Writing proofs for MATH 61

Section 2: Set theory, proofs of existential statements, proofs of uniqueness

statements, proof by cases
October 2, 2019

Recall from last week that the purpose of a proof is to communicate an argument.
Your writing alone must convey the argument without you being there to explain what you
meant to say. Here are some general reminders/guidelines to follow which will make your
proofs clearer and more readable:
• Write in complete, grammatically correct sentences.
• Signal to your reader what you are doing in your proof.
– If you are proving a universal statement about elements in some set (for example,
a vector space), say that you are arguing with a general element of that set. Don’t
just start doing an argument with a vector “v” without saying what v is.
– If you are doing a proof by contradiction, say at the beginning of the proof that
you are doing a proof by contradiction.
– If you are doing a proof by induction, say at the beginning of the proof that you
are doing a proof by induction and clearly label the base case and induction step
somehow.
– If at some point in the proof you want to break the argument up into cases, say
that you are breaking the proof up into cases and label the cases.
– If your proof has multiple parts (for example, an “if and only if” proof or showing
that two sets are equal), then before each of these parts state what you are proving.
This week we’ll cover some basic notions in set theory that you’ll need in this class and
your life afterwards. In particular, we’ll discuss what it means to show that two sets are
equal. We’ll also cover proving existence results, proving uniqueness results, and the strategy
of division into cases.

1 Basic set theory

At this point in the course, you’ve encountered the notion of two sets (probably the span of
some vectors) being equal. We intuitively know what it means for two sets to be equal: they
have exactly the same elements. In contrast to the situation for proving that two numbers
are equal, where you start with one and do some manipulations to turn it into the other, it’s
not 100% obvious how to go about proving set equality.

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 Recall that given two sets A and B, we say that A is a subset of B and write A ⊆ B
if every object in A is contained in B, i.e. if x ∈ A, then x ∈ B as well. We say that A
and B are equal if they have the same elements, i.e. every element in A is also in B and
every element in B is also in A. Note that A = B is equivalent to A ⊆ B and B ⊆ A. The
most common strategy in showing that two sets are equal is to show these two inclusions
separately. So to show A = B, show that A ⊆ B and then that B ⊆ A. We will shortly see
two examples of this sort of proof.
Assume, for the purposes of this section, that all of the sets considered are contained in
some fixed larger set, so that we can define complements. Recall that given two sets A and
B, their union A ∪ B is the set of all elements which are in A or B,

A ∪ B = {x : x ∈ A or x ∈ B}.

Here “or” is inclusive, so elements which are in both A and B are in A ∪ B. Also recall that
given A and B, their intersection A ∩ B is the set of all elements which are in both A and
B,
A ∩ B = {x : x ∈ A and x ∈ B}.
We can also define the union and intersection of any number of sets, finite or infinite, in the
same manner. Given a sequence of sets A1 , A2 , A3 , . . . , then their union is
∞
[
An = {x : x ∈ An for some n ∈ N}
n=1

and their intersection is

∞
\
An = {x : x ∈ An for all n ∈ N}.
n=1

Since we have fixed a universe, we define the complement of A, denoted Ac , to be all of

the elements in the universe which are not in A,

Ac = {x : x ∈
/ A}.

Here you should be careful: complements of sets depend on the universe, that is, the set with
respect to which we take the complement. For example, the complement of {1, 2, 3, . . . } in
Z is different than its complement in Q.
We’ll now present two examples which demonstrate the strategy discussed above for
proving that two sets A and B are equal:show A ⊆ B and then B ⊆ A. Here is a template
showing the general form of one of these proofs:

Proof. First we will show that A ⊆ B. Let x ∈ A.

proof that x ∈ B
Thus, since x ∈ A was arbitrary, A ⊆ B.
Now we will show that B ⊆ A. Let x ∈ B.

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 proof that x ∈ A
Thus, since x ∈ B was arbitrary, B ⊆ A.
Putting the two inclusions together, we conclude that A = B.

1.1 Examples
Our first example relates unions, intersections, and complements.

Proposition (De Morgan’s laws, part 1). For any sets A and B, (A ∪ B)c = Ac ∩ B c .

Proof. First we will show that (A ∪ B)c ⊆ Ac ∩ B c . Let x ∈ (A ∪ B)c . Then by definition,
x ∈
/ A ∪ B, which means that x ∈ / A and x ∈ / B. But what this means is that x ∈ Ac
and x ∈ B c . Hence, x ∈ Ac ∩ B c . Thus, since x ∈ (A ∪ B)c was arbitrary, we see that
(A ∪ B)c ⊆ Ac ∩ B c .
Now we will show that Ac ∩ B c ⊆ (A ∪ B)c . Let x ∈ Ac ∩ B c . Then by definition, x ∈ Ac
and x ∈ B c , which means that x ∈ / A and x ∈ / B. Hence, x ∈ / A ∪ B, which means that
x ∈ (A ∪ B)c . Since x ∈ Ac ∩ B c was arbitrary, we see that Ac ∩ B c ⊆ (A ∪ B)c .
Since (A∪B)c ⊆ Ac ∩B c and Ac ∩B c ⊆ (A∪B)c , we conclude that (A∪B)c = Ac ∩B c .
This second example is more in line with what you’ve done in class.

Proposition. Let v1 , v2 ∈ Rn . Then span{v1 , v2 } = span{v1 , 2v2 }.

Proof. First we’ll show that span{v1 , 2v2 } ⊆ span{v1 , v2 }. Let v ∈ span{v1 , 2v2 }. Then
v = a1 v1 + a2 (2v2 ) for some a1 , a2 ∈ R. But then v = a1 v1 + (2a2 )v2 , a linear combination of
v1 and v2 . Hence, v ∈ span{v1 , v2 }. Since v was arbitrary, we’ve shown that span{v1 , 2v2 } ⊆
span{v1 , v2 }.
Now we’ll show that span{v1 , v2 } ⊆ span{v1 , 2v2 }. Let v ∈ span{v1 , v2 }. Then v =
a1 v1 + a2 v2 for some a1 , a2 ∈ R. But note that we can write v = a1 v1 + a2 v2 = a1 v1 + a22 (2v2 ),
a linear combination of v1 and v2 . Hence, v ∈ span{v1 , 2v2 }. Since v was arbitrary, we’ve
shown that span{v1 , v2 } ⊆ span{v1 , 2v2 }.
Hence, since span{v1 , 2v2 } ⊆ span{v1 , v2 } and span{v1 , v2 } ⊆ span{v1 , 2v2 }, we conclude
that span{v1 , v2 } = span{v1 , 2v2 }.

1.2 Exercises
Exercise 1. Prove the second part of De Morgan’s laws: for two sets A and B, (A ∩ B)c =
Ac ∪ B c .
Exercise 2. Prove that for any sets A, B, and C, A ∩ (B ∪ C) = (A ∩ B) ∪ (A ∩ C).
Exercise 3. Show that for any v1 , v2 ∈ Rn , span{v1 , v2 } = span{v1 + v2 , v1 − v2 }.
Exercise 4. Show that

{10n : n ∈ Z} = {2n : n ∈ Z} ∩ {5n : n ∈ Z}.

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Exercise 5. Prove that ∞
[
[n, n + 1) = [0, ∞).
n=0

2 Proving existential statements, Part 1

Suppose that you want to prove that there exists some object X (which may be an integer,
a vector, a set, etc.) such that some property P(X) holds (e.g. X satisfies some equation,
X is in some span, X has a certain number of elements satisfying some conditions, etc.).
There are several strategies for proving this sort of existence statement. The simplest one is
to give an explicit example of an X for which P(X) is true. The real work in these sort of
results is in finding the example, and then the proof itself is usually just verifying that the
example does indeed work. The general structure of the proof is to give a candidate object
for X and then show that P(X) does, in fact, hold:

Proof. Consider A.
proof that P(A) is true
Thus, there exists an X such that P(X) is true, namely A.

2.1 Examples
Proposition. There exist three distinct positive integers a, b, and c such that
1 1 1
+ + = 1.
a b c
Proof. Consider a = 2, b = 3, and c = 6. Then
1 1 1 1 1 1 3+2+1 6
+ + = + + = = = 1,
a b c 2 3 6 6 6
and a 6= b, b 6= c, c 6= a. Thus, there do indeed exist three such integers, namely a = 2, b =
3, c = 6.

Proposition. There exist x, y ∈ R that solve the system of equations

(
2x − y = 1
.
−x + y = 2

Proof. Consider x = 3 and y = 5. Then 2x−y = 2·3−5 = 6−5 = 1 and −x+y = −3+5 = 2.
Thus, there do indeed exist two such real numbers, namely x = 3 and y = 5.

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2.2 Exercises
Exercise 6. Show that if a, b, c, d ∈ Z with a 6= c, then there is an r ∈ Q such that
ar + b
= 1.
cr + d
Exercise 7. Prove that there exist arbitrarily large gaps between prime numbers. That is,
for each n ∈ N, there exist at least n consecutive positive integers which are not prime.

3 Proving existential statements, Part 2

Another type of existence proof is to show indirectly that an object satisfying the property
P(X) exists. There are several ways that you could do this. You could invoke some theorem
which tells you that such an object exists, such as the intermediate value theorem or the mean
value theorem. Alternatively, you could do a proof by contradiction (which we discussed last
week) by showing that if such an object didn’t exist, then we’d be led to something which
is false. Here are examples of both of these types of indirect proofs of existence.

3.1 Examples
Proposition. The polynomial p(x) = x9 + 23x8 − 39x6 + 120x4 − 5x2 − 10 has a root in
[0, 1].

Proof. Note that p(x) is a continuous function on [0, 1], and thus the intermediate value
theorem from calculus applies. We have p(0) = −10 and p(1) = 1+23−39+120−5−10 = 90.
Thus, by the intermediate value theorem, p(x) = 0 for some x ∈ [0, 1]. That is, p(x) has a
root in [0, 1].
Recall that an integer p ≥ 2 is prime if whenever p = ab, a, b ∈ N, then either a = 1 or
b = 1. We’ll use without proof the fact that any positive integer greater than 1 is divisible
by some prime. This is, in fact, an existence statement: given any integer greater than 1,
there exists a prime dividing it. The proof of this is left as an exercise.

Proposition. There are infinitely many prime numbers.

Proof. Suppose by way of contradiction that there were only finitely many prime numbers
p1 , p2 , . . . , pk . Consider the integer n = p1 p2 · · · pk + 1. Since there exists a prime number
(for example, 2), n > 1, so that n is divisible by some prime pi , i = 1, . . . , k. So since
the difference of two multiples of a number is still a multiple of that number, we have that
pi | (n − p1 · · · pk ). But n − p1 · · · pk = 1, so this says that pi | 1, a contradiction since
pi ≥ 2 by the definition of a prime number. Thus, there must be infinitely many prime
numbers.

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3.2 Exercises
Exercise 8. Prove that there is an x ∈ R such that 10x = 2x .
Exercise 9. Show that every integer greater than 1 is divisible by a prime.
Exercise 10. Recall that an integer n ≥ 2 which is not prime is called composite.
√ Prove that
if n is a composite integer, then n has a prime factor p such that p ≤ n.

4 Proving uniqueness, Part 1

One very useful strategy for proving that if there is an object satisfying some property, then
it is unique, is to assume that there are two objects with this property and then show that
they must be equal. You’ve already seen this technique used in class several times, so we’ll
recap the proofs as examples. The general strategy to show that an object, if it exists, which
satisfies some property P(X) is the unique object that satisfies P(X) is to show that if P(A)
and P(B) are true for some objects A and B, then we must have A = B.

Proof. Suppose that P(A) and P(B) are true.

proof that A = B
Thus, we have shown that any two objects satisfying P(X) are equal, which implies that
the object satisfying P(X), if it exists, is unique.

4.1 Examples
Proposition. The multiplicative identity element in a field F is unique.
Proof. Suppose that e1 and e2 are such that, for all x ∈ F, xe1 = e1 x = x and xe2 = e2 x = x.
Then setting x = e2 in the first equation, we see that e1 e2 = e2 . Similarly, setting x = e1
in the second equation, we see that e1 e2 = e1 . Hence, e1 = e1 e2 = e2 , and we see that any
two multiplicative identity elements are equal, which implies that the multiplicative identity
element in F is unique.
The following example was not covered in class.
Proposition (Division algorithm, uniqueness). Suppose that n, d ∈ N and we have found
integers q, r ∈ Z such that
n = dq + r
and 0 ≤ r < d. Then this pair (q, r) is unique.
Proof. Suppose that q1 , r1 , q2 , r2 ∈ Z are such that n = dq1 + r1 and n = dq2 + r2 with
0 ≤ r1 , r2 < d. Then we have dq1 + r1 = dq2 + r2 , and moving the q terms to one side and r
terms to the other, this is equivalent to
d(q1 − q2 ) = r2 − r1 .

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By the definition of divisibility, we see that d | (r2 − r1 ). However, 0 ≤ r1 , r2 < d, so that
|r1 − r2 | < d. Since d can’t divide any nonzero integers with absolute value less than d, we
conclude that r1 = r2 . Plugging this back in to the equation above, since d > 0, q1 − q2 = 0,
i.e. q1 = q2 . Hence, (q1 , r1 ) = (q2 , r2 ), and thus we see that the pair (q, r) in the division
algorithm is unique.

4.2 Exercises
Exercise 11. Show that the infimum of a set of real numbers, if it exists, is unique.
Exercise 12. For any r ∈ R, show that there is at most one integer in the interval (r, r + 12 ).

5 Proving uniqueness, Part 2

The next strategy is a way to show that the solution to some equation or system of equations
is unique. You start with the equation or system of equations and show through manipu-
lations what the solution must be if it exists. If all of the steps you’ve used to get to that
point are reversible, as in the case of Gaussian elimination, then this sort of proof also shows
existence. The general form of the proof is as follows. If your aim is to prove that some
solution to the equation f (x) = 0 is unique, then you should start your proof by assuming
that x is such that f (x) = 0 holds, and then try to solve for x. If you get that x must equal
some constant, then this shows that the solution in x, if it exists, is unique. Here are two
examples demonstrating this strategy.

5.1 Examples
Proposition. The solution in x and y to the system of equations
(
x+y =0
,
x − 2y = 0

if it exists, is unique.
Proof. Suppose that x and y are such that x + y = 0 and x − 2y = 0. Then adding two times
the first equation to the second, we see that 3x = 0. Thus, x = 0. Now, this implies that
since x + y = 0 that y = 0 as well. We have shown that if x and y solve the above system
of equations, then x = y = 0. Hence, the solution is indeed unique.
It’s obvious in the previous example that x = y = 0 is a solution without doing any
manipulations. In addition, since every step we did was reversible, our manipulations also
gave a proof that x = y = 0 does indeed solve the above system of equations.
√
Proposition. The solution in R of x + 4 = x − 2, if it exists, is unique.
√
Proof. Suppose that x ∈ R is such that x + 4 = x − 2. Then squaring both sides, x + 4 =
x2 − 4x + 4, and simplifying gives x2 − 5x = 0. This equation factors as x(x − 5) = 0, and
hence we see that either x = 0 or x = 5. However, x = 0 is not a solution to the original

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 √ √
equation x + 4 = x − 2, for plugging it in to the left hand side yields 4 = 2 and plugging
it in to the right hand side yields −2, and 2 6= −2. Hence, x is forced to be 5. Thus, we
have shown that any two solutions to the above equation are equal, for we have shown that
they are equal to 5. So, the solution to the equation in question is unique.
Here, in contrast to the system of linear equations example
√ above, our manipulations do
not show that x = 0 or x = 5 is a solution to the equation x + 4 = x − 2. This is because
squaring both sides of an equation is not a reversible step, for y 2 = (−y)2 for all y ∈ R, but
y 6= −y whenever y 6= 0, so we’d have to consider both positive and negative square roots if
we tried to “undo” the squaring. You have to plug x = 5 into the equation to check that it
is a solution.

5.2 Exercise
Exercise 13. Show that the solution (x, y, z) to the system of equations

x + y − z = 1

x + 2y + z = 0 ,

3x − y − z = 2


if it exists, is unique.

6 Proof by cases
Sometimes it happens that you need to consider two different possibilities in your proof, and
these cases need to be treated differently. In this case, you should label your cases as below,
or in some other way signal to the reader what you are proving and when. Remember to
inform the reader that you are splitting up the proof into cases.

Proof. We split the proof up into k cases.

Case 1 : Suppose that [conditions defining Case 1]
proof of the result in Case 1
Case 2 : Suppose that [conditions defining Case 2]
proof of the result in Case 2
..
.
Case k: Suppose that [conditions defining Case k]
proof of the result in Case k
Since these cases cover all possibilities, the result holds.

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6.1 Examples
Proposition. For all r ∈ R, −|r| ≤ r ≤ |r|.

Proof. We split the proof up into two cases: r ≥ 0 and r < 0.

Case 1, r ≥ 0: Suppose that r ≥ 0. Then |r| = r. Certainly r ≤ r = |r|, and
r ≥ 0 ≥ −r = −|r|. Hence, −|r| ≤ r ≤ |r| in this case.
Case 2, r < 0: Suppose now that r < 0. Then |r| = −r. We have r < 0 < −r = |r|, so
that r ≤ |r|, and −|r| = −(−r) = r ≤ r. Hence, −|r| ≤ r ≤ |r| in this case.
So since these cases cover all possibilities for a real number, for all r ∈ R, −|r| ≤ r ≤
|r|.

Proposition. For all r ∈ R, | − r| = |r|.

Proof. We split the proof up into two cases: r ≥ 0 and r < 0.

Case 1, r ≥ 0: Suppose that r ≥ 0. Then −r ≤ 0, so that | − r| = −(−r) = r. But
|r| = r, so we conclude that indeed | − r| = |r| in this case.
Case 2, r < 0: Suppose now that r < 0. Then −r > 0, so that | − r| = −r. But |r| = −r,
so we conclude that indeed | − r| = |r| in this case was well.
So since these cases cover all possibilities for a real number, for all r ∈ R, | − r| = |r|.

6.2 Exercises
Exercise 14. Prove that for all x, y ∈ R, |x||y| = |xy|.
Exercise 15. Prove that if n ∈ Z is odd, then 8 | (n3 − 1).
Exercise 16. Prove that if n ∈ Z is not a multiple of 5, then 5 | (n4 − 1).