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Lecture 1 (Notes)

The document is a lecture on Algebra focusing on the language of mathematics, sets, and mathematical statements. It discusses the truth of various mathematical statements and introduces key definitions such as sets, statements, and negation. Examples are provided to illustrate these concepts and their applications in proving mathematical truths.

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12 views5 pages

Lecture 1 (Notes)

The document is a lecture on Algebra focusing on the language of mathematics, sets, and mathematical statements. It discusses the truth of various mathematical statements and introduces key definitions such as sets, statements, and negation. Examples are provided to illustrate these concepts and their applications in proving mathematical truths.

Uploaded by

g25545974
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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MATH135 - ALGEBRA

Lecture 1

1.1 - THE LANGUAGE


Mathematics is the language of mathematicians, and a proof is a method of communicating a
mathematical truth to another person who speaks the “language”.
(Solow, How to Read and Do Proofs)

In this chapter we will concentrate on the language that is used stating mathematical results.
Consider the following statement:

“If n is a positive integer, then n 2 + 1 is not a perfect square”

Is this true? If yes, can we prove it?

N I 121 2 notperfectsquare
n 2 22 1 5 notperfectsquare
n 3 32 1 10 notperfect
square

It works forthese 1 values butthat doesn't mean it works in general

Idea n is a perfect square gift int it is a perfectsquare

we can showthat n tl is in between thesetwo

Itn is a rent
Inman in
since m and in117are consecutiveperfectsquares n l cannotbe a perfectsquare
therefore the statement is true

M. Molino 1
MATH135 - ALGEBRA
Lecture 1

Now consider the statement


“If n is a positive integer, then n 2 + 13 is not a perfect square”

N 3 3 13 22 notperfectsquare
n 4 4213 29 notperfectsquare
teatsquare

thestatement is false Wehave a counterexample in 6

What about
“If n is a positive integer, then 1141n 2 + 1 is not a perfect square”

the statement is false the counterexample is

n 30693385322765687197397208

M. Molino 2
MATH135 - ALGEBRA
Lecture 1

1.2 - SETS
Sets are fundamental in mathematics, and the way in which we refer to them forms an
important part of the language of mathematics.

DEFINITION: A set is a well-defined, unordered collection of distinct objects. Each object that
appears in this collection is called an element (or member) of the set.

EXAMPLE 1:
ED four suits of a deck ofcards

IN 112,3 natural numbers

72 4 3 2 1,0 42 integernumbers

a bek b to rational numbers


of
IR all numbers in decimalform realnumbers
rational irrational

Notation:
my elements
of sets
X Y sets

neX nisin X

a X n is NOT in X

empty set
no elements in it

M. Molino 3
MATH135 - ALGEBRA
Lecture 1

1.3 - MATHEMATICAL STATEMENTS AND NEGATION

We started our previous lecture with what we called statements. In this section we wish to
formalize that idea.

DEFINITION: A statement is a sentence that has a definite state of being either true or false.

EXAMPLE 1: Let’s write a few examples of statements.

1 1 2 true

it is a rational number false

5 2 true

Now, let’s think about examples of sentences that are not mathematical statements.

Is 3 1

x2 x 0
open sentences
s
2m
this statement is false

DEFINITION: An open sentence is a sentence that contains a variable, and can become a
statement if we assign value to the variable.

EXAMPLE 2: Consider x 2 − x ≥ 0.

solving theinequality x2 30 x 1130 n 0 or n 1

Few statements true


E L3
thenenist no suchthat nÉn true
I
M. Molino 4
MATH135 - ALGEBRA
Lecture 1

We now introduce some important terminology and notation for statements.

DEFINITION: Suppose that A is a statement. Then the negation of A , denoted by ¬A , is the


statement asserting the opposite truth value to A. That is, ¬A is false when A is true, and ¬A
is true when A is false.

EXAMPLE 3: Negate the following statements.

a) 1 + 1 = 2

true
Aa
III false

b) π is a rational number.

A it is arational number false


A it is not a rational member true

c) 5+2<4

THEOREM: Let A be a statement. Then A and ¬( ¬A) have the same truth values.

717A A logically equivalent

M. Molino 5

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