Friday, 30 March 2018

Which step is wrong in this proof




Proof: Consider the quadratic equation x2+x+1=0. Then, we can see that x2=x1. Assuming that x is not zero (which it clearly isn't, from the equation) we can divide by x to give
x=11x
Substitute this back into the x term in the middle of the original equation, so
x2+(11x)+1=0
This reduces to
x2=1x

So, x3=1, so x=1 is the solution. Substituting back into the equation for x gives
12+1+1=0

Therefore, 3=0.




What happened?


Answer



Up to x3=1 everything is fine. This allows you to conclude that x{zC:z3=1}. Since {zC:z3=1}={1+i32,1i32,1}, then x is one of the elements of this set.



You made a reasoning consisting of logical consequences, not one of logical equivalences. That's why you can tell that x{zC:z3=1}, but you can't say which one is it.




See this for a similar issue.



An even more simpler version of your mistake is this: suppose x2=1, then x=1.
You can convince yourself that this is wrong and that you did the same thing in your question.


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