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    Lesson 2.3: Mathematical Induction

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    Aerl Xuan
    Mathematical induction is a form of logical proof used to demonstrate that a statement is true for all natural numbers. While patterns observed for small values of n may seem to hold true generally, this is not a valid proof method as patterns can fail at higher values. Fermat conjectured that certain numbers were prime based on patterns for low n, but Euler later proved this conjecture wrong by factorizing one such number. Mathematical induction was developed to provide a valid logical proof that a statement holds for all natural numbers.

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    Lesson 2.3: Mathematical Induction

    Uploaded by

    Aerl Xuan
    75 views3 pages
    Mathematical induction is a form of logical proof used to demonstrate that a statement is true for all natural numbers. While patterns observed for small values of n may seem to hold true generally, this is not a valid proof method as patterns can fail at higher values. Fermat conjectured that certain numbers were prime based on patterns for low n, but Euler later proved this conjecture wrong by factorizing one such number. Mathematical induction was developed to provide a valid logical proof that a statement holds for all natural numbers.

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    induction

    Original Title

    L7

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    Mathematical induction is a form of logical proof used to demonstrate that a statement is true for all natural numbers. While patterns observed for small values of n may seem to hold true generally, this is not a valid proof method as patterns can fail at higher values. Fermat conjectured that certain numbers were prime based on patterns for low n, but Euler later proved this conjecture wrong by factorizing one such number. Mathematical induction was developed to provide a valid logical proof that a statement holds for all natural numbers.

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    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    75 views3 pages

    Lesson 2.3: Mathematical Induction

    Uploaded by

    Aerl Xuan
    Mathematical induction is a form of logical proof used to demonstrate that a statement is true for all natural numbers. While patterns observed for small values of n may seem to hold true generally, this is not a valid proof method as patterns can fail at higher values. Fermat conjectured that certain numbers were prime based on patterns for low n, but Euler later proved this conjecture wrong by factorizing one such number. Mathematical induction was developed to provide a valid logical proof that a statement holds for all natural numbers.

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    © All Rights Reserved
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    of 3

    Lesson 2.

    3
    Mathematical Induction
    Introduction
    In this lesson
    ,
    you will study a form of mathematical proof called
    mathematical
    induction.
    It is important that you see clearly the logical need
    for it, so take a closer look
    at the problem discus
    sed in
    Example in previous lesson
    .
    Judging from the pattern formed by these first five
    sums, it appears that the sum of the
    first
    n
    odd integers i
    s
    S
    n
    = 1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + . . . + (2n
    -
    1) = n
    2
    Although this particular formula is valid, it is
    important
    for you to see that
    recognizing a pattern and then simply jumping to the
    conclusion that the pattern must
    be true for all values of
    n
    is not a logically valid method of proof. There
    are many
    examples in which a pattern appears to be
    developing for small va
    lues of
    n
    and then at
    some point the pattern fails. One of the most famous
    cases of this was the conjecture by
    the French mathematician Pierre de Fermat
    (1601
    –
    1665), who speculated that all
    numbers of the form
    are prime. For
    n = 0, 1, 2, 3,
    and 4, the
    conjecture is true.
    The size of the next Fermat number
    (F
    5
    = 4,294,967,297)
    is so great that it was
    difficult for Fermat to determine whether it was prime
    or not. However, another well
    -
    known mathematician, Leonhard Euler (1707
    –
    1783), later found the
    factorization
    F
    5
    = 4, 294,967,297
    = 641(6,700,417)
    which proved that
    F
    5
    is not prime and therefore Fermat’s conjecture was
    false.

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