Proof By Contraposition
Discrete Math: A Proof By Contraposition
Proof by contraposition is a type of proof used in mathematics and is a rule of inference. In logic the contrapositive of a statement can be formed by reversing the direction of inference and negating both terms for example :
p → q
= -p ← -q
= -q → -p
This simply means “if p, then q” is drawn from the single premise “if not q, then not p.” A statement and its contrapositive are logically equivalent: if the statement is true, then its contrapositive is true, and vice versa.
Let’s prove or show that n to the power of 2 is a even number using contraposition.
Prove if n² is even then n is even.
Determine our p and q value:
p → q = “if n² is even then n is even”
p: “n² is even”
q: “n is even”
p: “n² is NOT even” = “n² is odd”
-q: “n is NOT even” = “n is odd”
NOTE: If a number is not even then it is odd
This means our contrapositive is :
-q → -p = “if n is odd then n² is odd”
We must prove or show the contraposition, that if n is odd then n² is odd, if we can prove this to be true then we have also proven that if n² is even then n is even.
NOTE: An even number is an integer in the form 2q, where q is an integer
An odd number is an integer in the form 2q + 1 or 2q-1, where q is an integer.
- Assume ’n’ is an odd integer
n = 2q + 1, where q is an integer - Do some algebra
n² = (2q + 1)² , where q is an integer
n² = 4q² + 4q + 1 , where q is an integer
n² = 2(2q² + 2q) + 1, where q is an integer
n² = 2a + 1 , where a is an integer and a = (2q² + 2q)
n² = an odd integer
Conclusion:
Having used a direct proof to show the contraposition of the proposition, we conclude that if n² is even then n is even.
If you want to read up on more types of proofs or Discrete Math topics in general a great book to easily learn and practice these topics is Practice Problems in Discrete Mathematics by Bojana Obrenic’, and Discrete Math Workbook: Interactive Exercises by James R. bush.
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