Problem Set 3

February 2, 2021

Note: I made a mistake in Session 2 when I said you can easily prove strong induction is equivalent to
induction. The proof is not super technical but it is also quite difficult to do without a lot of exposure to
proofs, particularly inductive ones. We will postpone this to a later time. You do not need this fact for these
questions.
1. Prove the equation 3x2 − 7x + 1 = 0 has no rational solutions. To do this by contradiction, assume x is
rational: x = m/n. Then consider cases where m and n are odd/even numbers. You should find some
of the proofs we did in Session 2 helpful.
2. A checkerboard alternates black and white squares. Prove that one cannot cover a regular checkboard
(8 by 8 squares) with dominoes. The dominoes can be placed either horizontally or vertically, and each
domino covers 2 adjacent squares. (Hint: a domino must cover a white and a black square, no matter
how you put it)
3. Prove a natural number is divisible by 9 if and only if its sum of digits is divisible by 9
4. Using induction, prove the sum of the first n odd natural numbers is n2
5. Using induction, can you now do question 7 from Problem set 1?

6. One of my favorite induction proofs. Let n be a natural number, and suppose we have a 2n × 2n grid.
Prove that if we remove a square, any square, we can tile the remaining grid with L-pieces that occupy
3 squares each. Note this does not require strong induction, but the ideas in the chocolate bar splitting
example may be helpful...

7. Spot the error in this induction proof.

Claim: In a group of n people, all n have the same (biological) sex
Proof : For n = 1, the claim is true since in a group with one person, there is only one sex. Assume the
claim is valid for some k ∈ N. Consider a group of k + 1 people, and call it S. We form subsets of S, A
and B.
S = {x1 , x2 , ...xk+1 }
A = {x1 , x2 , ....xk }
B = {x2 , ....xk+1 }
So A excludes the last person, and B excludes the first person. Apply the inductive hypothesis (In a
group of k people, all k have the same sex). Then in both A and B, all people have the same sex.
Actually, since x2 is common to both A and B, and x1 has the same sex as x2 who has the same sex as
xk+1 . So there is only one biological sex!
Hint: reason out whether this argument works for small n...
8. I have a super secret drawer with infinitely many socks. I have red, blue, yellow and green socks. How
many socks do I have to pull out of my super secret drawer before I can be sure I have a pair?

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9. I place 10 points on the circumference of a circle of diameter 5. Prove that there are at least 2 points
whose distance to each other are less than 2. Try to imagine placing 9 points on the circle and argue
that putting one more would force at least 1 pair to be closer than 2. You will have to do some trig work
(think sin/cos laws).

(x1 − x)2 + (x2 − x)2 + ... + (xn − x)2

−2(x1 − x) − 2(x2 − x) − 2(x3 − x)... − 2(xn − x)

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