1) Mathematical induction is a technique used to prove statements for all positive integers n. It involves two steps: proving the base case of P(1) and assuming P(k) is true to prove P(k+1) is also true.
2) Two examples are given of using induction to prove identities: the sum of the first n odd integers equals n^2, and the sum of the first n squares equals n(n+1)(2n+1)/6.
3) Recursion is defined as a function that calls itself, directly or indirectly. Examples of recursive functions given are the factorial function and Fibonacci numbers.
1) Mathematical induction is a technique used to prove statements for all positive integers n. It involves two steps: proving the base case of P(1) and assuming P(k) is true to prove P(k+1) is also true.
2) Two examples are given of using induction to prove identities: the sum of the first n odd integers equals n^2, and the sum of the first n squares equals n(n+1)(2n+1)/6.
3) Recursion is defined as a function that calls itself, directly or indirectly. Examples of recursive functions given are the factorial function and Fibonacci numbers.
1) Mathematical induction is a technique used to prove statements for all positive integers n. It involves two steps: proving the base case of P(1) and assuming P(k) is true to prove P(k+1) is also true.
2) Two examples are given of using induction to prove identities: the sum of the first n odd integers equals n^2, and the sum of the first n squares equals n(n+1)(2n+1)/6.
3) Recursion is defined as a function that calls itself, directly or indirectly. Examples of recursive functions given are the factorial function and Fibonacci numbers.
1) Mathematical induction is a technique used to prove statements for all positive integers n. It involves two steps: proving the base case of P(1) and assuming P(k) is true to prove P(k+1) is also true.
2) Two examples are given of using induction to prove identities: the sum of the first n odd integers equals n^2, and the sum of the first n squares equals n(n+1)(2n+1)/6.
3) Recursion is defined as a function that calls itself, directly or indirectly. Examples of recursive functions given are the factorial function and Fibonacci numbers.
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MATHEMATICAL INDUCTION
Mathematical induction and recursive functions
Mathematical induction Mathematical induction is one of the technique, which can be used to prove a variety of mathematical statements which are formulated in terms of n, where n is a positive integer. or Mathematical induction is a technique that can be applied to prove the universal statements for sets of positive integers or their associated sequences. Principles of mathematical induction Suppose you want to prove that a statement about an integer “n” is true for every positive integer “n”. Define a propositional function P(n) that describes the statement to be proven about “n”. To prove that P(n) is true for all n ≥ 1, do the following steps; Basic step: Prove that P(n)is true. Inductive step: let k ≥ 1. Assume P(k) is true, and prove that P(k+1) is true. Example 1: Prove the sum of first n odd integers is n 2 . i.e. 1+3+5+.......+(2n-1) = n 2 for all positive integers. Proof: What is P(n)? P(n): 1+3+5+.......+(2n-1) = n 2 Basic step: When n =1 in P(n) L.H.S =1 R.H.S = 1 2 = 1 P(n) is true for n = 1 Inductive step: Let us assume that P(n) is true for n = K, P(K): 1+3+5+.......+(2k - 1) = k 2 .......... 1 When n = (k+1), 1+3+5+.......+(2k - 1) + [2(k+1)-1] = (k+1) 2 ............... 2 The left hand side of (2) can be written as : 1+3+5+.......+(2k - 1) + [2(k+1)-1] In view of (1), this simplies to: 1+3+5+.......+(2k - 1) + [2(k+1)-1] = k 2 + [2(k+1)-1] = k 2 + [2(k+1)-1] = k 2 + 2k +2 – 1 = k 2 + 2k +1 = (k+1) 2 The given statement is true for all n. •Example 2: 1 2 + 2 2 + 3 2 + ... + n 2 = n (n + 1) (2n + 1)/ 6 P(n): 1 2 + 2 2 + 3 2 + ... + n 2 = Basic step: When n = 1 P(n) is, L.H.S = 1 R.H.S = 1(1+1) (2*1+1)/6 = = =1 P(n) is true for n = 1 •Inductive Step: Let us assume that P(n) is true for n = k, P(k): 1 2 + 2 2 + 3 2 + ... + k 2 = ........ 1 When n = (k+1) P(K+1): 1 2 + 2 2 + 3 2 + ... + (k+1) 2 = .......... 2 The left hand side of (2) can be written as, : 1 2 + 2 2 + 3 2 + ... + k2 + (k+1) 2 In view of (1), this simplies to; : 1 2 + 2 2 + 3 2 + ... + k 2 + (k+1) 2 = + (k+1) 2
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The given statement is true for all n.
Recursion: The process in which a function calls itself directly or indirectly is called recursion and the corresponding function is called as recursive function. We can use recursion to define Functions Sequences Sets Algorithm Structure Factorial function: n! = 1 if n = 1 n! = n(n-1)! If n ≥ 1. 0! = 1 Fibonacci numbers: It is commonly denoted by Fn. F(0) = 0, F(1) = 1 and F(n) = F(n-1) + F(n-2) for n ≥ 2. Example: Give a recursive formula for the following sequence. 2,6,10,14,18,….. Given, T1 = 2 T2 = t1 + 4 T3 = t2 +4 ………. ………… tn =t(n-1) + 4 for n = 1, 2, 3…… Example: Find the recursive sequence if a1=4,an=a(n-1)+5 Given, a1 = 4 a2 = a(2-1) +5 = 4+5 = 9 a3 = a(3-1) +5 = 9+5 =14 a4 = a(4-1) +5 = 19 The required recursive sequence is 4,9,14,19,………