Pablo-Zachary Minguez Lumsden

MAT246 Online Quiz 1

Q1:

Presentation/Communication: I think that I may be able to improve my mathematical

reasoning and proof building if I can focus on improving and practicing the way I format my
solutions to problems and questions. That is, I think that the presentation of one’s work can
go a long way in facilitating the understanding of one’s own work. I think that developing a
consistent format to how I answer questions, which almost becomes mechanical in nature,
could be a way to address improvement in this area.

Critical reading: I think that sometimes I get lost when reading mathematical texts because I
do not attempt to link new content to previous content I have learned. Complex theories
and proofs often rely on previous proof knowledge or theory knowledge. This implies that
one must always interact with new knowledge with a dynamic mindset. I think that the
‘building block’ method of thinking of theories may allow me to better understand newer
and more complex content.

Q2:

Types of Knowledge discussion.

1. Intuitive: Once I understand a theory or lemma I think that my use of this lemma to
solve problems or to connect to other theories is quite strong. As such, my intuitive
understanding of the uses of theories and why these theories may work is strong.
2. Active: I think that I am a relatively strong deductive thinker and logician. I make
many decisions, beyond mathematics, by looking at them in a logical framework
rather than perhaps through emotion or passive knowledge. Although I am not fully
versed when it comes to tautology, I do have a grasp on how it works and its
application to proof building and mathematical argumentation. Nonetheless, there
are proof methods that I do not know how to apply, which inherently give one the
knowledge to tackle more difficult analytical scenarios. I am eager to learn these.
3. Passive: I have placed passive knowledge third because I struggle to memorize
knowledge that I do not necessarily understand or know how to use intuitively. That
is, I am referring to highly complex passive knowledge that one does not understand
but must accept and then in turn must use. I find it more difficult to apply this type of
knowledge because I may not understand in what concepts it is applicable (beyond
how it was formulated) and how to necessarily apply it. I know of it, but not how to
necessarily use it.
Q3: For a given natural numbers n and m, if n<m then S(n)<S(m). That is, prove n+1<m+1.

a) Using Page 13:

Fact: if n<m then n+1<=m for n and m natural numbers.

Proof: consider n and m natural numbers.

n<n+1 and m<m+1 and n<m.
Since, n<m<m+1 then n<m+1.
Fact: n+1<=m.
So, n+1<=m<m+1 and n<n+1.
So, n<n+1<=m<m+1.
Therefore, n+1<m+1.

b) Using Properties from before pages 11 and 12:

Proof: consider n and m natural numbers.

Let S(n) := n+1.
Let S(m) := m+1.
If n<m then S(n)<S(m), and n<S(n). Since there is no ‘a’ for natural numbers such that
n<a<S(n).
Then it must be that there is no S(n)<S(a)<S(m).
Therefore, for n<m n+1<m+1.