Math 375, Section 001

Graysay
Fall 2022
Assignment 2

Note regarding Academic Integrity. These problems may seem very difficult to
you. It is acceptable to use outside resources including textbooks, websites, peers, etc. to
understand how to construct these arguments. However, please be sure to write your
answers so that the work is not a direct copy or close copy of someone else’s
solution. That means more than just changing variable letters, or replacing one word with
a different word. If you understand the solution, then you should be able to write a version
that is unique to you, even if it follows a similar logic to someone else.

Problem 2.1. (adapted from Watkins & Meyer, 2020, p. 29)

1. Let b ≥ 0. Prove that if |a| ≤ b then −b ≤ a ≤ b.

2. Let b ≥ 0. Prove that if −b ≤ a ≤ b then |a| ≤ b.

Problem 2.2. (adapted from Watkings & Meyer, 2020, p. 31)

Let x and y represent positive real numbers. Write two different types of argument for the
4xy
claim that if x ̸= y then x + y > x+y .

Problem 2.3. Prove that the statement (¬E ⇒ (R ∧ ¬R)) ⇒ E is a tautology.

Problem 2.4. (Watkins Meyer, 2020, p. 32)

Consider the following argument:
Claim: log2 19 is not a positive integer.
Argument: Suppose log2 19 = n, where n is a positive integer. Then, by definition, 2n = 19.
But 2n must be even, so 2n ̸= 19. Let E be the claim ”log2 19 is not a positive integer”,
and let R be the claim ”2n = 19. Then ¬E ⇒ (R ∧ ¬R). According to Problem 2.3,
(¬E ⇒ (R ∧ ¬R)) ⇒ E is a tautology, so we know that E must be true.

Re-read the argument until you feel confident that you understand it. Then, show that
if m is a positive integer with an odd divisor greater than 1, then log2 m is not an integer.

Problem 2.5. Write the symbolic negation of each of the following expressions so that ¬
never immediately precedes a parentheses or bracket. For example, I would rewrite ¬(A ∧ B)
as (¬A)∨(¬B) (Hint: Use DeMorgan’s Laws as shown in Proposition 1.3.9 (Watkins Meyer,
2020, p. 17; Watkins Meyer, 2021, p. 14).
1. (∀x)[P (x) ⇒ (Q(x) ∧ R(x))]

2. (∃y)[P (y) ∨ (∀x)[Q(x) ⇒ ¬R(x)]]

3. (∀x)(∃y)(∀z)[P (x, y) ⇔ Q(y, z)]

Problem 2.6. Write an statement that is logically equivalent to ¬((∃!x)[P (x)]), following
the rule that ¬ should not immediately precede a parentheses or bracket. Write an argument
that verifies the logical equivalence of the two statements.