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1-Variables

The document discusses the use of variables in mathematical discourse, illustrating their role in formulating universal, existential, and conditional statements. It provides examples of rewriting sentences using variables to clarify mathematical concepts and emphasizes the importance of different types of mathematical statements. Additionally, it includes exercises for rewriting statements in various forms to enhance understanding of universal and existential claims.

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2 views

1-Variables

The document discusses the use of variables in mathematical discourse, illustrating their role in formulating universal, existential, and conditional statements. It provides examples of rewriting sentences using variables to clarify mathematical concepts and emphasizes the importance of different types of mathematical statements. Additionally, it includes exercises for rewriting statements in various forms to enhance understanding of universal and existential claims.

Uploaded by

zyirezone
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Module 1:

Speaking Mathematically

Variables
- Using Variables in Mathematical Discourse
- Introduction to Universal, Existential, and
Conditional Statements
Variables
There are two uses of a variable. To illustrate the first use,
consider asking …
Is there a number with the following property:
doubling it and adding 3 gives the same result as
squaring it?
In this sentence you can introduce a variable to replace the
potentially ambiguous word “it”:

Is there a number x with the property that 2x + 3 = x2?

The variable gives a temporary name to what you are


seeking so that you can perform concrete computations
with it to help discover its possible values.
Variables
To illustrate the second use of variables, consider the
statement:
No matter what number might be chosen, if it is
greater than 2, then its square is greater than 4.

In this case, the variable enables you to maintain the generality


of the statement, and replacing all instances of the word “it”
by the name of the variable ensures that possible
ambiguity is avoided.

No matter what number n might be chosen, if n is


greater than 2, then n2 is greater than 4.
Example 1 – Writing Sentences Using Variables

Use variables to rewrite the following sentences


more formally.
1) Are there numbers with the property that the sum
of their squares equals the square of their sum?
Solution:
Are there numbers a and b with the property that
a2 + b2 = (a + b)2?
Or : Are there numbers a and b such that a2 + b2 = (a + b)2?
Or : Do there exist any numbers a and b such that
a2 + b2 = (a + b)2?
Example 2 – Writing Sentences Using Variables

2) Given any real number, its


square is nonnegative.

Solution:
Given any real number r, r2 is nonnegative.

Or : For any real number r, r2  0.


Or : For all real numbers r, r2  0.
Some Important Kinds of
Mathematical Statements
Some Important Kinds of Mathematical Statements

Three of the most important kinds of sentences in


mathematics are universal statements, conditional
statements, and existential statements:
Some Important Kinds of Mathematical Statements

Universal Conditional Statements

Universal statements contain some variation


of the words “for all” and conditional
statements contain versions of the words “if-
then.”
Universal Conditional Statements

A universal conditional statement is


a statement that is both universal
and conditional. Here is an example:

For all animals a, if a is a dog,


then a is a mammal.
Universal Conditional Statements

• One of the most important facts about universal


conditional statements is that they can be
rewritten in ways that make them appear to be
purely universal or purely conditional.

• For example, the previous statement can be rewritten


in a way that makes its conditional nature explicit but
its universal nature implicit:

If a is a dog, then a is a mammal.


Or: If an animal is a dog, then the animal is
a mammal.
Universal Conditional Statements

• The statement can also be


expressed so as to make its
universal nature explicit and its
conditional nature implicit:

For every dog a, a is a mammal.


Or: All dogs are mammals.
Rewriting a Universal Conditional Statement

Fill in the blanks to rewrite the following statement:


For all real numbers x, if x is nonzero then x2 is
positive.

1) If a real number is nonzero, then its square ____.


2) For all nonzero real numbers x, ______.
3) If x _________, then _________.

Answers:
1) is positive
2) x2 is positive
3) is a nonzero real number; x2 is positive
Some Important Kinds of Mathematical Statements

Universal Existential Statements


A universal existential statement is a statement that is
universal because its first part says that a certain
property is true for all objects of a given type, and it is
existential because its second part asserts the
existence of something.

For example:
Every real number has an additive inverse.

In this statement the property “has an additive


inverse” applies universally to all real numbers.
Universal Existential Statements

“Has an additive inverse” asserts the existence of


something — an additive inverse — for each real number.

However, the nature of the additive inverse depends on


the real number; different real numbers have different
additive inverses. Knowing that an additive inverse is a real
number, you can rewrite this statement in several ways,
some less formal and some more formal:*

All real numbers have additive inverses.


Or: For every real number r, there is an additive inverse
for r.
Or: For every real number r, there is a real number s such
that s is an additive inverse for r.
Rewriting a Universal Existential Statement

Fill in the blanks to rewrite the following statement:


Every pot has a lid.
1) All pots ________.
2) For all pots P, there is _______.
3) For all pots P, there is a lid L such that ________.

Answers:
1) have lids
2) a lid for P
3) L is a lid for P
Some Important Kinds of Mathematical Statements

Existential Universal Statements

An existential universal statement is a


statement that is existential because its
first part asserts that a certain object
exists and is universal because its second
part says that the object satisfies a
certain property for all things of a certain
kind.
Existential Universal Statements

For example:

There is a positive integer that is less


than or equal to every positive
integer.

This statement is true because the number


one is a positive integer, and it satisfies the
property of being less than or equal to every
positive integer.
Existential Universal Statements
We can rewrite the statement in several ways, some
less formal and some more formal:
Some positive integer is less than or equal
to every positive integer.

Or: There is a positive integer m that is less than or


equal to every positive integer.
Or: There is a positive integer m such that every
positive integer is greater than or equal to m.
Or: There is a positive integer m with the property
that for every positive integer n, m < n.
Rewriting an Existential Universal Statement
Fill in the blanks to rewrite the following statement in three
different ways:

There is a person in my class who is at least as old as every


person in my class.

1) Some _____ is at least as old as _____.

2) There is a person p in my class such that p is _____.


3) There is a person p in my class with the property that for
every person q in my class, p is _____.

Answers:
1) person in my class; every person in my class
2) at least as old as every person in my class
3) at least as old as q
Checkpoint
END Activity
1. Fill in the blank to rewrite the given statement.
For every object J, if J is a square then J
has four sides.
If an object is a square, then it ________.

2. A universal statement asserts that a


certain property is ______ for _______.
3. A conditional statement asserts that if
one thing ______ then some other thing
______ .
Checkpoint
END Activity
1. For every object J, if J is a square then J
has four sides.
If an object is a square, then it has four
sides.
2. A universal statement asserts that a certain
property is true for all elements of a set.

3. A conditional statement asserts that if one


thing is true then some other thing also has to
be true.

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