Created by T.

Madas

GENERAL
PROOF

Created by T. Madas
 Created by T. Madas

Question 1 (**)

f ( n ) = n2 + n + 2 , n ∈ » .

Show that f ( n ) is always even.

MP1-B , proof

Question 2 (**)
Prove that when the square of a positive odd integer is divided by 4 the remainder is
always 1 .

MP1-F , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 3 (**)
Show that a 3 − a + 1 is odd for all positive integer values of a .

MP1-Q , proof

Question 4 (**)
Prove that the square of a positive integer can never be of the form 3k + 2 , k ∈ » .

SYN-B , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 5 (**+)
It is asserted that

2x +1 ≤ 5  x ≤ 2 .

Disprove this assertion by a counter-example.

MP2-Q , proof

Question 6 (**+)
Prove by contradiction that for all real θ

cos θ + sin θ ≤ 2 .

MP2-A , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 7 (**+)
Prove by contradiction that if p and q are positive integers, then

p q
+ ≥2.
q p

MP2-E , proof

Question 8 (***)

f ( n ) = 52 n − 1 , n ∈ » .

Without using proof by induction, show that f ( n ) is a multiple of 8 .

MP1-I , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 9 (***)
Prove by contradiction that for all real x

(13 x + 1)2 + 3 > ( 5 x − 1)2 .

MP2-M , proof

Question 10 (***)
It is given that

N = k 2 − 1 and k = 2 p −1 , p∈» .

Use direct proof to show that 2 p+1 is a factor of N .

SYN-K , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 11 (***)
Prove by exhaustion that if n is a positive integer that is not divisible by 3 , then
n 2 − 1 is divisible by 3 .

MP1-C , proof

Question 12 (***)
Prove that if we subtract 1 from a positive odd square number, the answer is always
divisible by 8 .

SYN-P , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 13 (***+)
Given that k > 0 , use algebra to show that

k +1
≥ 2.
k

MP1-L , proof

Question 14 (***)
Prove by the method of contradiction that there are no integers n and m which
satisfy the following equation.

3n + 21m = 137

MP2-G , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 15 (***)
Use the method of proof by contradiction to show that if x then

1
x+ ≥ 2.
x

MP2-C , proof

Question 16 (***)
Prove that the sum of two even consecutive powers of 2 is always a multiple of 20 .

MP1-H , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 17 (***+)
Prove by the method of contradiction that there are no integers a and b which
satisfy the following equation.

a 2 − 8b = 7

MP2-I , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 18 (***+)
Use proof by exhaustion to show that if m ∈ » and n ∈ » , then

m 2 − n 2 ≠ 102 .

MP1-R , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 19 (***+)
Use a calculus method to prove that if x ∈ » , x > 0 , then

x 4 + x −4 ≥ 2 .

MP1-Z , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 20 (***+)

c c +1
b b +1

a a +1

The figure above shows two right angled triangles.

• The triangle, on the left section of the figure, has side lengths of

a , b and c ,

where c is the length of its hypotenuse.

• The triangle, on the right section of the figure, has side lengths of

a + 1 , b + 1 and c +1 ,

where c + 1 is the length of its hypotenuse.

Show that a , b and c cannot all be integers.

MP1-O , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 21 (***+)
It is given that x ∈ » and y ∈ » such that x + y = 1 .

Prove that

x2 + y = y2 + x .

MP1-T , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 22 (***+)
It is given that a and b are positive odd integers, with a > b .

Use proof by contradiction to show that if a + b is a multiple of 4 , then a − b

MP2-U , proof

Question 23 (***+)
Prove by contradiction that log10 5 is an irrational number.

MP2-S , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 24 (****)
Let a ∈ » with 1 a ∉ » .
5

a) Show that the remainder of the division of a 2 by 5 is either 1 or 4 .

( )
b) Given further that b ∈ » with 1 b ∉ » , deduce that 1 a 4 − b 4 ∈ » .
5 5

FP4-R , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 25 (****)
It is asserted that

“ The difference of the squares of two non consecutive positive integers can never be
a prime number ”.

a) Prove the validity of the above assertion.

The difference between two consecutive square numbers is 163 .

b) Given further that 163 is a prime number find the above mentioned
consecutive square numbers.

SYN-N , 6561, 6724

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 26 (****)
2
By considering ( 2) , or otherwise, prove that an irrational number raised to the
power of an irrational number can be a rational number.

MP2-W , proof

Question 27 (****)
It is given that

a 2 + b2 = c 2 , a ∈ » , b ∈ » .

Show that a and b cannot both be odd.

SP-N , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 28 (****)
Given that k ∈ » , use algebra to prove that

2k + 2 2k
> .
2k + 3 2k + 1

MP1-V , proof

Question 29 (****)

f ( a ) = a 3 + 5a , a ∈ » .

Without using proof by induction, show that f ( a ) is a multiple of 6 .

MP1-X , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 30 (****)

f ( k ) = k 3 + 2k , k ∈ » .

Without using proof by induction, show that f ( k ) is always a multiple of 3 .

SYN-J , proof

Question 31 (****)
Consider the following sequence

3, 8, 15, 24, 35, 48, …

Prove that the product of any two consecutive terms of the above sequence can be
written as the product of 4 consecutive integers.

SYN-H , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 32 (****)
Prove that if 1 is added to the product of any 4 consecutive positive integers, the
resulting number will always be a square number.

SYN-I , proof

Question 33 (****+)
Show that for all positive real numbers a and b

a 3 + b3 ≥ a 2b + ab 2 .

SP-R , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 34 (****+)
Show clearly that for all real numbers α , β and γ

α 2 + β 2 + γ 2 ≥ αβ + βγ + γα .

SP-U , proof

Question 35 (****+)
Show, without using proof by induction, that the sum of cubes of any 3 consecutive
positive integers is a multiple of 9 .

SYNF-C , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 36 (****+)
Use a detailed method to show that

1000 × 1001×1002 × 1003 + 1 = 1003001

You may NOT use a calculating aid in this question.

SPX-O , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 37 (*****)
Show that the square of an odd positive integer greater than 1 is of the form

8T + 1 ,

where T is a triangular number.

MP1-S , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 38 (*****)
It is given that

( )
f ( m, n ) ≡ 2m m2 + 3n 2 ,

where m and n are distinct positive integers, with m > n .

3
By using the expansion of ( A ± B ) , prove that f ( m, n ) can always be written as the
sum of two cubes.

SPX-Q , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 39 (*****)
It is given that

( )( )
f ( k ) ≡ k 3 − k 2k 2 + 5k − 3 ,

where k is a positive integer.

Prove that f ( k ) is divisible by 5 .

You may not use proof by induction in this question.

SPX-K , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 40 (*****)
Prove that for all real numbers, a and b ,

2 2 4a 2 + b 2 + a 2 + 4b 2
a +b ≤ .
3

SPX-M , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 41 (*****)
Show that for all positive real numbers a and b

a 3 + 2b3 ≥ 3ab 2 .

SP-X , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 42 (*****)
It is given that x , a and b are positive real numbers, with a > b and x 2 > ab .

Use proof by contradiction to show that

x+a x+b
− > 0.
x2 + a2 x 2 + b2

MP2-T , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 43 (*****)
Prove that the sum of the squares of two distinct positive integers, when doubled, it
can be written as the sum of two distinct square numbers

SPX-I , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 44 (*****)
The Rational Zero Theorem asserts that if the polynomial

f ( x ) ≡ an x n + an −1x n −1 + an −2 x n−2 + ... + a1x + a0

has integer coefficients, then every rational zero of f ( x ) has the form pq , where
p is a factor of the constant term a0 and q is a factor of the leading coefficient an .

π 
Use this result to show that sin   is irrational.
 18 

SPX-S , proof

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 Created by T. Madas

Question 45 (*****)
By using the definition of e as an infinite convergent series, prove by contradiction
that e is irrational.

SPX-G , proof

Created by T. Madas