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CHAPTER 31

Mathematical proof
In this chapter you will learn how to:
• use algebra to prove results about properties of numbers
• use counter-examples to disprove conjectures.
You will also be challenged to investigate:
• famous theorems.

Starter: 1  2

Study this piece of algebra carefully. It appears to prove that 1  2!

Step 1 Let a and b be numbers such that a
is twice as big as b. a  2b
Step 2 Multiply both sides by 2b. 2ab  4b2
Step 3 Subtract a2 from both sides. 2ab  a2  4b2  a2
Step 4 Take out a common factor of a on
the left-hand side. a(2b  a)  4b2  a2
Step 5 Factorise the right-hand side into
two brackets. a(2b  a)  (2b  a) (2b  a)
Step 6 Divide both sides by (2b  a). a  2b  a
Step 7 Use the fact that a  2b. aaa
Step 8 Simplify the right-hand side. a  2a
Step 9 Divide both sides by a. 12
Where does this ‘proof’ go wrong?

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31.1 Algebraic proofs

In this section, a number of general results about properties of numbers will be
proved using algebra.

EXAMPLE
Prove that the sum of the squares of two consecutive integers is always odd.

PROOF
Let the two consecutive integers be n and n  1. Consecutive integers are integers that are
next to each other on a number line, e.g.
The sum of the squares of these numbers is: 9 and 10. Algebraically we write
n 2  (n  1) 2  n 2  n 2  2n  1 consecutive integers as n and n  1.
 2n 2  2n  1
 2(n 2  n)  1
 an even number  1
 an odd number

In the last example, n and n  1 were used to represent consecutive integers.

Some problems will ask about even or odd numbers. 2n can be used to
represent an even number, and 2n  1 can be used to represent an odd number
(where n is an integer). If you are using two unrelated even or odd numbers,
you must use different variables for each.
Consecutive numbers follow each other in number order:
3, 4, 5, n, n  1, n  2
2  any integer is even:
23 2n
2  (any integer)  1 is odd:
2  3  1 2n  1

EXAMPLE
Prove that the product of an even number and an odd number is always even.

PROOF
Let the even number be 2n and the odd number be 2m  1.
Then the product of these two numbers is:
2n  (2m  1)  4mn  2n
 2(2mn  n)
 2(2mn  n)
 2k (where k  2mn  n)
 an even number

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EXERCISE 31.1
1 Prove that the sum of two consecutive integers is always odd.

2 Prove that the product of any two even numbers is always even.

3 Prove that the product of any two odd numbers is always odd.

4 Prove that the sum of three consecutive integers is always a multiple of three.

5 Prove that the difference between the squares of any two odd integers is always divisible by four.

6 The diagram shows a square measuring (a  b) along each side. b a

A smaller square, of side c, is
b
inscribed inside the larger square. c
a) Show that the total area of the four triangles is 2ab.
a
b) Obtain expressions for the total area of the shape in two ways: c
(i) by adding together the areas of the four triangles and
the inner square
c
(ii) by expanding (a  b)2. a
c) Use your results from part b) to prove that c 2  a 2  b 2.
c
d) What well-known theorem have you just proved? b

a b
7 a) Show that (100x  1)(100x  1)  10 000x 2  1.
b) Hence show that 89 999 is not prime.

8 By writing the nth term of the sequence 1, 3, 5, 7, ... as (2n  1), or otherwise, show that the
difference between the squares of any two consecutive odd numbers is a multiple of 8. [Edexcel]

31.2 Use of counter-examples

Sometimes you may meet a conjecture – that is, an unproven claim. If a
conjecture turns out to be true, it may be quite difficult to prove for all possible
cases. On the other hand, if a conjecture is false, you only need to find one case
where it fails in order to demonstrate its falsehood. Such a failure case is called
a counter-example.

EXAMPLE
Didier says, ‘All prime numbers are odd.’ Show that Didier is wrong.

SOLUTION
The first prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, …
So, Didier is wrong because 2 is a prime number, and 2 is not odd.

The example above was quite easy, because the counter-example (namely 2)
occurred right at the beginning of the list of prime numbers. Other false
conjectures might be harder to disprove, because they seem to work for a while.

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EXAMPLE
Christie says, ‘If x is a positive integer, then x 2  x  1 is always prime.’
Show that Christie is wrong.

SOLUTION
The conjecture holds for the cases x  1 (3), x  2 (7) and x  3 (13), but fails
when x  4 (21).
So, Christie is wrong because 42  4  1  16  4  1  21 and 21 is not a
prime.

EXERCISE 31.2
1 Chico says, ‘If you add two prime numbers together you will always get another prime number.’
Show that Chico is wrong.

2 Gill says, ‘If a quadrilateral has four equal sides then it must be a square.’
Show that this statement is false.

3 Paula says, ‘When you list the factors of any integer, you will always get an even number of factors.’
Show that Paula’s statement is wrong.

4 Balvinder says, ‘You can find the Lowest Common Multiple (LCM) of two numbers just by multiplying
the two numbers together.’
Show that this statement is false.

5 Katia says, ‘If the six sides of a hexagon all have the same length, then the six internal angles must all be
equal.’
Draw a diagram to show that Katia is wrong.

6 The perfect squares are 1, 4, 9, … which are numbers of the form n2, where n is an integer.
The perfect cubes are 1, 8, 27, … which are numbers of the form n3, where n is an integer.
David says, ‘Apart from 1, there is no other number which is a perfect square and also a perfect cube.’
Find a counter example to show that David is wrong.

7 ‘If x is positive, then 1  10x  x2 is also positive.’

Show that this statement is false.

8 Antonia says, ‘If x is less than 1, then x2 is also less than 1.’
Show that Antonia is wrong.

9 Pat says, ‘If you draw any quadrilateral, its diagonals will always cross inside the quadrilateral.’
Draw a counterexample to show that Pat is wrong.

10 Petra says ‘If n is a positive integer, then the value of n2  n  41 is always prime.’
Show that Petra is wrong.

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REVIEW EXERCISE 31
1 a) Write down an expression, in terms of n, for the nth multiple of 5.
b) Hence, or otherwise:
(i) prove that the sum of two consecutive multiples of 5 is always an odd number,
(ii) prove that the product of two consecutive multiples of 5 is always an even number. [Edexcel]

2 Prove that (n  1)2  (n  1)2 is a multiple of 4, for all positive integer values of n. [Edexcel]

3 a) Show that (2a  1)2  (2b  1)2  4(a  b)(a  b  1).

b) Prove that the difference between the squares of any two odd numbers is a multiple of 8.
(You may assume that any odd number can be written in the form 2r  1, where r is
an integer.) [Edexcel]

4 X and Y are points on the circle, centre O. X

M is the point where the perpendicular from
O meets the chord XY.
M
Prove that M is the midpoint of the chord XY.

O
Y

[Edexcel]

5 John says, ‘For all prime numbers, n, the value of n2  3 is always an even number.’
Give an example to show that John is not correct. [Edexcel]

6 In triangle PQR, PQ  10 cm, QR  12 cm, angle PQR  45°.

a) Calculate the area of triangle PQR.
Give your answer correct to 3 significant figures. A Diagram not
accurately drawn
The diagram shows triangle ABC and triangle ACD.
BCD is a straight line. h cm
The perpendicular distance from A to the line BCD
is h cm.
B C D
area of triangle ABC BC
b) Explain why   .
area of triangle ACD CD
X
Diagram not
accurately drawn

Y W Z

The diagram shows triangle XYZ.

W is the point on YZ such that angle YXW  angle WXZ.
c) Using expressions for the area of triangle YXW and the area of triangle WXZ, or otherwise, show that:
XY YW
   [Edexcel]
XZ WZ

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KEY POINTS
1 Algebraic proofs are often about even and odd numbers. You can write any even number
in the form 2m, whilst any odd number has the form 2n  1, where m and n are integers.
2 You may also meet questions about consecutive integers, that is, integers that are
next to each other on a number line. You can represent two consecutive integers as n
and n  1. Two consecutive odd numbers would be 2n  1 and 2n  1.
3 You may be asked to disprove a claim, or conjecture. This is often done using a
counter-example, that is, you find one case where the conjecture breaks down.
For example, to disprove the statement,‘If x is any positive integer, then x 2  x  5 is
prime’, you can take the case x  4, to give 16  4  5  25, which is clearly not
prime.

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Internet Challenge 31 
Proofs and theories
Here are some statements about proofs, with the name of a mathematician blotted out. Write out the
statements, with the correct mathematician’s name inserted. You may know some of these, but you should
check them all using the internet.

1 ‘There are infinitely many prime numbers.’

This was proved around 300 BC by the mathematician .

2 In 1687  published his theories of gravitation and motion in a book known as the
Principia.

3 The year 2005 marked the 100th anniversary of the publication of ’s theory of
special relativity.

4 ‘Every even number (greater than 2) may be written as the sum of two primes.’
This (as yet unproven) result is the  conjecture.

5 ‘I have a truly marvellous demonstration of this proposition…’

This dubious claim was made by  in about 1637.

6  ’s Law states that when a string is stretched, its extension is proportional to the tension in
the string. This ‘Law’ is only approximately true.

7 The theoretical study of genetics began with experiments by the Austrian monk ,
who studied heredity in peas.

8  ’s rule is a method for estimating the area under a curve, based on quadratic
approximations.

9 In 1931 the Czech mathematician  announced his Incompleteness Theorem:

‘Any logical mathematical system will always contain statements which can neither be proved nor
disproved.’

10 The  hypothesis, first proposed in 1859, is claimed to be the most important
unproved result in mathematics. A $1 million cash prize awaits the first person to prove it!

558 31 Mathematical proof