Sunday 30 October 2016

elementary number theory - Using induction to prove that $2 mid (n^2 − n)$ for $ngeq 1$




Use induction to prove that, for all $n \in \mathbb{Z}^+$, $2\mid (n^2 − n)$.





That is, I am supposed to use induction to prove that $(n^2 − n)$ can be divided by $2$ when $n$ is a positive integer.



I've tried the following:
$$\begin{split} (n+1)^2 − (n+1) &= (n+1)(n+1) - (n+1)\\
&=(n+1)(n-1)+2 - (n+1)\\
&=n^2 +n -n -1 +2 -n -1\\
&=n^2 -n,
\end{split}$$
but I'm not particularly good at maths so I have no idea if this is even correct, and if it is, what it even means.



Answer



Comment: As others have mentioned a number of times, induction is not at all necessary in this particular problem, but I am sure you hear that loud and clear by now. You probably just want to see how an induction proof would look. I've sketched out a proof below, but before you read it, I would encourage you to take a look at this post on how to write a clear induction proof. I imagine it would help you a good bit in both understanding how to write up your induction proofs clearly but also constructing your proofs. Following the instructions in that link will force you to understand your problem. That being said, see if you can follow the proof below (feel free to leave a comment if a point does not make sense).






For any positive integer $n$, let $S(n)$ denote the statement
$$
S(n) : 2\mid (n^2-n).
$$




Base step: For $n=1, S(1)$ gives $1^2-1 = 0$, and $2$ divides zero. Thus, $S(1)$ holds.



Inductive step: Let $k\geq 1$ be fixed, and suppose that $S(k)$ holds; in particular, let $\ell$ be an integer with $2\ell = k^2-k$. Then
\begin{align}
[(k+1)^2-(k+1)]&= (k^2+2k+1)-(k+1)\tag{expand}\\[0.5em]
&= (k^2-k)+2k\tag{rearrange/simplify}\\[0.5em]
&= 2\ell+2k\tag{by ind. hyp.}\\[0.5em]
&= 2(\ell+k)\tag{factor out $2$}\\[0.5em]
&= 2\eta\tag{$\eta=\ell+k. \eta\in\mathbb{Z}$}
\end{align}

This proves $S(k+1)$ and concludes the inductive step $S(k)\to S(k+1)$.



By mathematical induction, for each $n\geq 1$, the statement $S(n)$ is true. $\blacksquare$


No comments:

Post a Comment

real analysis - How to find $lim_{hrightarrow 0}frac{sin(ha)}{h}$

How to find $\lim_{h\rightarrow 0}\frac{\sin(ha)}{h}$ without lhopital rule? I know when I use lhopital I easy get $$ \lim_{h\rightarrow 0}...