is false
¡ Premise( q ): (a ≤√n) ∨ (b ≤√n) is false ≡ both a ≤√n and b ≤√n are false, using the meaning of disjunction and De Morgan’s
law
¡ a >√n and b >√n
¡ ab >√n ·√n = n (using the fact that if 0 < s < t and 0 < u < v, then su < tv)
¡ ab > n ( p) & n=ab contradicts
¡ Thus, we prove the theorem
VACUOUS PROOF

¡ Prove that a conditional statement p → q is true if p is false

¡ Remember that p → q must be true when p is false
¡ Methodology: show that p is false
VACUOUS PROOF

Theorem: P(0) is true, where P(n) is “If n > 1, then n2 > n” and the domain consists of all integers

Proof:
¡ P(0) is “If 0 > 1, then 02 > 0.”
¡ The hypothesis 0 > 1 is false
¡ Thus, P(0) is automatically true
TRIVIAL PROOF

¡ Prove that a conditional statement p → q is true if q is true

¡ Remember that p → q must be true when q is true
¡ Methodology: show that q is true
TRIVIAL PROOF

Theorem: P(0) is true, where P(n) “If a and b are positive integers with a ≥ b, then an ≥ bn” and the domain
consists of all nonnegative integers

Proof:
¡ P(0): “If a ≥ b, then a0 ≥ b0” where a0 = b0 = 1
¡ a0 = b0 thus a0 ≥ b0 is true (q)
¡ Thus, we prove that P(0) is true
PROOF BY CONTRADICTION

¡ Another type of indirect proof

Goal: to prove that a statement p is true

Methodology:
¡ find a contradiction q such that p → q is true
¡ show that since q is false, but p → q is true, p is false and hence p is true
PROOF BY CONTRADICTION

Theorem: “at least four of any 22 days must fall on the same day of the week”
Proof:
¡ Assume that p is true à “at most three of the 22 days fall on the same day of the week”
¡ 7 days of the week, hence at most 21 days could have been chosen; one for each of the days of the
week
¡ Contradicts with 22 days under consideration
PROOF BY CONTRADICTION

Theorem: “If 3n + 2 is odd, then n is odd”

Proof:
¡ Given p: “3n + 2 is odd” and q: “n is odd”
¡ Assume that both p and q are true, namely 3n + 2 is odd and that n is not odd
¡ Since n = 2k, 3n + 2 = 3(2k) + 2 = 6k + 2 = 2(3k + 1)
¡ Taking t = 3k+1, 3n + 2 = 2t, 3n + 2 is even
¡ p: “3n + 2 is even”
¡ Both p and p are true à a contradiction
PROOF OF EQUIVALENCE

¡ Goal: to prove a theorem that is a biconditional statement of the form p ↔ q

¡ Methodology: show that p → q and q → p are both true
¡ Remember that (p ↔ q) ≡ (p → q) ∧ (q → p)
PROOF OF EQUIVALENCE

Theorem: “If n is an integer, then n is odd if and only if n2 is odd”

Proof:
¡ p: “n is odd” and q: “n2 is odd”
¡ show that p → q (Direct Proof) and q → p (Proof by Contraposition) are true
PROOF OF EQUIVALENCE

Theorem: the below statements about the integer n are equivalent:

¡ p1: n is even
¡ p2: n − 1 is odd
¡ p3: n2 is even
Proof:
¡ Show that p1 → p2, p2 → p3, and p3 → p1 are all true
Part 1: p1 → p2 (Direct Proof)
¡ Assume that n is even, namely n = 2k for some integer k
¡ n − 1 = 2k − 1 = 2(k − 1) + 1, hence n − 1 is odd
Part 2: p2 → p3 (Direct Proof)
¡ Assume that n − 1 is odd, n − 1 = 2k + 1 for some integer k
¡ n = 2k + 2 so that n2 = (2k + 2)2 = 4k2 + 8k + 4 = 2(2k2 + 4k + 2), hence n2 is even
Part 3: p3 → p1 (Proof by Contraposition)
¡ Assume that n is not even and then n2 is not even
¡ Similar to proving that if n is odd, then n2 is odd
COUNTEREXAMPLES

¡ In order to show that a statement of the form ∀xP(x) is false

¡ Find a counterexample, that is, an example x for which P(x) is false

Statement: “Every positive integer is the sum of the squares of two integers” is false
Proof:
Counter example - 3 cannot be written as the sum of the squares of two integers
¡ The only perfect squares not exceeding 3 are 02 = 0 and 12 = 1

Read “Mistakes in Proofs ” section from the textbook (Pages 89-90)!!!

EXHAUSTIVE PROOF

Methodology: Examine a relatively small number of examples

Theorem: (n + 1)3 ≥ 3n if n is a positive integer with n ≤ 4

Proof:
¡ Verification of the inequality (n + 1)3 ≥ 3n for n = 1, 2, 3, and 4
¡ For n = 1, 23 = 8 and 31 = 3
¡ For n = 2, 33 = 27 and 32 = 9
¡ For n = 3, 43 = 64 and 33 = 27
¡ For n = 4, 53 = 125 and 34 = 81
¡ In each of these four cases, (n + 1)3 ≥ 3n is true
¡ Thus, we prove the theorem
PROOF BY CASES

¡ Methodology: cover all possible cases that arise in a theorem

Theorem: “If n is an integer, then n2 ≥ n”
Proof:
¡ Three cases:
Case (i): When n = 0, 02 = 0≥ 0. Hence, n2 ≥ n is true in this case
Case (ii): When n ≥ 1;
¡ multiply both sides of the inequality n ≥ 1 by the positive integer n
¡ n · n ≥ n · 1 Hence, n2 ≥ n is true in this case

Case (iii): When n ≤ −1;

n2 ≥ 0 Hence, n2 ≥ n is true in this case
¡ The theorem holds in all cases, thus we prove the theorem
EXISTENCE PROOF

¡ A proof of a proposition of the form ∃xP(x)

¡ Constructive: Find an element (witness) such that P(a) is true
¡ Nonconstructive: Prove that ∃xP(x) is true in some other way such as proof by
contradiction
¡ For example: show that the negation of the existential quantification implies a contradiction
CONSTRUCTIVE EXISTENCE PROOF

Theorem: “There is a positive integer that can be written as the sum of cubes of positive integers in two
different ways”

Proof:
1729 = 103 + 93 = 123 + 13
UNIQUENESS PROOF

¡ Some theorems assert the existence of a unique element with a particular property

¡ Methodology: to show that an element with this property exists and that no other element has this
property

¡ Two parts: ∃x(P(x) ∧ ∀y(y ≠ x → P(y)))

¡ Existence: show that an element x with the desired property exists
¡ Uniqueness: show that if y ≠ x, then y does not have the desired property
UNIQUENESS PROOF

Theorem: “If a and b are real numbers and a = 0, then there is a unique real number r such that ar + b = 0”
Proof:
¡ the real number r = −b/a; a solution of ar + b = 0 (existence part of the proof)
¡ the real number s such that as + b = 0; (uniqueness part of the proof)
¡ ar + b = as + b, where r = −b/a
¡ after subtracting b from both sides, ar = as
¡ after dividing both sides by a (nonzero), r = s
¡ if s = r, then as + b = 0
¡ if s ≠ r, then as + b ≠ 0