In the first of three lectures on mathematical induction, try out this powerful tool for proving theorems about the positive integers. See how an inductive proof is like knocking over a row of dominos: Once the base case pushes over a second case, then by induction all cases fall.
What does the decimal 0.99999… forever equal? Is it less than 1? Or does it equal 1? Apply mathematical induction to geometric series to find the solution. Also use induction to find the formulas for other series, including factorials, which are denoted by an integer followed by the “!” sign.
Use a technique called strong induction to prove an elementary theorem about prime numbers. Next, apply strong induction to the famous Fibonacci sequence, verifying the Binet formula, which can specify any number in the sequence. Test the formula by finding the 21-digit-long 100th Fibonacci number.
Analyze existence proofs, which show that a mathematical object must exist, even if the actual object remains unknown. Close with an elegant and subtle argument proving that there exists an irrational number raised to an irrational power, and the result is a rational number.
How do you prove that a given mathematical result is unique? Assume that more than one solution exists and then see if there is a contradiction. Use this technique to prove several theorems, including the important division algorithm from arithmetic.
The famous Four Color theorem, dealing with the minimum number of colors needed to distinguish adjacent regions on a map with different colors, was finally proved by a brute force technique called enumeration of cases. Learn how this approach works and why mathematicians dislike it—although they often rely on it.
You’ve studied proofs. How about disproofs? How do you show that a conjecture is false? Experience the fun of finding counterexamples. Then explore some famous paradoxes in mathematics, including Bertrand Russell’s barber paradox, which shook the foundations of set theory.
Strengthen your appreciation for good proofs by looking at bad proofs, including common errors that students make such as dividing by 0 and circular reasoning. Then survey the history of attempts to prove some renowned conjectures from geometry and number theory.
Before he became the 20th U. S. president, James A. Garfield published an original proof of the Pythagorean theorem that relied on a visual argument. See how pictures play an important role in understanding why a particular mathematical statement may be true. But is a visual proof really a proof?
The great mathematician Carl Friedrich Gauss once said that if mathematics is the queen of the sciences, then number theory is the queen of mathematics. Embark on the study of this fascinating discipline by proving theorems about prime numbers.
Dig deeper into prime numbers and number theory by proving a conjecture that asserts that there are arbitrarily large gaps between successive prime numbers. Then turn to some celebrated conjectures in number theory, which are easy to state but which have withstood all attempts to prove them.
Use different proof techniques to explore square and triangular numbers. Square numbers are numbers such as 1, 4, 9, and 16 that are the squares of integers. Triangular numbers represent the total dots needed to form an equilateral triangle, such as 1, 3, 6, and 10.
Investigate the intriguing link between perfect numbers and Mersenne primes. A number is perfect if it equals the sum of all its divisors, excluding itself. Mersenne primes are prime numbers that are one less than a power of 2. Oddly, the known examples of both classes of numbers are 47.
Prove some properties of the celebrated number e, the base of the natural logarithm, which plays a crucial role in precalculus and calculus. Close with a challenging proof testing whether e is rational or irrational—just as you did with the square root of 2 in Lecture 7.