MTH 447

Homework #3

Jake Smith

HW Part 1
Problem 1: Proposition. Whenever x is odd, x2 + 7x + 4 is even.
Proof. Suppose that we have some odd integer x. Then, by definition we can represent
x by the expression 2a + 1, where a is some integer. Next we substitute 2a + 1 into the
expression x2 + 7x + 4 in place of x.
(2a + 1)2 + 7(2a + 1) + 4 =
4a2 + 4a + 1 + 14a + 7 + 4 =
4a2 + 18a + 8 =
2(2a2 + 9a + 4) =

Thus, by definition of an even integer, we can see that whenever x is odd that x2 +7x+4
is even.
Problem 2: Proposition. The Product of two rational numbers is rational.
Proof. Suppose that we have to rational numbers a and b. Then, by definition of a
rational number, a and b can expressed by a = pq , q 6= 0 and b = kj , k 6= 0 where p, q, j, k
pj
are integers. Now, taking the product of these two we find pq = qk
. Since we know
that the product of two non-zero integers is an integer, it is clear that pq is composed
of an integer divided by an integer. Therefore, by definition of a rational number pq is
rational.
Problem 3: Proposition. Let d, m and n be positive integers. Prove that if d|m and m|n, then
d|n.
Proof. Suppose the we have integers d, m and n such that d|m and m|n. So, by
definition of a divisor, we know that m = dk where k is some integer and n = ml
where l is some integer. Since we know that m = dk we can substitute that into our
expression for n. So n = ml = (dk)l = d(kl). Thus we see that d multiplied by the
product of k and l equals n. Therefore, d divides n.
Problem 4: Proposition. For positive integers d and n, if d|n and n is even, then 2d|n.
Proof. Notice that if n = 6 that 2|6. However, 2(2) = 4 and 4 - 6. Therefore, it is not
true if d|n and n is even, then 2d|n.

HW Part 2
Problem 1: Proposition. If n is an integer, then n is even if and only if 5n + 3 is odd
Proof. Suppose n is an even integer. Then, by definition of an even number we can
express n by n = 2a where a is some integer. Now, substituting n with 2a in 5n + 3
yields the expression 5(2a) + 3. This expression can be rewritten thusly, 2(5a + 1) + 1.
Therefore, if n is even, 5n + 3 is odd.
Now, suppose that 5n + 3 is odd. Then, by definition we can write 5n + 3 = 2k + 1,
where k is some integer. Then, through simple algebraic manipulation we can write
the equality as 5n = 2(k 1), which implies that 5n is even. Since 5n is even, and 5
is an odd integer, n must be an even integer to make 5n even. Therefore, n is an even
integer.
Problem 2: Proposition. If the product of two integers is even, then at least one of the integers
must be even.
Proof. Suppose we have two integer p and q and that for the sake of contradiction that
they are both odd. Then, by definition of an odd integer p = 2a + 1 where a is some
integer and q = 2b + 1 where b is some integer. Taking the product of the two integers
we find,
pq =
(2a + 1)(2b + 1) =
4ab + 2a + 2b + 1 =
2(2ab + a + b) + 1
Clearly, this is a contradiction since the product of the two integers is, by definition,
an odd integer. Therefore, at least one of the integers must be even.
Problem 3: Proposition. If n is a positive integer, then 4 - n2 2.
Proof. Suppose that we have a positive integer n.
Problem 4: Return to the Island of Knights and Knaves.
Proof. Suppose that Abe is a knight, and is therefore telling the truth. Then, by our
hypothesis, Abe is telling the truth when he says that Debbie is a knave. Since Debbie
is a knave, she is lying when she says that one of either Chris or Beatrice is a knight.
Thus, Chris and Beatrice are both knaves and , therefore, liars. Since both Chris and
Beatrice stated that Abe is a knave and they are both liars, Abe must be a knight.
Therefore, Abe is the only knight, while Beatrice, Chris and Debbie are all knaves.