IN
MATHEMATICS
DAVID E. PENNEY, The University of Georgia
!~~t~A~~
~ ~ W. A. BENJAMIN, INC.
~ ~
~{IS't\~ Menlo Park, California
Copyright © 1972 by W. A. Benjamin, Inc. Philippines copyright 1972 by W. A. Benjamin,
Inc.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying,
recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in
the United States of America. Published simultaneously in Canada. Library of Congress
Catalog Card No. 70-166540.
For B. J. Pettis
Harry H. Corson
A. C. Woods
Paul S. Mostert
G. O. Sabidussi
Paul F. Conrad
Fred B. Wright
A. D. Wallace
A. H. Clifford
G. S. Young, Jr.
Frank D. Quigley
and especially L. B. Treybig
1
1
PREFACE
This book was planned primarily as a text for a one year course in math-
ematics for students not intending to take calculus. However, it could be
used as a sourcebook by teachers and mathematicians or as outside reading
by undergraduate mathematics majors. The usual topics from collegiate
precalculus courses have specifically been excluded, as has calculus itself.
Each chapter contains a rather detailed study of a topic chosen from one of
the major branches of modern mathematics. Although some of this material
is available elsewhere, it has not been gathered before into a single volume
written for the reader who does not have an extensive background in
mathematics. I quite frankly admit to choosing topics I found particularly
interesting, and I hope that the reader will be pleased with some of these
choices. The problems at the end of each chapter are in many cases meant
to open up avenues of deeper exploration of the subject of the chapter. The
chapters themselves are almost wholly independent of one another, thus
enabling the student to learn about those topics most appropriate for him,
in any order, and in the necessary degree of mathematical rigor. This should
provide the flexibility desirable for so diverse an audience-even under-
graduate mathematics majors are not commonly exposed to the majority of
the material included, and I hope that they too might enjoy this book.
Although the formal prerequisites for one who wishes to profit from this
book are minimal-some high-school algebra, a little geometry, and aptitude
to do college-level work-it is not an easy book. It contains only incidental
references to the history of mathematics. It should acquaint the reader with
the various branches of modern mathematics, and each student is expected
to find out what mathematics is by doing mathematics: guessing patterns,
making conjectures, and (most important) proving theorems.
ix
x Preface
Most technical terms are defined upon the occasion of their first appear-
ance, and in this case the term appears in boldface. The statements of
theorems appear in italics. The reader is advised to have paper and pencil
always available, and should not hesitate to consult the index. Generally,
the last problems of each chapter are the most difficult, but there are numerous
exceptions; the difficult problems have not been so indicated in order to
increase the similarity to mathematical research.
I wish to thank for their patience those undergraduates who were exposed
to this book in its preliminary form, the Department of Mathematics of the
University of Georgia for making it possible for me to write this book, and
my former teachers of mathematics, to whom it is dedicated. Special thanks
are due Professor Gail S. Young of the University of Rochester and Professor
Frank D. Quigley of Tulane University for their help with the second
chapter, Professor F. A. Roach of the University of Houston for his help
with the third, ProfessorH. S. M. Coxeter of the University of Toronto for
his help with Chapter 5, and Professor D. B. Hinton of the University of
Tennessee for his help with Chapter 8. Finally, lowe a great deal to my wife
Carol, who read every word, suggested innumerable improvements, and
invented a number of the better problems.
xi
xii Contents
Index 345
CHAPTER 1
THE
BOLYAI-GERWIN
THEOREM
You have probably seen some of the numerous puzzles and games involving
a small number of plastic pieces of various shapes. In one variety of these,
an accompanying booklet gives outlines of various figures, and one attempts
to form the pieces into these figures. Also enjoying some popularity are
board games in which one uses the varied shapes of his pieces to force or
prevent certain moves by his opponent. It should not surprise you to find
that many mathematicians like such puzzles, and moreover that some of the
mathematical ideas behind such puzzles have been studied by mathematicians
for many years.
The puzzles usually feature one extra problem when one tires of con-
structing figures; for example, the plastic pieces come in a flat rectangular
box, and we find it surprisingly difficult to return the pieces properly to the
box. This chapter will reveal, among other things, a method by which you
can construct such puzzles of your own, even ones which will fit into a
rectangular box, if you wish. You will be able to cut several plastic pieces
which will fit into the box, but which you can reassemble to form a triangle,
a hexagon, a symmetrical five-pointed star-or all three.
Of course, one restriction immediately becomes apparent. If one such
figure can be cut up and the pieces reassembled to form another figure, the
two must have the same area. On the other hand, it is hard to believe that a
square could be cut into a finite number of pieces which could be reassembled
to form a circular disk of the same area, but we cannot answer whether or
not this is possible. This question presently enjoys the status of an Unsolved
Problem in Mathematics. (Do not confuse this with the famous problem of
Squaring the Circle-the distinction between the two will be discussed in the
1
2 The Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem 1.1
exercises.) Because circles, curved cuts, and curved figures in general lead
us beyond the frontiers of current mathematical knowledge, we shall restrict
our attention to polygons and straight-line cuts. In these cases the math-
ematical problems involved have been solved, and the solution is remarkably
simple. All that is required is that the two figures have the same area. If
so, then either may be cut into pieces and reassembled to form the other.
This is the essence of the Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem.
that a polygon have finite area prevents us from the necessity of dealing with
a square boundary together with what's outside.
Two polygons are said to be equidecomposable if it is possible to cut one
up, using straight cuts, into a finite number of pieces which may be reas-
sembled, omitting none, to form the other.
You may object that this definition is somewhat vague. But an attempt
to make it much more precise would also make it several times as long, and
require the introduction of several other terms which would also have to be
defined precisely. Again, as with the idea of area, we ask that you accept
your natural understanding of the concept of equidecomposability as the
correct one. At this point you may test your concept of area and your
understanding of equidecomposability by means of the following theorem.
Theorem 1.1 If two polygons are equidecomposable, then they have the same
area.
If you feel that this proposition is obvious, then you surely understand enough
to proceed. After all, whatever we may mean by "area," the area of a plane
figure should not be altered by rigid (congruence) motions-so all that would
be necessary for a proof of the above theorem is to cut the first polygon
into several pieces and measure the area of each such piece. Then observe
that as the pieces are assembled into each of the two given polygons the
resulting total areas must be equal, for each is the sum of the same set of
numbers. But on a deeper level there are always a few "obvious" things
which become less obvious when more closely examined. If we were to start
with certain axioms about the geometry of the two-dimensional plane and
attempt to define "area," the development of this definition would be lengthy,
and the above theorem would have a rather complicated proof. For example,
it is conceivable that some of the pieces into which a polygon might be cut
simply cannot have area. It would be necessary to establish that if only
straight cuts are used to form such pieces then each piece must in fact have
area, and then that the total area of the polygon is equal to the sum of the
areas of the individual pieces. Further consideration of these topics will be
found in the exercises.
Exercises
1.1 Which of the figures shown in Fig. 1.1 is a polygon? Exactly in what
way does each that is not a polygon fail to satisfy the definition?
1.2 What is the smallest number of vertices that a polygon can have? Prove
that your answer is correct.
1.3 Construct a polygon having one and only one vertex in each of the
four quadrants and not containing the origin-or prove that no such polygon
can exist.
4 The Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem 1.1
(a) (b)
(e)
1.4 Need a polygon have positive, rather than zero, area? Why?
1.5 Show that a polygon must have at least one interior angle less than 180 0
•
1.6 The relation of equality between numbers enjoys the following three
properties.
is not necessary for the truth of the Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem, but it does
serve as an added attraction and makes the construction of puzzles con-
siderably simpler. Also note that in each proof all cuts are straight-line
cuts, as required in the definition of equidecomposability, and finally that it
is never necessary to lift a piece and turn it over.
Exercises
1.11 Let R be a rectangle with short side of length one unit and long side of
length two units, and let S be a square of the same area as R. Show how to cut
R into a finite number of pieces, using straight cuts, so that the pieces can be
reassembled to form S. Can you do this with only three cuts?
1.12 Show how to cut up the Texan Rectangle shown in Fig. 1.2, bounded
by two parallel rays and a segment perpendicular to each, into infinitely
many squares that can be reassembled to form a strip twice as wide. This
example is one reason why we restrict our attention to figures of finite area
when dealing with equidecomposability.
1.13 Show how to cut the Texan Rectangle into squares that can be
reassembled to form the entire two-dimensional plane.
1.14 Show how a given triangle can be divided into two right triangles with a
single cut.
1.15 Let T be a right triangle. Show how you can cut T into two pieces which
can be reassembled to form the mirror image of T, without turning any piece
over.
1.16 In the next section we will show how to cut any polygon into triangles.
Thus the two previous exercises show how turning pieces over in our study of
equidecomposability could be avoided, even if thought necessary in some
construction. Explain how.
8 The Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem 1.3
boundary in this fashion, during its journey from V l to K, then M must simul-
taneously meet at least one vertex Vi of P. Let L be the line segment from
Vl to Vi. Then L lies, except for its endpoints, wholly within the interior of P.
Thus we can always produce some new line segment, either K or L,
joining two vertices of P not previously joined by an edge of P, and lying
except for its endpoints wholly within the interior of P. If we cut P along
this new line, we produce two new polygons with the following important
property: Each has fewer vertices than did P. We repeat this process on each
resulting polygon that has more than three vertices until the process is forced
to come to a halt by virtue of the fact that P has been cut entirely into
triangles. All the cuts are straight-line cuts, and each construction can be
performed with straightedge alone. The method is the "most efficient
possible" in that it does not require the creation of new vertices. Thus we
have shown how it is possible to cut a given polygon into triangles.
10 The Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem 1.3
Exercises
1.21 Suppose that P is a polygon with vertices V h V2, V 3 , ... ,Vn • In the
construction of this section, in which a polygon such as P is decomposed into
triangles, how many cuts must be made, and how many triangles will be
obtained? The answer of course depends on the value of n, and should give
the correct value in particular for n = 3 and n = 4.
1.22 Suppose that f/ is a statement meaningful for natural numbers; that is,
f/ might be the statement "Every natural number is composite." In order to
be meaningful it is not necessary that f/ be true, merely that for each natural
number f/ is either true or false. Let us consider the statement f/, as an
example, that "The sum of the first n natural numbers is n(n + 1)/2." In
this case f/ happens to be always true, and for such statements there is
frequently the possibility of proving them true by the method of induction.
To prove by the method of induction that such a statement is true, we
must first establish that the statement is true for n = 1; and then, assuming
the truth of the statement for n = k, show that it follows that the statement
is also true for n = k + 1. Consequently, since the statement is true for 1,
it is then true for 2; then, since it is true for 2, it is also true for 3, and so on.
Thus the statement must be true for each natural number. Use the method of
induction to prove that your answer to the previous exercise is correct.
1.23 Continuing the previous exercise, let f/ be the statement
n(n + 1)
1+2+3+"'+n= .
2
Prove f/ by the method of induction.
1.24 The method used in this section to prove that each polygon can be
triangulated is actually a proof by induction in disguise. Explain how to
rephrase this proof so that the use of the method of induction becomes
more apparent.
1.25 In the proof of the last section, we showed how to cut up a polygon
into triangles without the introduction of new vertices. Do you think an
analogous process will work for three-dimensional polyhedral solids? In
other words, can each polyhedral solid be cut up into tetrahedra (not neces-
sarily regular) without the introduction of new vertices?
1.26 See Exercise 1.22. Prove by induction: If 0 < a < 1 and n is a natural
number, then 0 < an < 1. Of course, you may use anything you know
about inequalities.
1.27 Prove by induction: If n is a natural number, then
(-It = 1 if n IS even,
(_l)n+t = -1 if n is odd.
1.5 How to cut a parallelogram to make a rectangle 11
Exercises
1.31 Establish, as indicated in the proof of this section, that the reassembled
triangle actually does form a parallelogram.
1.32 With what type of triangle will the method of this section produce a
rectangle rather than just a parallelogram?
Exercises
1.33 Show how to construct the perpendicular needed for the cut in the
proof of this section.
12 The Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem 1.6
1.34 Prove that the reassembled parallelogram in the proof of this section
actually does form a rectangle.
1.35 Under what circumstances will the reassembled parallelogram in the
last proof form a square, rather than just a rectangle?
established in an exercise), and hence a square of side length x will have the
same area as the rectangle R.
There will now be a small technical problem if the rectangle R is more
than four times as long as it is wide, but in an exercise we will ask you to show
how such a rectangle can be converted into one which is less than four times
as long as it is wide. Hence we may assume that R itself is in fact less than
four times as long as it is wide.
Draw R and the square, which we shall call S, in such fashion that they
overlap as shown in Fig. 1.5. Draw the extra line L also shown in the same
figure, and cut R along that portion of L which lies in R. Then cut R along
the line segment M, that part of the right-hand side of S which lies below L.
Now R consists of several regions, numbered from 1 to 4 in the figure.
S consists of the regions numbered 1, 3, 5, and 6. We reassemble the pieces
of R to form S as follows:
• Move the triangle composed of pieces 3 and 4 to the position of the triangle
composed of pieces 3 and 6.
14 The Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem 1.7
Exercises
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the resulting pieces can be reassembled to form the square 8. Draw 8 1 and
8 2 as shown in Fig. 1.6, as well as the auxiliary square A, and let 8 1 and 8 2
have side lengths a and b, respectively.
Note in the figure that each of the two points y and {) is located at distance
b from the next vertex of A counterclockwise around A. Locate the two
points rL and p similarly. Draw the segments [rL, P], [P, y], [y, {)], and [{), rL],
shown as dashed lines in the figure. These segments form the boundary
of the desired square 8. Cut 8 1 and 8 2 along the parts of the boundary of 8
which lie in each. Now 8 1 consists of three pieces numbered 1, 2, and 3;
8 2 consists of two pieces marked 4 and 5; and 8 itself must be formed by
rearranging these pieces so as to cover the regions numbered 1, 4, 6, and 8.
We may ignore the pieces numbered 7, 9, and 10, since they do not enter the
construction-they are merely artifacts introduced to help discover where
to make the cuts, and are not part of either 8 1 , 8 2 , or 8. Here is the recipe
for reassembling the pieces of 8 1 and 8 2 to form 8:
• Leave piece 1 alone.
• Remove piece 4 and leave it on the side for a while.
16 The Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem 1.8
• Pick piece 2 up and move it, without rotation, so that it covers region 4
and part of region 8; the point marked y goes to position ~.
• Rotate piece 5 counterclockwise 90° about the point ~, thus covering the
top half of region 6.
• Use piece 3 to cover the rest of region 6; the point marked {3 on piece 3
goes to position y.
• Find piece 4 (left on the side for a while) and use it to cover the rest of
region 8; the point marked ~ on piece 4 goes to position IX.
A little easy geometry involving lengths and right angles can be used to
show that the pieces actually fit correctly and do form a square. We chose
this particular construction because Fig. 1.6 can also be used to prove the
Pythagorean Theorem. There are other proofs of the Pythagorean Theorem,
just as there are other proofs, using different figures, that two squares can be
assembled into a single square, but we prefer this one because it does two
jobs instead of one.
Exercises
1.40 Show that the polygon 8 bounded by the segments [IX, {3], [{3, y],
[y, b], and [~, IX] is in fact a square. See Fig. 1.6.
1.41 Show that the reassembly in which the squares 8 1 and 8 2 are cut into
pieces which form 8 actually works-that is, that the implied congruences
are actual.
1.42 The Pythagorean Theorem states that if a right triangle has legs of
length a and b, respectively, and hypotenuse of length c, then a2 + b 2 = c2 •
Show how ideas in the proof in this section and use of Fig. 1.6 can be used
to establish this theorem.
To summarize, suppose that P and Q are two polygons of the same area.
Chop each into triangles. Make each triangle into a parallelogram, each
parallelogram into a rectangle, and each rectangle into a square. Assemble
all the squares obtained from P into one giant square S, and all the squares
obtained from Q into one giant square T. Then Sand T will have the same
area, since each has the area common to P and Q. If you draw T together
with its cuts as a transparent overlay and place this overlay upon S, you will
see where to make additional cuts on S. Using these cuts, we can reverse
the construction of T from Q, using these new pieces of S and so reassemble
S to form Q. This maneuver shows that P and Q are equidecomposable, and
concludes the proof of the Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem.
Exercise
1.43 Exactly where in the proof of the Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem did we use
the hypothesis that the polygons P and Q have the same area?
and the pencil marks may be sanded off after the final cuts are made and the
cardboard removed. The grain of the wood may give a few clues to the puzzle-
worker, but he will appreciate this. Keep a record of your construction in
case your victim challenges you to work the puzzle.
A natural question that would occur at this point to a mathematician is
the following: Does a theorem analogous to the Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem
hold for a three-dimensional figure? That is, is it true that if we have two
solid polyhedra with the same volume, then we can show that they are
equidecomposable, still of course using only straight-line cuts? The answer
is no. Of course, there are some pairs of solid polyhedra with the same volume
which are equidecomposable-thickening up any two equidecomposable
polygons, as you would in effect do if you constructed a puzzle, would
provide such an example. That the proposed theorem is not true does not
mean that it is always false, merely that there do exist pairs of polyhedra
with the same volume which are not equidecomposable. In fact, what may
be the simplest possible example-a cube and a regular tetrahedron of the
same volume-provides an example of a pair of nonequidecomposable
polyhedra with the same volume. This example was discovered by the German
mathematician M. Dehn and first published in 1902.
One might next ask if, given two polyhedra with the same volume, it
is possible to tell by a simple test whether or not they are equidecomposable.
The Swiss mathematician H. Hadwiger found the answer to this question
in 1949, but to provide the necessary definitions here to express the answer
would take us too far afield. Let it suffice to say that, as one might expect,
the question is resolved on the basis of the dihedral angles of the two
polyhedra.
Exercises
to the effect that the construction is not correct, and that if the proposer
wants to know where the error is, he should be willing to pay a fee for pro-
fessional services. This has given mathematicians quite a reputation for
dogmatism and narrow-mindedness, but most would prefer to work on
the many problems to which the solution is yet unknown rather than search
for an error in a construction they know in advance to be incorrect.
The reason that these constructions are impossible has to do with the
fact that, given a line segment of length 1, unmarked straightedge, and com-
pass, certain lengths cannot be constructed. However, if a number can be
constructed, such as 2 or 1/4 (how?), its square root can also be constructed.
The technique is concealed in the proof of the Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem,
in Section 1.6 of this chapter. You are invited to discover the technique and
use it to construct a line segment whose length is the square root of 5, given
straightedge, compass, and a line segment of length 1.
Curiously enough, the impossibility of squaring the circle with straight-
edge and compass has little bearing, as far as we know, on the Unsolved
Problem in Mathematics mentioned early in this chapter-the problem of
whether a square and a circle of the same area are equidecomposable in the
general sense that, naturally, curved cuts are to be allowed, but still that only
finitely many pieces should be used. We do not require that only straightedge
and compass be used. The problem here is one of finding where to make the
cuts, or alternately, to show that there can be no way to make the cuts that
will work. This problem was first stated by A. Tarski in Fundamenta
Mathematicae in 1925.
1.45 The first three stages in the construction of the Snowflake Curve
are shown in Fig. 1.7. Some techniques of topology may be used to show that
it makes sense to talk about "the figure obtained by continuing this process,
over and over, once for each natural number." That is, of each point in the
plane it can be determined whether that point is eventually (and thus per-
manently) within the curve, or never within. The boundary of the figure,
which is what we mean by the snowflake curve itself, consists of those points
which eventually get on the boundary at some stage of the construction and
then stay on the boundary in each successive stage.
Since the figure is bounded its area is finite. However, the perimeter is
infinite; that is, given any whole number n no matter how large, at some
stage in the construction of the snowflake curve its perimeter exceeds n,
and the perimeter increases at each stage. In fact, the perimeter is multiplied
by 4/3 each time we pass to the next stage. So if the initial perimeter is 1,
we obtain the following sequence of perimeters for the successive stages of
the construction:
1, 4/3, (4/3)2, (4/3)3, (4/3)4, (4/3)5, ... ,
and this sequence of numbers increases without bound. Why?
20 The Bolyai-Gerwin Theorem 1.9
If you know a little about infinite geometric series, you can use this
knowledge to calculate the area of the figure bounded by the snowflake
curve. Such a series is one in which each term is a fixed multiple, say r, of
the previous one; that is, the series has the form
1.9 Some concluding remarks 21
1.53 Is it possible to cut up two cubes of equal volume into pieces which
can be reassembled to form a single cube? Explain.
1.54 Continuing the previous exercise, is it possible to cut up two cubes of
equal volume into a number of small cubes of equal volume which may be
reassembled to form a single cube? Reduce this problem to one of solving
a certain simple algebraic equation.
1.55 Is it possible to assemble finitely many squares, no two of which have
the same area, into a rectangle? Explain.
BRUNNIAN
LINKS
Examine the three rings shown in Fig. 2.1, close the book, and try to reproduce
the drawing.
Many people have some difficulty in correctly drawing the three rings of
Fig. 2.1, known as the Borromean Rings, and will draw instead three rings
linked much as the three shown in Fig. 2.2. As soon as the difference between
the two is seen, though, it becomes easy to draw the Borromean Rings. The
distinguishing property of the Borromean Rings is that each of the rings lies
completely over one of the other two, and completely under the other. The
three rings shown in Fig. 2.2, on the other hand, have the property that
each actually links each of the other two. We shall examine in this chapter the
implications of this difference, as well as properties of such figures made of
other numbers of rings.
For the rest of this chapter, we shall assume that all such figures lie in
ordinary three-dimensional space, so that if you wish you may construct
examples made of string or wire. The circular shapes into which your material
is formed will not have to be perfectly circular, nor is the material itself
important with regard to the mathematical properties that will concern us.
All we care about is the manner in which the various curves link one another.
Hence we immediately pass to a convenient mathematical abstraction-
that of the simple closed curve. Just as Euclid saw in the real world various
rough approximations to a perfectly straight line (such as the line where the
wall meets the ceiling), and passed to the abstraction of the geometric straight
line without width or end, so also do mathematicians who wish to examine
properties of knots and linking curves pass to the abstract idea of a simple
closed curve.
25
26 Brunnian links 2.1
Fig.2.3 A wild
simple closed curve.
Fig. 2.4
Tame simple
closed curves.
The object shown in Fig. 2.3 does have the four properties listed above,
and so ought to be considered a simple closed curve, but is not an abstraction
from reality since it certainly cannot be tied with a piece of string. There are
infinitely many loops, decreasing in size; of course, the entire figure cannot
be drawn, and so most of it is concealed in the box. Such curves are said to
be wild, as opposed to the tame ones we shall study. We may prevent the
occurrence of any wild simple closed curves henceforth by the following
agreement: We consider a curve only if it can be continuously deformed
without self-intersection onto a polygonal curve (one formed of a finite
collection of straight-line segments). Mostly for aesthetic reasons we shall
continue to draw our tame simple closed curves without corner points;
just imagine if you wish that all the corners have been rounded off slightly.
Each of the simple closed curves shown in Fig. 2.4 is tame-the one on the
left is an approximation by a polygonal simple closed curve to the one on the
right.
Since the curves shown in Figs. 2.1 and 2.2 can be continuously deformed
without self-intersections onto polygonal curves, they too are tame; but the
curve shown in Fig. 2.3 does not have this property. (This is not obvious.)
Note that the Borromean Rings of Fig. 2.1 have the property that each
ring lies completely over the one immediately clockwise to it. This means
that if anyone of these three simple closed curves is removed from the
Borromean Rings, the remaining two come apart. However, you will have
2.1 The simple closed curve 29
little trouble in convincing yourself that the three do not come apart. Because
of this interesting property, the Borromean Rings have been used for centuries
in the Christian religions as a symbol of the Holy Trinity. On a less reverent
note, they have also been used as the trademark of a well-known manufac-
turer of beer and ale. The mathematician H. Brunn may have been the
first to study generalizations of the Borromean Rings, about 1892, and these
generalizations are known to some mathematicians as Brunnian links for
this reason.
What generalizations? Why, one would naturally ask if it is possible to
construct four simple closed curves with the Borromean Property: The
four are linked together but removal of anyone causes the remaining three
to fall apart. And why stop with four? Do there exist ten, or twenty, or even
a hundred simple closed curves, the totality linked together, but such that
the removal of anyone causes the rest to fall apart? We shall examine
these generalizations as well as others in this chapter.
Exercises
2.8 Each of the curves shown in Fig. 2.4 is said to be knotted because neither
can be continuously deformed into a circle in three-dimensional space
without self-intersection at some stage. On the other hand, a circle or a
square is an unknotted simple closed curve. Show that a square is unknotted.
2.9 Your intuition should tell you that a tame simple closed curve is un-
knotted (see Exercise 2.8) if and only if it can be continuously deformed in
three-dimensional space until it lies in a flat plane without self-intersection.
Show that this last condition is equivalent to the following: The tame simple
closed curve can be continuously deformed in three-dimensional space until
it lies on the surface of a round two-dimensional sphere without self-inter-
section.
2.10 It is difficult to show that each of the curves of Fig. 2.4 is knotted, but
you can show that either-and thus both-can be deformed so as to lie
on the surface of a two-dimensional torus without self-intersection. Please
do so. (A torus is the mathematician's abstraction of the surface of a one-
hole doughnut.)
the curves lie entirely within B 2 , and each curve lies entirely within exactly
one of the two balls. For example, if a 3-link is splittable, then it can be
continuously deformed so that two of its curves lie entirely within B 1 and
the third entirely within B 2 , where (as before) B 1 and B 2 are disjoint solid
balls.
An n-link composed of the curves C 1 , C 2 , ••• , Cn is said to be completely
splittable provided that there exist mutually exclusive balls B 1 , B 2 , ••. , Bn
in three-dimensional space such that the link can be deformed continuously
so that each C i lies entirely within the ball B i •
The example of Fig. 2.6 is a splittable 3-link which is not completely
splittable, because C 2 and C 3 cannot be split apart. So all that splittability
means is that the link comes at least partly apart; completely splittable links
come entirely apart. If we say a link is nonsplittable, we mean that not even
one of the curves involved, or any pair, or any combination, can be separated
from the rest without cutting.
Finally, given any n-link composed of the curves C 1 , C 2 , .•. , Cn' a
sublink of this link is simply some subcollection of the curves C 1 , C 2 , ••• , Cn
-obtained, if you like, by erasing the ones not in the collection. A k-
sublink of the link L is just a k-link which is a sublink of L. This of course
makes sense only for 1 :::: k < n, where n is the number of curves used to
form L.
Figure 2.7 shows on the left a 4-link, and on the right one of its 3-sublinks.
Please note that a collection ofcurves in a sublink retains the linking properties
it enjoyed in the whole link, although removal of some curves to form a
2.3 A simple algebra 33
sublink out ofthe remainder may cause splittability where none existed before.
For example, consider the 2-sublinks of the Borromean 3-link.
We may use our new terminology to describe the property of interest
that distinguishes the Borromean Ring example from the example shown in
Fig. 2.2: The Borromean Rings form an example of a nonsplittable 3-link
every 2-sublink of which is completely splittable. And the generalizations we
seek may be described in the following way:
a) Does there exist a nonsplittable 4-link such that each of its 3-sublinks
is completely splittable?
b) Given a whole number n > 5, does there exist a nonsplittable n-link
with each of its (n - 1)-sublinks completely splittable?
c) Given whole numbers nand k with 1 ~ k < n, does there exist a non-
splittable n-link such that each of its k-sublinks is completely splittable
but each of its (k + l)-sublinks is nonsplittable? In particular, does
there exist an example of a nonsplittable 4-link with every 3-sublink
also nonsplittable, but with every 2-sublink completely splittable?
Exercises
for all whole numbers m and n and each element a of our algebra. In
particular,
(a -l)n = a -n and aa- 1 = aO = 1,
thus justifying our use of the notation a-I for the inverse of the element a.
What we cannot use is the so-called commutative law; in general it will
not be true that ab = ba. The only complicated thing is to determine what
the symbols a, b, c, . .. represent. They are certainly not whole numbers,
nor are they real numbers. Moreover, the operation which we have so
blithely called "multiplication" certainly cannot be ordinary multiplication,
since the objects we are "multiplying" are not numbers. We need to explain
what the symbols a, b, c, and so on represent, and what the meaning of the
"product" ab is.
Let A be a circle in three-dimensional space, such as is shown in Fig. 2.8.
Warning: So far, "A" is just the name of a circle, and the symbol A will
not be an element of our algebra. The object a of our algebra will, however,
be closely associated with the circle A, and the association is so natural as to
cause us to use almost the same name-differing only in upper as opposed to
lower case-for two different things.
Imagine a curve in three-dimensional space that starts at the tip of your
nose, passes through the circle A once going away from you, curves around,
and returns to the tip of your nose. (The tip of your nose is denoted by p in
Fig. 2.8.) This new curve is almost the object a of our algebra. But all we
care about is the fact that this new curve passes through the circle A a net
of one time away from you, and it is the collection of all such curves that
2.3 A simple algebra 35
deserves the name a. Thus what the element a of our algebra represents is the
net effect of passing through the circle A one time going away, or alternatively,
the set of all such curves that start and end at the tip of your nose and pass
through the circle A once going away.
Your intuition should tell you that if x is any other curve also passing
through A a net of one time going away, then the curve x can be continuously
deformed to the curve representing a (as shown in Fig. 2.8) without cutting x
or the circle A, and in such a way that x never touches the circle A, and the
ends of the curve x are never removed from the tip of your nose. Conversely,
any curve x which can be so continuously deformed must pass through the
circle A a net of one time going away. So if you imagine all possible curves
that start at your nose, pass through the circle A a net of one time going
away from you, and return to your nose, you may consider each of these as
representing the element a of our algebra, since anyone can be deformed to
any other such in the manner described above.
Now that you know what the symbols a, b, C, • •. of our algebra rep-
resent, it is time to define the operation of multiplying two of them together.
Let A and B be circles in three-dimensional space as shown in Fig. 2.9. The
element a of our algebra can be represented by a curve that starts at p,
passes through the circle A once going away from you (and not passing
through B at all), and finally returns to p. Similarly, the element b can be
36 Brunnian links 2.3
represented by a curve that behaves the same way with respect to the circle
B. We define the product ab to be represented by each and any curve that
has the net effect of "first doing a, then doing b." That is, a typical represent-
ative of ab is a curve that starts at p, passes away from you through A, then
passes away from you through B, and finally returns to p. It is permissible
to remove the end of a and the beginning of b from the point p and then
join these ends together close by, as we have shown in Fig. 2.9, in order to
clarify the picture.
A little experimentation with wire circles and two pieces of string should
convince you that, at least in this example, ab =1= ba; that is, the curve ab
cannot be deformed to the curve ba without cutting it or cutting the circles
A and B or removing its ends from p.
What sort of curve represents a- 1 ? Why, each curve that passes once
through the circle A toward you. What is the meaning of a 2 ? This stands for
those curves that have the net effect of passing through the circle A twice
away from you. What about the multiplicative identity 1 of our algebra?
That is represented by any curve that passes through no circle at all. These
phenomena are illustrated in Fig. 2.10.
2.3 A simple algebra 37
A
Fig.2.10 Some
algebraic illustrations.
A
38 Brunnian links 2.3
Fig.2.11 ab = ba.
interpret XO as the identity, 1). For example, b- 1 a2b3a 5 = a7 b2. This shows
that each expression in this algebra has a "standard form" that looks like
d'b m • Are two expressions in this algebra equal if and only if their standard
forms are identical? Explain your answer.
2.19 We return in this exercise to the general case of an algebra known only
to satisfy the group axioms (see Exercise 2.16). Show that (xy)-l = y-1X- 1.
Your proof should work not only in the case that x and yare single symbols
in the algebra, but also in the case that x and y stand for more complicated
expressIOns.
2.20 Show that the two expressions
aab2b-lca2b3b-la-lb3
and
are equal.
Fig.2.12 Three
fourths of a
{4, 3)-Brunnian link.
Fig.2.13 The
Borromean rings again.
completely apart. Do not try to draw a circle for the fourth curve; so far as
we know, it cannot be done that way. All you need is any tame simple closed
curve for the fourth curve.
Let us see if the miniature algebra we have developed will serve to tell
us why the Borromean Rings form a nonsplittable 3-link each 2-sublink of
which is completely splittable. Perhaps this will provide some insight that
will help in the construction of other examples. If you carefully draw apart
the upper two rings of the Borromean example shown in Fig. 2.1, you will
obtain a figure much like the one shown in Fig. 2.13.
We have two separated circles A and B, which is what we might well
want to start with if we wanted to invent the example of the Borromean rings.
The tip of your nose is shown as the point p on the curve C, for we wish to
calculate the algebraic formula of this curve. It first passes away from you
through A, then toward you through B, then again toward you through A,
and finally away from you through B. The algebraic formula we have
learned to associate with such a curve is ab-1a-1b. This simple formula
tells us a great deal about the Borromean rings.
First, since no simplification of the formula ab-1a-1b is possible, it does
not reduce to I. (This does not contradict Exercise 2.17, since the curves
A and B are not linked.) Hence the curve representing this formula actually
links the union of the curves A and B and cannot be removed without cutting.
42 Brunnian links 2.4
Second, observe the effect of cutting and removing the circle A. The
effect on the formula ab- 1 a- 1 b is both simple and striking. When the circle
A is taken away, the effect on the formula is to delete all occurrences of the
symbol a (and a- 1 as well). The formula becomes b- 1 b, which simplifies to 1.
This shows that if A is removed, then Band C are completely splittable.
Similarly, if B is removed, then we obtain aa- 1 = 1, and so A and Care
completely splittable. By our construction, since we drew A and B already
separated, A and B split completely if C is removed. This shows that every
2-sublink of the Borromean rings is completely splittable.
If the 3-link itself were splittable it would then be completely splittable
by the above discussion. But this is not the case since ab- 1 a- 1 b #= 1.
Hence the 3-link is nonsplittable. This demonstrates that the Borromean
rings actually do provide an example of a nonsplittable 3-link each 2-sublink
of which is completely splittable.
The one item of crucial importance about the formula ab- 1 a- 1 b, the
one phenomenon that makes the example work, is this: The deletion of all
occurrences of anyone symbol in the formula causes the formula to collapse
to I. What this means is that if anyone circle is removed from the example
of the Borromean rings, then the remaining two come apart. To apply
similar algebraic methods to the construction of a nonsplittable 4-link each
3-sublink of which is completely splittable, let us return to Fig. 2.12 and
simply ask what sort of formula the fourth curve we must draw should have.
First, the formula should involve all three of the symbols a, b, and e,
so that the four curves together will form a nonsplittable link.
Second, the formula must not collapse to I. This too is needed to ensure
that the 4-link is nonsplittable.
Finally, the formula must have the property that the deletion of all
occurrences of anyone symbol-either a, b, or e-will cause the formula to
collapse to I. This will, as in the example of the Borromean rings discussed
above, guarantee that each 3-sublink is completely splittable.
Exercise
2.21 Can you write down a formula involving all three symbols a, b, and e,
such that the formula does not collapse to I, but the deletion of all a's, or
all b's, or all e's, does cause the resulting formula to collapse to I? Or,
alternatively, can you prove this impossible, thus demonstrating there is no
analogy to the Borromean rings with four simple closed curves?
We are sure you will be able to discover the answer for yourself, and in
order for you to enjoy fully the thrill of mathematical discovery, we ask you
not to read beyond this paragraph until you have worked on this problem
for a while. Go back and look at the formula associated with the third curve
in the Borromean rings; it will probably help.
2.5 Notation and examples 43
with the property that all four symbols a, b, c, and d appear in the formula,
and such that the deletion of all occurrences of anyone of these symbols
causes the resulting formula to collapse to 1. We have not chosen the shortest
such formula above for the (5, 4)-Brunnian link, but it is one which continues
44 Brunnian links 2.6
the pattern already established. If we then draw in a fifth curve with this
formula, we can argue (as we did in the case of the Borromean rings) that
what is produced is indeed a (5, 4)-Brunnian link. You will also have seen
that the number of curves in these constructions is not material, except that
large numbers of such curves produce rather long formulas. But since the
formulas have the desired properties it follows that for each whole number
n > 2, an (n, n - 1)-Brunnian link exists. Thus it is possible to construct,
say, one hundred simple closed curves in three-dimensional space forming a
nonsplittable link, but such that the removal of anyone of these curves causes
the remaining ninety-nine to split completely.
Exercises
2.22 Draw a (2, 1)-Brunnian link.
2.23 Draw a (4, 3)-Brunnian link.
2.24 Draw a (5, 4)-Brunnian link.
2.25 Find a shorter formula than that given in Section 2.5 for the fourth
curve in a (4, 3)-Brunnian link.
2.26 Draw a (3, 2)-Brunnian link essentially different from the example of
the Borromean rings shown in Fig. 2.1.
2.27 Show that an (n, 1)-Brunnian link can be constructed for each whole
number n > 2. Compare this with Exercise 2.13.
2.28 If you have not already done so, construct an example of a (4, 2)-
Brunnian link.
2.29 For appropriate choice of x and y, the formula for the third curve in a
(3,2)-Brunnian link was seen to have the form xyx- 1y-1. Is this also true
of the formula given in Section 2.5 for the fourth curve in a (4, 3)-Brunnian
link? See also Exercise 2.19.
2.30 Construct four simple closed curves in three-dimensional space, say
A, B, C, and D, with the following rather unsymmetrical linking property:
The removal of A causes the remaining three to split completely, but of B, C,
and D, exactly two must be removed to cause A and the third to split, and if
only one of B, C, or D is removed, then the remaining three form a non-
splittable link.
2.6 COMMUTATORS
The frequent repetition of a mathematical concept justifies calling attention
to that concept and supplying it with a name. You have undoubtedly
noticed by now the frequent occurrence of a string of symbols of the form
xyx - 1Y -1. In addition, you may have noticed that in our simple algebra,
if we wish to construct the inverse ofa string of symbols such as ab 2 a- 1 cab- 3 ,
2.6 Commutators 45
the proper way to do it is to write the string of symbols in the reverse order,
changing the sign of each exponent. (The exponent of a is 1.) Thus, in the
example just mentioned, the inverse would be b3 a- 1 c- 1ab- 2 a-t, for the
product of the two will clearly produce 1. In general, we may state as a
useful law of exponents in our algebra that
(xy)-l = y-1x- 1
even if one or the other or both of x and yare strings of symbols rather than
a single symbol. Let us abbreviate by (x, y) the string of symbols xyx-1y-l.
This object is a victim of frequent study in modern mathematics, and is called
the commutator of x and y.
Suppose we are given three symbols a, b, and c, and form first the com-
mutator of a and b, and then form the commutator of that string of symbols
with the element c. Symbolically, we would express this as «a, b), c), which
expands to the expression
aba-lb-lcbab-la-lc-l.
It is no coincidence that this is the formula by which we earlier produced a
(4, 3)-Brunnian link, and indeed if you expand the multiple commutator
«(a, b), c), d), you will obtain the formula for the fifth curve in a (5, 4)-
Brunnian link. The reason that commutators produce this effect is this:
Any of the multiple commutators we have been writing down has the property
that if all occurrences of anyone symbol are deleted, then the entire com-
mutator collapses to 1. This is precisely the property needed to produce
(n, n - l)-Brunnian links.
Let us turn our attention to the problem of producing a (4, 2)-Brunnian
link. As we have already observed, a reasonable starting point would be
to draw a (3, 2)-Brunnian link; that is, the Borromean rings. We do this
because if anyone curve is deleted from a (4, 2)-Brunnian link, what is left is
a (3, 2)-Brunnian link. So we draw the three, and puzzle over exactly how to
draw the fourth curve. In terms of our algebra, if the three we draw are
called A, B, and C, what is required is a formula using all the symbols a, b,
and c, such that the deletion of all occurrences of anyone of these symbols
causes the formula to collapse, not to 1, but to the formula for a (3, 2)-
Brunnian link. In other words, can we use the symbols a, b, and c to write
a formula in which the deletion of all occurrences of anyone symbol does not
cause the formula to collapse to 1, but one in which the deletion of all
occurrences of any two symbols does cause the formula to collapse to I?
If we could find such a formula, and draw in a fourth curve representing this
formula, we would have a (4, 2)-Brunnian link as desired.
Here is where the concept of the commutator of two symbols proves
useful. If the formula involves the commutator (a, b), then at least this much
will remain if all occurrences of c in the formula are deleted, and some care is
46 Brunnian links 2.7
taken in the construction of the formula. If in addition this were all that
remained, then after removing curve C, we would have exactly what we want-
a (3, 2)-Brunnian link. So let us first write down the commutator of a and b,
and be sure that c is involved in any other commutators we write down so
as to guarantee the disappearance of all these other commutators if all
occurrences of c are deleted. At this point you may have already guessed
what will happen next. About the only other sorts of things we can construct
that are commutators involving the symbol c are the commutators (a, c)
and (b, c). But then we notice that the product of all three has the desired
property
(a, b)(a, c)(b, c) = aba-lb-laca-lc-lbcb-lc-t,
which will collapse to one of these three commutators if all occurrences of any
one symbol are deleted. Whether or not we remove the curve A, or B, or C,
what is left will be a (3, 2)-Brunnian link. Hence drawing a fourth curve
representing the above formula will produce a (4, 2)-Brunnian link.
Exercises
Fig. 2.14
A (4, 3)-Brunnian link.
«a, c), d). But observe that even these more complicated commutators,
such as «a, b), c), do collapse to I upon the deletion of any symbol present
in them. Therefore, as we did for the construction of the (n,2)-Brunnian
links, we write the product of all possible commutators involving three of the
symbols a, b, c, and d, and obtain
«a, b), c) «a, b), d)«a, c), d)«b, c), d).
If all occurrences of anyone symbol, such as c, are deleted, all the commuta-
tors involving that symbol collapse to 1. What we have left is the single
commutator «a, b), d), not involving the symbol c. But this shows that if we
draw the fifth curve with the above formula, we have indeed produced a
(5, 3)-Brunnian link.
We need but a single definition here, for the purpose of making our ideas
easier to express. If a, b, c, ... , are symbols in our algebra, and k is a whole
number at least 2, then a k-commutator of these symbols is simply one of the
multiple commutators we have been considering, one that involves exactly k
distinct symbols drawn from our algebra. For instance, using the above
symbols, one example of a 4-commutator is «(a, b), c), d). It is important
to note that a k-commutator has the property that if all occurrences of any
one symbol are deleted from it, then the formula that remains will collapse
to 1.
Let us see how the concept of a k-commutator will serve us in guessing
the general procedure necessary to produce an (n, k)- Brunnian link for any
meaningful choice of nand k. Suppose we first wished to draw a (3, 2)-
Brunnian link. We draw two separated circles, label them A and B, and
consider the associated symbols a and b in our algebra. Since we wish to
form a (something, 2)-Brunnian link, we write down all possible 2-com-
mutators using the symbols a and b. There is no distinction between aba- 1 b- 1
and (for example) b - 1 aba -1 for our purposes. All we need to do is to write
down only one such, say aba - 1 b -1. We then draw in a third curve with this
formula and obtain a (3, 2)-Brunnian link.
Similarly, to produce a (4, 2)-Brunnian link, we first produce a (3, 2)-
Brunnian link, label the three curves A, B, and C, and consider the three
associated symbols a, b, and c in our algebra. We form all possible 2-
commutators using the symbols a, b, and c, and write their product
(a, b)(a, c)(b, c).
If a fourth curve is drawn according to this formula, we obtain a (4, 2)-
Brunnian link.
To produce a (4, 3)-Brunnian link, we draw three separated circles,
call them A, B, and C, and form the product of all possible 3-commutators
on the three symbols a, b, and c. There is only one, «a, b), c). If a fourth
curve is drawn with this formula, then a (4, 3)-Brunnian link is formed.
2.7 The final generalization 49
Exercises
THE
WELL-TEMPERED
CLAVICHORD
As you probably know, the "octave" on a piano has this name because-
counting both ends-it contains eight keys; these and the black keys between
some of them are named as shown in Fig. 3.1. If we count black keys as
well, and only the essentially different notes, there are actually twelve different
keys in an octave, and most music of the Western Hemisphere is written
using these and only these twelve different notes. For this reason, such music
is referred to as twelve-tone music; but you are probably aware that music
can be written in other systems.
We shall try to answer three questions in this chapter. First, why are
there twelve different notes in an octave on the piano? Second, what was
the proposed modification in the twelve-tone system used in the time of
Johann Sebastian Bach, a modification that he sought to call attention to by
the publication of his Woh/temperiertes K/avier? Finally, are further
improvements in the scale system we now use possible, and if so, how can such
improvements be effected?
Curiously enough, some information pertaining to the answers to all
three of these questions is supplied by the methods of continued fractions,
not an especially new branch of mathematics, but one which has begun to
enjoy valuable applications in fields where accurate approximations to
irrational numbers are needed, such as in the use of high-speed computers.
Moreover, the use of continued fractions to help answer the above questions
is particularly simple, and the only prerequisite for this particular applica-
tion is a degree of familiarity with logarithms.
52
3.1 Properties of logarithms 53
Fig. 3.1
The names of
the notes on
the piano.
C D E F GAB C' D' E' F'
x = 10gb a.
Thus, 10gb a is the power to which the base b must be raised in order to
obtain the number a. For example,
y-axis
because
103 = 1000 and 2 5 = 32.
The graph of y = loglo X is shown in Fig. 3.2. Note that the graph
of y = loglo x passes over only the positive x-axis-this indicates that
only positive numbers have logarithms. Also, the graph passes through the
point (1, 0), since 100 = 1; the graph of y = 10gb x will have this property
for any acceptable value of b (namely, b positive but not equal to 1). Also,
the graph of y = loglo X is always increasing-that is,
This is also the case for any other value of b so long as b exceeds 1.
3.1 Properties of logarithms 55
a
-x
=-
1
ax '
From these laws may be derived the various laws of logarithms. We need
only two; the others are given in the exercises. Here are the two:
Let b be a positive number other than 1. Then, for all positive numbers
x and y,
10gb xy = (10gb x) + (10gb y).
It happens that these are exactly the two properties which also make the
approximate calculations mentioned earlier possible. For example, suppose
we wish to find, using logarithms, the approximate value of the product of
82,425 and 46,037. Using a table of logarithms to the base 10, we find that
Thus
Exercises
3.1 Why can we not use the positive number 1 as a base for taking
logarithms?
3.2 Sketch the graph of y = log2 x.
3.3 Sketch the graph of y = IOg(1/2) x.
3.4 Show that if 0 < b < 1, then the graph of y = 10gb X is always de-
creasing. You may assume that the graph of y = 10gb X is increasing if
1 < b.
3.5 Show that if 0 < band b i: 1, then the graph of y = 10gb x passes
through the point (1, 0).
3.6 Use logarithms to the base 2 to compute the value of 4·8.
3.7 Use logarithms to the base 2 to compute the value of 43 •
3.2 A peculiar manipulation 57
3.8 Use the laws of exponents stated in this section to prove that
10gb xy = 10& x + 10gb y.
3.9 Use the laws of exponents stated in this section to prove that
log" x Y = Y 10gb x.
3.10 We defined x = 10gb a to mean that bX = a. Can you use this definition
in reverse, as a definition of the meaning of b\ to prove the laws of exponents?
Of course, you may use the properties of logarithms given in the previous
two exercises.
3.11 Let a, b, and c be numbers for which the expressions below are meaning-
ful. Prove that
(lo&, b) . (10gb c) = lo&, c.
Hint: Let x = lo&, b, y = 10gb c, and z = lo&, c. Then ~ = b, and so on.
3.12 Let b be a positive number not equal to I, c a positive number, and a
a positive number not equal to 1. Simplify the following expressions:
10gb bc, 10gb (ljb), (10gb a) . (lo&, b).
3.13 Let band c be positive numbers, neither equal to 1. Show that
1
loge b = .
10gb c
3.14 Let b be a number larger than 1; if you want to be specific, you may even
assume for the purpose of this exercise that b = 10. One law of exponents
is that if x and yare any two numbers such that x < y, then bX < bY. Use
this fact to show that also, if x < y and both x and yare positive, then
10gb x < 10gb y.
3.15 You will need a table of logarithms for this exercise. Solve for x:
2x = 3.
3.16 Show that log (3/2) and log 2 are both larger than 0; that is, that each
is positive. Hint: Use Exercise 3.14 and the fact that log I = O.
3.17 Express the number 12/7 as the sum of a whole number and a number
between 0 and I.
3.18 Express the number (log 5)/(log 2) as the sum of a whole number and
a number between 0 and I.
3.19 Express (log 4)/(log 2) as the sum of a whole number and a number
between 0 and I.
3.20 Since we now know that 3/2 < 2 and log (3/2) < log 2, and that
the latter numbers are positive, we can write
-log
-- 2
> 1.
log (3/2)
3.3 Continued fractions 59
Express
log 2
log (3/2)
12
- - 1 +~
7 7
1
- 1 +-
7
-
5
1
- 1 +
1 + -2
5
1
- 1 +
1
1 +-
5-
2
1
- 1 +
1
1 +
1
2+-
2
The "standard form" into which 12/7 has been converted is this: It is a
compound fraction in which each numerator is I, all signs are "+" rather
than "-", and all numbers are positive whole numbers. If we had begun
with a negative number, we could still obtain this standard representation
for it, except that the first number on the left would be a negative number.
It should be clear that every rational number can be so expressed, and that the
resulting compound fraction must be finite because the denominators decrease
at each stage. But if we allow nonterminating denominators, just as we allow
nonterminating decimal expansions, each real number can be expressed as
60 The well-tempered clavichord 3.3
(1; 2, 3) = 1+ 1
1
2+-
3
1
-1 +-
7
3
3 10
-1+-=-.
7 7
Here is a method for "evaluating" nonterminating continued fractions in
which the numbers repeat periodically. This method will always produce the
correct value for the sort of continued fractions we will be dealing with. We
apply the method to the continued fraction (1; 2, 2, 2, ... ). Let x =
(1; 2, 2, 2, ... ). Then x = (1; 1 + x), and so
x=I+_I_
1 + x
Thus
x· (1 + x) = (1 + x) + 1,
so that
x + x2 = X + 2 or
3.3 Continued fractions 61
We discard the negative solution of this last equation for reasons to be dis-
cussed later, and find that x = 2. .J
If you wish to work in the opposite direction and find the continued
fraction expansion of x = .J
2, first write
so that x2 -- 1 -- 1,
or
(x + 1)(x -- 1) = 1.
Since we know that x '::F --1, we may divide both sides of this last equation
by x + 1, and thus obtain
1
x -- 1 =
1 +x
Thus
1
x = 1+
1 +x
Since the entire right-hand side of this last equation is equal to x, we substitute
the entire right-hand side for the x in the last denominator, and obtain
1
x = 1 +
1
1 + 1 +
1 +x
or
1
x= 1 +
1
2+
1 +x
If we continue this process of substitution for the x in the denominator of the
right-hand side, we obtain x = (I; 2, 2, 2, ... ), as desired.
Exercises
3.21 Evaluate the cQll,tinued fraction (I; 2, 1, 3, 2).
3.22 Evaluate the continued fraction (1; 3, 3, 3, ... ).
3.23 Find the continued fraction for .J"S.
3.24 Evaluate the continued fraction (1 ; 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, 3, 4, ... ).
3.25 Since.J3 is between 1 and 2, the continued fraction expansion for .J3
must be of the form
.J3 = (1; a1' a2, a3, a4' ... ),
where the numbers a 1, a2' a3, a4' ... are all positive whole numbers. Show
that the continued fraction expansion of .J3 cannot be of the form
(I ; a, a, a, a, ... ),
where a is a positive whole number.
62 The well-tempered clavichord 3.4
If you know that .J2 = 1.414213 562 ... , you notice an interesting
phenomenon. The sequence of partial quotients has bracketed the value of
3.4 The value of a continued fraction 63
.J2 much as in artillery fire; the values are bouncing back and forth on
either side of the value of .J2 and are getting closer and closer to it, as
indicated in Fig. 3.3. The technical term used here is that .J2 is the limit
of the above sequence of numbers, and it is in this sense that we say that the
continued fraction (1 ; 2, 2, 2, 2, ) has the value.Ji The method we used
for "evaluating" (1; 2, 2, 2, 2, ) in the previous section, the one in which
we substituted the x on the left-hand side of an equation for the x on the
right-hand side, is merely a device for avoiding examination of the sequence
of partial quotients. This device is very useful when it works, but as you can
see, it will work only on a continued fraction that repeats its terms periodically.
You may well wonder whether or not all continued fractions have values
in the sense of the limit of the sequence of partial quotients. After all, it is
conceivable that the sequence increases without bound. Fortunately for our
purposes, there is a theorem in the theory of continued fractions which
guarantees that if ao is any real number whatsoever and ai' a2' a3' a4' ...
are all positive whole numbers, then the sequence of partial quotients of the
continued fraction (a o ; ai' a2' a3' a4' ... ) does indeed have a limit, and it is
this limit we mean when we speak of the value of the continued fraction
(a o ; a h a2' a3' a4' ... ). Further topics on limits can be found in the next
set of exercises.
But the above-mentioned theorem is by no means the most interesting
fact about continued fractions. We shall use the following result to answer
some of our questions about musical scale systems: A continued fraction
64 The well-tempered clavichord 3.4
Try to give an informal proof why this should always be true, restricting your
attention to continued fractions with only positive whole number entries.
66 The well-tempered clavichord 3.5
= 3+ 1
6.162 277 666
= 3+ 1 ...
6 + 0.162 277 666
At each stage, you extract the largest whole number you can from the last
denominator, invert the remainder twice (to keep it equal to what it was
before while producing a number larger than 1), and continue the process.
After a few stages you will have a good guess as to the actual continued
fraction expansion of the square root of 10 itself. Continue the above
computations, and make that guess.
trouble to try all possible fractions with denominators less than one thousand
(a rather generous upper bound for the total number of at-bats available
to one player in a single season) to find out which ones might round off to
0.263. However, 0.263 is itself a reasonably good approximation to the
player's "true" or unrounded average, hence we can expand 0.263 into a
continued fraction in order to find the good rational approximations to it,
and thereby find the good rational approximations to the player's true
average. Such rational numbers are the candidates we examine, the numera-
tors providing us with possible numbers of hits, and the denominators
being the corresponding numbers of at-bats. The continued fraction ex-
pansion of 0.263 is given below:
263
0.263 = - = (0; 3, 1,4, 17,3).
1000
The corresponding sequence of partial quotients is
1/3, 1/4, 5/19, 86/327, 263/1000.
We insert the intermediate fractions and obtain
1/1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 2/7, 3/11, 4/15, 5/19, 6/23, 11/42, 16/61, 21/80,
26/99, 31/118, 36/137,41/156,46/175,51/194, 56/213, 61/232,
66/251, 71/270, 76/289, 81/308, 86/327, 91/346, 177/673, 263/1000.
Of these, only 5/19 and those from 21/80 on give quotients which round
off to 0.263. However, since 5/19 appears in the list, this prevents the occur-
rence of other forms of the same fraction, and so we should also include
10/38, 15/57, and so on. In any case, we now have all the possible combina-
tions of hits and at-bats that give a percentage of 0.263. If you have additional
information-such as the fact that the player is a little-used pinch-hitter, or
that it is still early in the baseball season-this might be enough to conclude
that the player must have had five hits out of nineteen times at-bat. Of course,
with such advance knowledge we wouldn't have bothered to carry the listing
of the fractions out so far, but would have terminated our list when the
denominators became sufficiently large to take care of the maximum possible
number of at-bats.
As a second example, suppose that you know that in a certain class of no
more than sixty students, an instructor's final grade distribution was given as
A's: 10.8%
B's: 24.3%
C's: 37.8%
D's: 8.1%
F's: 18.9%
68 The well-tempered clavichord 3.5
Suppose that you wish to find exactly how many students were in the class.
Consider first only the percentage of students receiving "A" grades. We
find the continued fraction expansion of this number as follows:
108 = 0 + _1_
1000 1000
108
=0+ 1
9 + 28
108
= 0 + __I _
I
9+-
108
28
=0+ _ _1_ _
9 + 1
3 + 24
28
= 0 + __1__
9 + 1
3 +~
7
=0+ 1 _
9 + - -1- -
3 + 1
1
1 +-
6
or
(0; 9, 3, 1, 6).
Now 28 is too small a denominator, since the corresponding decimal does not
round off to 0.108, and 250 is too large, since the denominator represents the
class size and there are no more than 60 students. So any other possible
approximations that round off to 0.108 can only be found among those
intermediate fractions immediately after 3/28 and those immediately after
4/37.
But there are no intermediate fractions between 3/28 and 4/37, and the
first one after 4/37 is (0; 9, 3, 1, 1) = 7/65, which we reject since its denomina-
tor is too large. The following intermediate fractions can have only larger
denominators, hence we are already finished. In effect, the only fraction
with denominator between 1 and 60 which does round off to 0.108 is 4/37.
Thus we know that there must have been 37 students in the class, and that
four of these students received "A" grades.
Exercises
3.36 Repeat the preceding example, using the "B" grades instead. You
should obtain a continued fraction in the form (0; 4, 8, 1, 2, 9) for 0.243,
and 9/37 the only admissible ratio.
3.37 Repeat the preceding example, using the "C" grades. You should
obtain two admissible fractions, 14/37 and 17/45.
3.38 Do this example again, this time using the "D" grades. You should
obtain only one admissible fraction.
3.39 Repeat the example using the "F" grades. You should obtain more than
one admissible fraction.
3.40 If you repeat Exercise 3.36, altering it only in that as many as 150
students may have been in the class, what results do you obtain for the
number of students that mayor must have been in the class?
3.41 If a baseball player's batting average at the end of a season is 0.338,
what is the minimum number of times he could have batted (that is, what is
the minimum number of official at-bats)?
3.42 Use the definition of limit given in Exercise 3.32 to prove that your
guess as to the limit of the sequence
1, 1/2, 1/3, 1/4, 1/5, 1/6, ...
is correct.
3.43 The value of a continued fraction has been defined as the limit of its
sequence of partial quotients. How could one analogously define the "sum"
of an infinite series such as
1 + 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + 1/16 + ... ?
70 The well-tempered clavichord 3.6
3.44 What is your guess as to the sum of the infinite series given in the
previous exercise?
3.45 How would you prove that your answer to the previous exercise is
correct?
3.6 HARMONY
We are finally ready to turn our attention to the musical scale. A vibrating
string sets up corresponding vibrations in the air about it, vibrations which
are perceived as sound if they are sufficiently, but not excessively, rapid.
The human ear is usually capable of perceiving vibrations between thirty
and seventeen thousand hertz (the currently approved term for "cycles per
second"), although at the extremes only fairly loud sounds can be heard.
It was known to the ancient Greeks that the frequency of such a vibrating
string is inversely proportional to its length, all other pertinent factors
(tension, density, diameter, ... ) remaining the same. That is, doubling the
length of a string produced a frequency half that of the original string; to
triple the frequency it would be necessary to use a string one-third the original
length. In addition, it was probably known to the Greeks that a vibrating
string of length (say) twelve inches also vibrated to a certain extent as if it
were two six-inch strings joined at the middle, as well as three four-inch
strings, and so on. This phenomenon, which occurs in different proportion
with different musical instruments, is known as the production of the higher
harmonics of the so-called fundamental frequency of the vibrating string,
and it follows that the frequencies of these harmonics are the whole number
multiples of the fundamental frequency. See Fig. 3.4 for an indication of the
way in which the higher harmonics are produced. It is the production of
these higher harmonics in different proportions by the various orchestral
instruments that enables a composer to create music of such wide ranges of
sound. The particular combination of harmonics is one of the main reasons
why a violin sounds different from a saxophone.
It also follows that if two strings are set in simultaneous vibration and
the length of one is twice the length of the other, then the various harmonics
match up, producing a pleasant (or at least a nondissonant) effect. For in this
case the first harmonic of the longer string would be the fundamental
frequency of the shorter, and all higher harmonics would have frequencies
equal in pairs. However, though not unpleasant, the sound of two such
tones is not a very rich sound. You can produce such a harmony by striking
any two notes one octave apart on a properly tuned piano.
It must have been discovered early in the history of music that if two
strings were simultaneously plucked, and the length of the second was two-
thirds the length of the first, a pleasing harmony resulted. The shorter string
produces a frequency three-halves that of the longer one, and many of the
3.6 Harmony 71
Fundamental
Second harmonic
~---~
Third harmonic
Fourth harmonic
............... :;7_
Fifth harmonic
higher harmonics are equal in frequency. The mixture of two such tones
gives a richer sound than can be obtained from the harmonics of a single
string, as you can hear by comparing the sound of middle C on the piano
together with the G immediately above it with the sound produced by two
notes an octave apart. (The pitch of this G is, however, not precisely three-
halves that of middle C, but only very close to this ratio-later in this chapter
we shall see why this is so.)
Finally, the Greeks also discovered a principle which has come to be
known as the Law of Small Whole Numbers: If the ratios of the lengths of
two plucked strings could be expressed using small whole numbers, such as
2 : 1 in the case of an octave or 3 : 2 in the case of a fifth, then the sounds
were harmonic rather than dissonant. But as the numbers needed to express
such ratios become larger, the sounds become more dissonant; the ratios of
4 : 3 and 5: 4 produce harmonies which most people find quite pleasant,
whereas only the most avant-garde composers might consider that a 37 : 29
ratio produces a harmonious sound.
We may now speculate about the origin of our present twelve-tone scale
system so widely used in our Western culture. If you will refer again to Fig.
3.1 at the beginning of this chapter, you will see that X # would be the
black key of the piano immediately above the white key X. There is no black
key between E and F, nor is there one between Band C, and so a musician
would interpret E # to mean F and B # to mean C.
If we have information about the frequencies of the notes in a single
octave, we may use this information to find the frequencies of every other
note on the piano, for each other note is some whole number of octaves
above or below one of these, and its frequency may be found by the ap-
propriate amount of doubling or halving the right one in our first octave.
Finally, it is common to tune middle C to about 256 hertz, but this fact need
concern us no further.
After a brief excursion into the art of tuning a piano, we will be able
to continue our study of the origins of the twelve-tone system.
Exercise
3.46 Strike the key middle C on a piano, while holding down the key C'
(the C one octave above middle C), and release middle C immediately. You
will hear C' sounding its natural frequency, showing that this frequency is
one of the harmonics of C. Can you find which other keys show the same
behavior, and make a table of the higher harmonics of middle C in terms of
the other notes on the piano. Hint: Of course, C' has twice the frequency of
C, and C" (the C immediately above C') has four times the frequency of C,
and so on. So, for example, you would look for the third harmonic of middle
C somewhere between C' and C".
3.7 Tuning a piano, old style 73
The frequency of C', the last to be obtained and the last in the above list,
should give us the value v if divided by two, since C' is one octave above
middle C, our starting point. Thus
(1/2)7(3/2)12 v == v.
We may cancel out v, and obtain next
{1/2)7(3/2)12 - 1.
When we simplify this equation, we get
312 == 2 19 .
But this last equality is impossible, since 312 is odd but 2 19 is even. This
shows that it is impossible to have all the fifths on a piano tuned exactly
so that the frequency ratio in each is exactly 3 : 2. Of course, one could tune
middle C to the correct frequency v and then tune all the other C's on the
piano to the correct multiples of v. Then one could tune G above middle C
to the frequency (3/2)v (this can be done quite easily by ear alone with the
aid of a little experience), and then set all the other G's by that one. Proceed-
ing in this manner, one would finally obtain the frequency {1/2)6(3/2)11 V
for the F above middle C, and then all the other F's could be tuned accord-
ingly. All the fifths would have exactly the correct ratio except for one-the
fifth from F to C. Here the ratio would be a little less than 1.48 rather than
1.5, quite enough difference to sound very peculiar. Pianos were tuned in
this fashion for many years (actually, in Europe, this method of tuning
disappeared about the same time as the harpsichord did), and the interval
between F and C was known as the Wolf Interval, because wolves howl;
this was an allusion to the howling higher harmonics of the two notes, few
of which came anywhere near matching up, thus producing a number of
dissonances.
Of course, if one were to playa composition in which the notes F and C
were used as little as possible, as in a piece written in the key of B major,
the Wolf Interval would be avoided and the music would sound quite good.
(If you wished to compose in C, though, you would have to have your
piano retuned so as to place the Wolf Interval on another, little-used, fifth.)
However, transposition, changing the key of a piece by moving all notes up
or down a fixed amount, was impossible in the modern sense, for various
harmonic ratios would be changed by transposition. The key of composition
was sufficiently important to composers of the seventeenth and eighteenth
centuries so that they commonly included it in the titles of their works.
Exercises
3.47 Repeat the argument of this section, using a seven-tone scale system,
and thus show that it is also impossible to have all fifths in exactly a 3 : 2
3.7 Tuning a piano, old style 75
----
1 .J7+2
.J7 - 2 (.J7 - 2)(.J7 + 2)
.)7 + 2
-
7 - 22
.)7 + 2
-
3
Thus
r 1
-v7 = 2 + /
-v7 + 2
3
Since 2 < .J7 < 3, it follows that 4 < .J7 + 2 < 5, and so
4
-<
5 .J7 + 2 <-
333
or
O< .J7+2 < 1.
3
76 The well-tempered clavichord 3.8
Hence
,fi=2+
1 +
J .
7 - 1
3
If you continue this process, eventually a repetition will set in; you will
find that
../7 = 2 + 1 _
1
1 +------
1
1 +-----
1+ 1
2 + ../7
Hence ../7 = (2; 1, 1, 1,4, 1, 1, 1,4, 1, 1, 1, 4, ... ). Repeat this process in
order to find the continued fraction expansion of ../i
last one tuned, to be in the same ratio. Rather than having a piano with one
howling interval, we would have a piano with twelve, but each of these twelve
wolves would howl so quietly and only at such high harmonics that they
would be undetectable except to electronic instruments or to an uncommonly
well-trained ear.
Avoiding the Wolf Interval was one of the reasons brought forth to
support well-tempering, but another must surely have had wide appeal:
Because all the intervals (not just the fifths) would have fixed ratios on a well-
tempered piano, transposition becomes possible. A piece written in C #
could be played in D or in G without changing any of the harmonic ratios,
and only a person with a well-developed sense of pitch could tell the difference.
The effect of transposition would be the same as if the piece were recorded
at 33t rpm and played back slightly faster or slower. And with the possibility
of transposition, vocal music becomes much easier to write and to sing.
This advantage of well-tempering must have been an important factor con-
tributing to its eventual adoption; for adopted it was, and is now used on
virtually all pianos. And perhaps we have answered the second question
raised at the beginning of this chapter, by showing one reason for the com-
position of the Wohltemperiertes Klavier.
The drawback to well-tempering is, of course, that none of the harmonies
other than octaves are "perfect." As we have seen, a fifth is tuned with the
higher note about 1.498 307 times the frequency of the lower, rather than
1.5 exactly. We now turn to the third question mentioned at the beginning of
this chapter. Would further improvements in the scale system be possible,
and how might they be accomplished? Should it be possible, by changing the
number of notes in an octave from twelve to some other number, to well-
temper a piano, but have the ratios of the fifths much closer to 1.5 than they
are at present? It seems likely. Theoretically we could have 1200 notes in an
octave rather than 12, and the fifth might be better approximated by striking
two notes 702 half steps apart rather than the 700 which would correspond
to the sound of the twelve-tone fifth. Of course, the technical difficulties
involved in the construction of such an instrument, to say nothing of the
problem of playing the monstrosity, appear intimidating; but perhaps we
do not need so many notes in order to improve the ratios of the fifths. Well,
we seem to be asking for a "next best approximation," and this brings us
back to the methods of continued fractions.
Exercises
3.51 It was mentioned in this section that in well-tempering, the ratio of the
fifths is 1.498 307 rather than 1.5 exactly. How was this number obtained?
Hint: See Exercise 3.49.
3.52 Any scale system that improves fifths will also improve fourths-pairs
of notes five half steps apart in the twelve-tone system, with an ideal (but not
78 The well-tempered clavichord 3.9
log (3/2)
x----
- log 2 .
3.9 Improving the octave 79
log (3/2) 1
----
log 2 log 2 '
log (3/2)
1
x=----
log (3/2)(4/3)
log (3/2)
1
------
1 + log (4/3)
log (3/2)
1
x=------
1 + 1
1 + log (9/8)
log (4/3)
= 2 + log (256/243) .
log (9/8)
Thus we obtain for the third stage of our continued fraction expansion of x
the following:
1
x = ----------
1
1 + ----- ----
1 + 1
2 + log (256/243)
log (9/8)
80 The well-tempered clavichord 3.9
Exercises
3.56 It was stated in this section that the continued fraction expansion of the
solution x of 2X = 3/2 is
x = (0; 1, 1,2, 2, 3, 1, 5, 2, 26, ... ).
But only the first four numbers were found by computations shown in the
text. Verify that the next two are correct.
Notes and references 81
3.57 This is a very long problem. If you find the continued fraction ex-
pansion of the solution y of 2Y = 5/4, you will be able to find what number of
notes in an octave would produce better approximations to the "perfect
third" ratio of 1.25 (see Exercise 3.53) than are possible in the usual twelve-
tone scale system. With luck, one of these solutions might also produce
better fifths. Find the next larger number of notes after 12 which will improve
thirds. If possible, find the next larger number of notes after 12 which will
improve both fifths and thirds.
3.58 Think of an argument against the well-tempering system of tuning a
plano.
3.59 This is a highly speculative problem. All you have to do is think about
it, or perhaps discuss it. The human eye perceives just about an "octave"
of the spectrum of radiation frequencies, and it has been customary for
centuries to think of this "octave" as made of seven "notes": red, orange,
yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet. Why seven? Is there a theory of color
harmony lurking about somewhere? Is the division of the spectrum into
seven colors a cultural phenomenon, or is there a good physical or math-
ematical reason for it? Note that 4/7 is a good approximation to the solution
of 2X = 3/2. Do any cultures have twelve color names, or five, or forty-one?
3.60 Can a violinist play perfect fifths? Explain your answer.
GROUP
THEORY
Example 4.1 Consider first the set W of all whole numbers, positive, negative,
and zero, together with the single operation of ordinary addition. This
operation is said to be closed with respect to the set W, for if m and n are
two whole numbers then so is m + n. In other words, we cannot get outside
the set W using the operation of addition.
(m + n) + p = m + (n + p).
82
4.1 Some examples of groups 83
Since we are dealing only with the operation of addition, this law is a great
convenience-it permits us to neglect parentheses in many cases, and we shall
do so. To put it another way, the value of an expression such as
m+n+p
is independent of either choice of placement of parentheses, and hence is
unambiguous.
Third, there is one element of W, namely 0, with the property that if m
is any element of W whatsoever, then
o+ m = 0 = m + O.
For this reason the number 0 is called an identity element of the set W with
respect to the operation of addition. We must say "an" identity element, for
it is conceivable that there might be others. Also, if we were using a different
operation (such as multiplication) the identity element might well be some
other element of W.
Finally, with the existence of an identity element assured, we may speak
of an inverse of an element of W. In this example, each element of W does
have an inverse; that is, given an element m in W, there does exist at least one
element m' of W such that
m' +m= 0 = m + m'.
The element m' is called an inverse for m; again, it is conceivable that an
element has more than one inverse. In this particular case, m' is of course
just the so-called additive inverse - m of the whole number m.
To summarize, then, as Example 4.1 we have a pair (W, +) consisting
of a set W, a binary operation "+" on W, such that the operation is closed
and associative, W contains an identity element 0 with respect to this opera-
tion, and each element of W has an inverse with respect to this operation.
Example 4.2 For our second example, we begin with an equilateral triangle
in the plane. The elements of the set G that will form our group are going to
be the congruence motions of this triangle. There are a number of different
ways in which an equilateral triangle is congruent to itself, and the motions
that produce such congruences will be the elements of the group-not the
triangle itself; the triangle has been introduced for accounting purposes
only, to keep track of the effect of each congruence motion.
Three such motions are shown and labeled in Fig. 4.1. The motion which
has the effect of rotating the triangle one-third revolution clockwise will be
denoted by S. The motion of rotating the triangle one-third revolution
counterclockwise will be denoted by R, and the motion (if we may be per-
mitted use of such a term in this last case) of no movement at all will be
84 Group theory 4.1
a a
b~---~c b~---~c
b c
denoted by I. If we are prohibited from moving the triangle out of the plane,
these are all the possible motions. Now we have a set containing three rather
ususual elements, the motions I, R, and S; in order to have a group we need
an operation on this set, and so before we consider other possible motions
of the triangle, let us see how we are going to define the necessary operation.
We shall always refer to our group operation as multiplication, except
when we happen to be using ordinary addition as in Example 4.1. To con-
tinue with this analogy, we shall write the product of the two group elements
x and y as x· y or even simply as xy. In the present example, we define the
multiplication of congruence motions in the following manner. Given
motions x and y, the product xy is that motion which has the net effect of
first doing x, then doing y. In Fig. 4.2, we have indicated the product of R
with itself, and we see that RR = S, since the net effect of first doing one
rotation one-third revolution counterclockwise and then another, has the
same effect on the triangle as a single rotation one-third revolution clockwise.
You can also see with the aid of figures similar to Fig. 4.2 that IR = R,
RS = I, and so on.
4.1 Some examples of groups 85
c
b----~c
----~b
Fig.4.2 Products
of congruence
motions: R . R = S. c~----~a
If we are allowed to lift the triangle out of the plane in order to perform
congruence motions, three more motions become possible, as shown in
Fig. 4.3. We have called one of these motions by the name A because the
vertex labeled a of the triangle does not move as a consequence of this
motion, one which amounts to rotation of the triangle about the bisector
of the angle with vertex at a. For similar reasons Band C have received their
names.
The important thing to remember about this operation of "multiplica-
tion" of congruence motions is that the motion A does not mean to put the
triangle into the configuration shown as a consequence of the motion A in
Fig. 4.3, but means to rotate the triangle about its vertical axis, regardless of
the names pasted on its vertices. Similarly, the motion R does not mean to
put the triangle with the vertex labeled c at the top, a at the lower left, and b
at the lower right, but simply means to rotate the triangle one-third revolu-
tion counterclockwise.
86 Group theory 4.1
a a
A
..
b c c b
!c
b ~ c
If you wish, you might now cut an equilateral triangle from cardboard
and label its vertices a, b, and c (on both sides of the cardboard), and then
you can discover, for example, that AR = C, BC = S, and so on. We can
summarize such information about this mathematical system by saying that
the set of objects which will form the group consists of the six motions I, R,
S, A, B, and C; the multiplication is defined as above; and a "multiplication
table" for this system is shown below.
I R S A B C
I I R S A B C
R R S C I B A
S S I R C A B
A A C B I S R
B B A C R I S
C C B A S R I
This multiplication table is interpreted in the following way: The first
element of the product XY appears in the leftmost column, the second in
the topmost row, and the product XY itself is in the "obvious" place in the
body of the table. With the aid of this table we can examine this mathematical
4.1 Some examples of groups 87
system for those same four properties we abstracted from Example 4.1, the
example of whole numbers with the operation of ordinary addition.
First, since each entry in the body of the table is in fact an element of the
set G = {I, R, S, A, B, C}, we have the desired closure property. That is,
if X and Y both belong to the set G, then so does their product XY.
Next, the operation is associative for a simple, though perhaps subtle,
reason: Both (XY)Z and X( YZ) mean, in effect, first do X, then do Y, and
then do Z. This is the interpretation no matter which way the parentheses
are placed, and the net effect on the triangle will be the same in either case.
Hence for all elements X, Y, and Z of the set G, (XY)Z = X( YZ). Thus
the operation is associative.
The appearance of a row identical to the topmost or guide row-that
is, the appearance of the row with the element I at its left-and the appearance
of a column identical to the left-most column show us that
IX = X = XI
for all elements X of G, and hence the element I of G is an identity for this
operation.
Finally, the appearance of the identity element I at least once in each
row and column assures us of the existence of inverses for each element of G;
to find, for example, the inverse R' of the element R, locate I in the row to the
right of R in the body of the table. Then find the element at the head of that
column; in this case, the element is S, and so we know that RS = 1. We
verify also that SR = I, and hence S = R', the desired inverse of R, and
similarly R = S' as well. If the other elements of G are also checked, you
will find that for each congruence motion X, there is a congruence motion
X' such that
X'X = I = XX'.
Thus each element of G has an inverse in G.
There are thus four properties common to Examples 4.1 and 4.2. These
are just the properties that will lead us to the definition of group. If we denote
the multiplication in G by ".", then we have seen that in both the system
(W, +) and the system (G, .), the operation is closed and associative, an
identity exists with respect to this operation, and each element in the system
has an inverse in the system. However, there is very little else shared by
these two examples. For instance, the operation in (W, +) is commutative-
m + n = n + m is true for all values of m and n in W; but in the system
(G, .), RA = B whereas AR = C. Thus the order in which group elements
are multiplied is important, and we cannot assume without prior knowledge
that a given operation is commutative.
Also, the set W is infinite while the set G is finite. The system (W, +)
has an algebraic or numerical origin, but (G, .) has a geometric origin. Other
88 Group theory 4.1
than the four properties we have noted that they do have in common, there
is very little that appears to suggest common properties of the two systems
(W, +) and (G, .). However, it is the aim of group theory to discover those
properties which must be held in common by all (or certain classes of)
groups.
Example 4.3 H = {O, 1, 2}. Now you know what set is to be used in this
example. It remains only to define an operation, which amounts to filling in
the following table.
012
!i
We are using whole numbers for group elements here simply for con-
venience, since there may not be enough letters in our alphabet to cover all
the examples we might wish to consider. But how do we fill in this table?
We certainly cannot use ordinary addition or multiplication, for 2 + 2 = 4,
and 2·2 = 4, and 4 is not an element of H. Under these circumstances
our operation could not be closed. One way we might fill in the table is
shown below.
012
o 0 1 2
1 I 2 0
2 2 0 1
At this point you may be a little disturbed, if you are asking yourself
what this operation "is." But if you reflect a moment, you will see that you
already know everything there is to know about this operation on H; the
preceding table gives the answer to every conceivable question about the
operation, except possibly the one question that bothers many people at
this point. When they ask what this operation "is," they are really asking
how it came into being. One possible response is that this question belongs
to the realm of philosophy rather than mathematics. But mathematics
should be able to answer reasonable questions dealing with the origin and
existence of mathematical objects. So if you return to Example 4.2, and
consider only the three congruence motions in the set {I, R, S}, you can see
that the multiplication table for this subsystem is as follows.
IRS
I IRS
R R S I
S SIR
4.1 Some examples of groups 89
(1 2 3)(1 4 3),
all you have to do is follow each vertex through each of these motions to find
out where it finally ends up. Take the vertex in position 1. After applying
(1 2 3) to the tetrahedron, this vertex lies in position 2. Then, after applying
(1 4 3), the vertex in position 2 does not move. Hence the net effect of the
product
(1 2 3)(1 4 3)
Exercises
4.1 Verify that Example 4.4 is an example of a group. Note: The associa-
tivity provides the only difficulty. This can be established by "realization"
of the example as a group of congruence motions, by direct computation,
or by use of the Euclidean algorithm: If m and n are two natural numbers,
then there exist unique integers q and r such that n = qm + rand 0 ~ r < m.
Some careful use of this theorem will produce a proof that the group given
as Example 4.4 is associative, and in fact can also be used for Example 4.6.
4.2 You saw that Example 4.3 was really in some sense the "same" as the
group {I, R, S} of rotations of an equilateral triangle. The sameness comes
from the fact that it is possible to rename the elements of one group and
thus obtain the other group (the multiplication table, when renamed, must
4.1 Some examples of groups 93
also correspond to the multiplication table of the other group). Show that,
as stated at the end of this section, the groups of Examples 4.1 and 4.7 are
really the "same" in the above sense.
4.3 Even though the groups of Examples 4.4 and 4.5 have the same number
of elements, they are not the same in the sense of the previous exercise.
Why not?
4.4 Let a square be given in the two-dimensional plane. Name each of the
eight congruence motions of this square according to some reasonable
scheme, and exhibit the multiplication table for this system. (As usual, the
product of two motions is to be the motion that has the net effect of first
doing one, then the other.) Show that this system is a group.
4.5 Let (G, .) be an arbitrary group. Show that G cannot contain two
different identity elements; that is, if e andfare two elements of G such that
ex = x = xe,
and
fx = x = xl,
for all elements x of G, then e = f
4.6 Let (G, .) be an arbitrary group. Show that each element of G has only
one inverse; that is, show that if x is an element of G, and y and z are elements
of G each of which acts like an inverse for x, then y = z. Your first line of
the proof might well be:
"Let x be an element of G, and suppose that y and z are elements of G
such that
yx = e = xy,
and
zx = e = xz,
wx = x
for some (not necessarily all) x in G. Prove that w must be the identity of G.
94 Group theory 4.1
4.10 Let M = {O, I}. Find all possible ways to fill in the multiplication
table shown below so as to make M into a group.
o I
4.11 Let H = {O, I, 2}. Find all possible ways to fill in the multiplication
table shown below so as to make H into a group. For simplicity, you should
assume that in any case, 0 is to be the identity for the resulting group.
012
4.12 Verify that the system shown in Example 4.5 actually is a group.
4.13 Of the examples considered in this section, some have a commutative
operation (xy = yx is always true) and some do not (xy = yx is sometimes
false). List those groups for which the operation is commutative and those
for which it is not.
4.14 See Exercise 4.13. Is there a way that one can decide if a group opera-
tion is commutative by simply looking at the group's multiplication table?
4.15 Write down the complete multiplication table for the group T given
in Example 4.10.
4.16 Show that, in the multiplication table for a group, each element of the
group appears exactly once in each row and column (excluding, of course,
the guide row and guide column).
4.17 See Exercise 4.16. Fill in the multiplication table shown below in such
a way that 0 is an identity element for the operation, each element appears
exactly once in each row and column, but the resulting system is not a group.
What must go wrong?
o I 234
o
I
2
3
4
04.18 Besides ordinary addition and multiplication, there are numerous other
associative operations on the set R of all real numbers. Verify that the
operation # defined by
x#y=x+y+1
4.2 Subgroups 95
for all real numbers x and y is associative. See if you can find three other
associative operations on R. We ask that these operations be closed, but
not necessarily so chosen as to make R into a group.
4.19 An operation on a set S is said to be cancellative provided that both the
following are true:
4.2 SUBGROUPS
Consider the subset
U = {I, (l 2)(3 4), (l 3)(2 4), (1 4)(2 3)}
of the group T given in Example 4.10. One would generally expect a subset
of a group not to be a group in its own right if the same operation were used;
one thing that might go wrong would be that the subset does not contain an
identity (which would have to be the same as the identity of the original
group). However, the subset U shown above does contain the identity of T.
Another difficulty could be that the subset is not closed under the operation
used in the group. We test U for closure by writing down its multiplication
table as follows:
I (l 2)(3 4) (l 3)(24) (l 4)(2 3)
I I (l 2)(3 4) (l 3)(24) (l 4)(2 3)
(l 2)(3 4) (l 2)(3 4) I (l 4)(2 3) (l 3)(24)
(l 3)(24) (l 3)(24) (l 4)(2 3) I (l 2)(3 4)
(1 4)(2 3) (l 4)(2 3) (1 3)(24) (l 2)(3 4) I
We see immediately from this table that not only is the operation closed
with respect to U, but also each element of U has an inverse in U. Since the
operation is automatically associative on U, U together with the operation
previously defined for T becomes a group in its own right. Under such
circumstances U is said to be a subgroup of the group T, and the formal
definition is given next.
H is said to be a subgroup of the group G provided that H is a subset
of G and (H, .) is a group, where the operation is the same as that in the
group G.
96 Group theory 4.2
As mentioned in Exercise 4.8, since each group element x has one and
only one inverse, we may refer to that inverse with the notation X-i. Note
that a group G is always a subgroup of itself, and that the subset {e} of G
consisting of the identity e of G alone is alse always a subgroup of G. These
two subgroups are called improper subgroups of G; all others, if any, are
called proper subgroups of G.
The order o(G) of a group G is just the number of elements in the set G.
If this set should be infinite, we say that the group G has infinite order. For
example, oCT) = 12, where T is the group of Example 4.10; the order of its
subgroup U discussed previously is 4. The group (W, +) of whole numbers
with the operation of addition provides an example of a group of infinite
order. A group consisting of a single element (which must necessarily act as
its identity) is the only possible way one can have a group of order I. For
each natural number n, Example 4.6 provides an example of a group of order
n, namely Zn. So there is at least one group of given order. There may be
more than one; see Exercise 4.3.
If you now check some examples of groups, such as the ones previously
given in this chapter, you will discover no exception to the following rule:
If G is a finite group and H is a subgroup of G, then o(H) divides o(G)
evenly. For example, the group T of Example 4.10 has subgroups of order
I, 2, 3, 4, and 12, and all of these numbers are divisors of 12, the order of T
itself. This important principle is known as LaGrange's Theorem, and be-
cause it has so many useful consequences we now provide a proof.
Theorem 4.1 (LaGrange's Theorem) If G is a finite group of order nand H
is a subgroup of G of order m, then min.
Proof. The notation min is just a convenient abbreviation for the phrase
"m divides evenly into n." Note that min is true if and only if there exists
a whole number k such that n = mk; that is, if n is an integral multiple of m.
So let G be the group of order n, and let H be a subgroup of G of order m.
Now if x is any element of G whatsoever, we can form what is called a
left coset of H in G, obtained by multiplying each element of H on the left
by x, and thus obtaining a subset of G. Our notation for the left coset of
H by x in G will be xH, and an alternate way of stating the above definition is
xH = {xh Ih E H}.
4.2 Subgroups 97
However, as a general rule, only those laws of exponents hold which involve
but one element of G; it is not in general true that if 9 and h are elements of
G, then (gh)" = g"h". There is one very useful law of exponents, though,
that does hold when two elements of G are involved:
c) (gh)-1 = h- 1g- 1.
One item worth remembering is that the two laws (a) and (b) above hold for
all integral values of m and n, positive, negative, and zero; for example, from
(b) one can derive that
mayor may not contain e, the identity of G. In our first example above, the
set does contain the identity; R 3 = I, the identity of the group of congruence
motions of an equilateral triangle. In the second example, in the group R+,
no positive power of 3 is equal to 1, the identity of R+.
4.2 Subgroups 99
{
1 2 3...
g,g,g, m ,g}
Exercises
4.21 Find three different subgroups of the group (W, +) of Example 4.1.
Does this group contain any subgroups of finite order?
4.22 Find all the subgroups of the group G of Example 4.2. Give the order
of each subgroup of G and the order of each element of G.
4.23 Does the group G of Example 4.2 consist of all positive powers of some
one of its elements? Why?
4.24 Does the group H of Example 4.3 consist of all positive powers of some
one of its elements? Explain.
4.25 Give the order of each element of the group J of Example 4.4, and the
order of each element of the group K of Example 4.5. Does this information
provide a possible method of working Exercise 4.3?
4.26 What is the order of the identity e of a group G? Do any other elements
of G have the same order as e?
100 Group theory 4.2
4.27 Does the group L of Example 4.9 contain elements of finite order other
than its identity? How many? Does the group L of Example 4.9 contain any
elements of infinite order? How many?
4.28 Does the group L of Example 4.9 contain any subgroups of order two?
How many? Does L contain a subgroup of order three? Four? Any natural
number? Does L contain any subgroups of infinite order in addition to L
itself?
4.29 Give the order of each element of the group T of Example 4.10. Is
every divisor of o(T) = 12 represented among these numbers?
4.30 Let G be a group and g an element of G of order n. Show that, for each
element x of G, x-lgx also has order n. Warning: It is not generally true
that (x-lgx)n = (x-Itgn~. Another warning: Just because y" = e, it does
not immediately follow that y has order n.
4.31 Find an example of a group G in which the equation (gh)2 = g2h 2
does not hold for all elements g and h of G.
4.32 Let G be a group in which, for each two elements g and h of G, (gh)2 =
g2h 2. Prove that G must be commutative.
4.33 Let G be a group with identity e such that x 2 = e for all elements x in
G. Prove that G must be commutative.
4.34 Let G be a group with subgroups Hand K. Prove that H (") K is also
a subgroup of G.
4.35 Can a group G contain exactly one element of order 3?
4.36 Let G be a group and a and b elements of G. Suppose that the order of
ab is finite. Prove that ba must then have the same order as abo
4.37 Let G be a group and a and b elements of G, neither the identity of G.
Suppose that as = e and aba- l = b 2. What is the order of b?
4.38 Let G be a commutative group and let H be the set of all elements x of
G such that x 2 = e. Prove that H is a subgroup of G.
4.39 Prove that if a, b, and c are elements of a finite group, then the elements
abc, bca, and cab have the same order.
4.40 Find all the subgroups of the group T of Example 4.10. What is the
order of each of these subgroups? Is every divisor of o(T) = 12 represented
among these orders?
4.41 This is how to show part (a) of the proof of LaGrange's Theorem:
If G is a group and H is a subgroup of G, then H itself is a left coset of H in
G. It suffices to find an element x of G such that xH = H. What is a reason-
able candidate for x? Show that your candidate works.
4.42 This is how to show part (b) of the proof of LaGrange's Theorem:
Any two cosets of the subgroup H in the finite group G contain the same
number of elements. Let xH and yH be two left cosets of H in G (of course,
4.2 Subgroups 101
x and yare elements of G). Then a typical element of xH has the form xh
where h is some element of H. Let p = yx- 1. Simplify pxh. Show that
pxh is an element of yH. Show that the set yH can be obtained by applying
p as a left multiplier to each element of xH. Show that this transformation
of xH into yH by application of p as a left multiplier actually sets up a one-
to-one correspondence between the elements of xH and yH. It follows that
xH and yH have the same number of elements.
4.43 This is how to show part (c) of the proof of LaGrange's Theorem:
Any two left cosets of the subgroup H in the group G are either the same,
or else have no elements of G in common. Let xH and yH be two such cosets.
If xH and yH have no elements in common, we have no more to prove.
Suppose then that xH and yH have some element of G, say g, in common.
Then 9 must have the form xh 1 for some element h 1 of H; but 9 must also
have the form yh 2 for some element h 2 of H. Hence xh 1 = yh 2. From this
equation, derive the equation y - 1 X = h 2h 11 • Then show that y -1 X must
be an element of H. Table this result for a while.
Now, to show that xH = yH, choose a typical element, say xh(h E H)
of xH, and prove that xh must belong also to yH. Use the fact that (y-1 x)H =
H, which follows from the fact that y-1 x E H (why?). Of course, a similar
proof can be used to show that each element of y H is an element of xH,
and it follows that xH = yH. Hence if two left cosets of H in G overlap,
they must be equal.
4.44 This is how to show part (d) of the proof of LaGrange's Theorem:
Each element of G belongs to some left coset of the subgroup H in G. Let
9 be an arbitrary element of G. What is a reasonable candidate for the left
coset xH to which 9 might belong? Show that, for your choice of x, 9
actually does belong to xH.
4.45 Show that, in a group G with elements 9 and h, (gh) - 1 = h - 19 -1 .
4.46 Show that each element of a finite group has finite order.
4.47 Let G be a finite group, and 9 an element of G of order m. Let H
consist of the first m powers of g; that is,
H = {g1, g2, g3, ... , gm}.
Show that H must be a subgroup of G. Hint: You may use the fact that for
each natural number n, the group Zn of Example 4.6 actually is a group.
4.48 With respect to the previous exercise, show in addition that o(H) = m.
Hint: Clearly, o(H) ~ m. What would happen if o(H) < m?
4.49 Let G be a finite group. Show that there exists a fixed natural number
k such that, for each element 9 of G, gk = e.
4.50 Let G be a finite group of even order. Prove that G must contain an
element of order 2.
102 Group theory 4.3
Therefore G is Abelian.
As is frequently the case in group theory, the converse of this theorem
does not hold. That is, there do exist Abelian groups which are not cyclic.
However, there is one very important class of groups which must be cyclic
merely as a consequence of their order. Recall that a positive whole number
p is said to be prime if p has exactly two natural number divisors-itself and 1.
For example, the first ten prime numbers are
2,3,5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29.
Theorem 4.4 Every group ofprime order is cyclic.
Proof Let G be a group of prime order p. Since p > 2, G contains at least
one element g not equal to the identity e of G.
4.3 Cyclic groups and Abelian groups 103
where, as we have seen, n is the order of g. Since 9 :I: e, 9 has order at least 2.
But the order n of 9 must be a divisor of p = o(G), by Theorem 4.2. Since
p is prime, its only divisors are I and p, and hence n = p.
But H also has order n = p, and hence H is a subset of G containing as
many elements as G itself does. Hence H = G. So, since each element of H
is a power of g, so is each element of G. Therefore by definition, G is cyclic.
As usual, the converse of this theorem does not hold. It does not follow
that a cyclic group must be of prime order.
Exercises
(xy)n+l = ~+1~+t,
(xy)n+2 = ~+2yn+2.
4.72 Prove that if Hand K are two normal subgroups of the group G and
have only the identity of G in common, then every element of H commutes
with every element of K. That is, if hE Hand k E K, then hk = kh. See
Exercise 4.67.
4.73 Let G be a finite group of order n, where n is not 1 and n is not prime.
Prove that G must contain at least one proper subgroup.
4.74 (Azriel Rosenfeld) Prove that a group with only finitely many sub-
groups must be finite.
4.75 (Mira Bhargava) Prove that the union of two subgroups of a group is
itself a subgroup if and only if one of the two original subgroups contains
the other.
4.76 (F. M. Sioson) Prove that any semigroup in which x 2y = y = yx 2
for all its elements x and y must be a group. See Exercise 4.61.
4.77 (W. A. McWorter) Let G be a group of order n 2 and H a subgroup of G
of order n. Prove that for each element x of G, H () x- 1 Hx contains more
than one element. See Exercise 4.63.
4.78 (Michael Gemignani) Let G be a group with identity e and A a subgroup
of G such that (G - A) u {e} is also a subgroup of G. Prove that either
A = {e} or A = G. Note: G - A is the subset of G consisting of those
elements of G not belonging to A.
4.79 (Alan Schwartz) Let G be a finite Abelian group of order n. Then n is
odd if and only if each element of G is a square. (The element 9 of G is a
square if 9 = h 2 for some h E G.)
4.80 (Erwin Just and Mary R. Embry) Let G be a group in which no element
has order 2. Prove that if (xy)2 = (yX)2 for all elements x and y of G, then
G must be Abelian.
4.81 (W. A. Donnell) Let S be a semigroup satisfying the cross-cancellation
law. Prove that S is both Abelian and cancellative. Need S be a group?
See Exercises 4.20 and 4.61.
4.82 This and the next three exercises deal with one of the major theorems
about homomorphisms. A homomorphism cp: G --+ H is just a function cp
from the group G to the group H that "preserves the group operations"-
that is, for each two elements g1 and g2 of G,
CP(g1g2) = [CP(g1)] [CP(g2)]'
Of course, the operation between the square brackets is the group operation
in H. The image I of such a homomorphism cp: G --+ H is the set of elements
h of H such that
h = cp(g)
where I denotes the image of cp. Show that () is then also a homomorphism,
and that in fact () is both one-to-one and onto (see Chapter 7 for definitions
of the last two terms).
POLYHEDRA
108
5.1 The definition of polyhedron 109
may alter the truth of the statement of the theorem. Hence it is quite important
that the things about which these theorems are proved are defined precisely,
not out of any innate desire for precision, but from the need for accuracy.
Although you may be quite sure that you know what is meant by a "solid
polyhedron in three-dimensional space," someone else may well have a
definition that encompasses a wholly different set of objects. So the problem
arises of formulating a definition of such objects, merely for purposes of
communication alone. Of course, it would be preferable if the resulting
definition were exactly in accord with every man's preconceived notion of the
term defined, but this is not essential and is frequently impossible. For
example, you may well feel that a polyhedron ought to be connected-that is,
come in a single lump rather than several-but you could easily imagine
how one could defend an alternative definition in which polyhedra were not
required to be connected.
If there were in the literature of Qlathematics a single and well-established
definition o(the term "polyhedron," it would be the one used here; but since
there is not, we may define this term as we choose so long as, for practical
reasons, our definition is reasonably close to the commonly accepted meaning
of the term. So we choose a definition close to the common meaning, but
suited to the purposes of this chapter.
What we seek is a way of defining a solid three-dimensional object, a
subset of three-dimensional space bounded by "flats" with straight edges,
and connected so as to assure that the object "comes in a single piece."
Since we must begin with some primitive or undefined terms, we assume as
given and understood the terms "point," "line segment," and "plane" of
ordinary euclidean geometry. Part of the definition of polyhedron will
involve the notion of a polygon, so first we rephrase the definition of
"polygon" as given in Chapter I.
A polygon is a plane figure of finite area bounded by a finite number of
straight-line segments with the property that each endpoint of each line
segment is in fact the endpoint of exactly two of the line segments, and such
that each two such line segments meet, if at all, in a single common endpoint
of each. Finally, each polygon is to be connected, and so is the boundary
of each polygon-that is, the condition that the polygon be connected means
that
a) For each two points x andy within the polygon, there is a polygonal
line L with endpoints x and y lying entirely within the polygon.
And the condition that the boundary of each polygon be connected
means that
b) For each two points x and y on the boundary of the polygon, there is a
polygonal line L with endpoints x and y lying entirely within the boundary
of the polygon.
110 Polyhedra 5.1
I I I
I I I
I I I I Fig. 5.8 A polyhedron with a hole
I I I I
)--~ I ~ running all the way through.
/ I II
/ I I I
/ I II
1 ..... ""1
/--_----..Lc--~
/
5.1 The definition of polyhedron 115
I! I
I I 1
I
I (
I 1
I I \ I
I \ I
I I \ 1
/
J----1I "I 1--
I
/ I I I
I I : I
/ 1 I I I
I I 1/\1
----j(t \1
/
Fig. 5.9 The polygonal closed
------
/
curve in the boundary does not / ..... .... --_~ .....
/ ,.-
separate the boundary. /
Exercises
5.1 Draw a map of connected countries requiring four colors for a "proper"
coloring-one in which two countries that have a boundary segment in
common must be colored differently.
5.2 Is there a solution to the previous exercise in which only four countries
are drawn? Why?
5.3 Can each of the countries drawn in Exercise 5.1 be shaped like a
rectangle? Explain your answer.
5.4 Can each of the countries drawn in Exercise 5.1 be square? Give a
reason for your answer.
5.5 Suppose that a map of countries is drawn in which each vertex lies on
the boundary of exactly four countries. How many colors are needed for a
proper coloring of such a map? Can you prove this?
5.6 Draw a map of connected countries on the surface of a sphere-use a
tennis ball if you wish. Consider each country to be a "face," each boundary
segment between two vertices to be an "edge," and each point where three
or more boundary segments meet to be a "vertex." Let F be the number of
faces, E the number of edges, and V the number of vertices. Evaluate the
number V - E + F. Repeat this experiment a number of times.
5.7 Repeat the previous exercise, but use a torus-a figure shaped like a
doughnut-instead of a sphere. Use only countries that have connected
boundaries.
5.8 What happens in the previous exercise if some countries do not have
connected boundaries?
5.9 Why was it required in the definition of "polyhedron" that a polyhedron
have finite volume?
5.10 A subset of three-dimensional space is said to be convex provided that
each two points of the set can be joined by a straight-line segment lying
entirely within (or on the boundary of) the subset. Must a convex polyhedron
be 2-connected? Must a 2-connected polyhedron be convex? Explain.
5.1 The definition of polyhedron 117
I
I
I
I
I
r------
//
Fig.5.11 The boundary of a cube in /
three-dimensional space.
/'
I \
I \
I \
I \
I \
I \
I \
The value of V - E + F is the same for this triangle as it was for the net
of K, but since a triangle has V = 3, E = 3, and F = I, the value of V -
E + F is 3 - 3 + 1 = 1. Thus the value of V - E + F must also be 1
for the net of K. Now K itself has the same number of vertices and edges,
and one more face, than its net, so the value of V - E + F for K must be 2.
This establishes Euler's Formula: for any 2-connected polyhedron,
V - E +F= 2.
Exercises
fewer edges. Hint: For each natural number n, let Fn be the number of
countries that have exactly n edges. Suppose that a map such as the one
mentioned above has no country with five or fewer edges. Then
F1 = F 2 = F3 = F4 = F s = 0,
and
F6 + F7 + Fs + ... = F.
Moreover, since each vertex lies on exactly three edges, 3 V = 2E. Finally,
the number of edges in the map can be counted as follows: For each country
with six edges, we count all the edges and get 6F6 • Similarly, we count the
edges using countries with exactly seven edges, and get 7F7 • The total
number of edges counted in this fashion is then
6F6 + 7F7 + 8Fa + ...,
and this process counts each edge exactly twice, so
2E = 6F6 + 7F7 + 8Fa + ,
> 6F6 + 6F7 + 6Fa + .
= 6F.
Now you have the following three relationships:
V - E +F = 2,
3V = 2E,
2E > 6F.
Does this lead to a contradiction?
5.24 Figure 5.16 shows a map of countries on an island. Prove that this
map cannot be colored with only three colors in such a way that adjacent
countries are colored differently.
5.25 Suppose the Martians have divided their planet into two countries,
one occupying the Northern hemisphere and called Northia, and one
occupying the Southern hemisphere and called Southia~There is then a single
boundary edge, the Martian equator. Does Euler's Formula hold for this
sort of map? If not, what convention about boundary edges is necessary
to make the formula valid?
more general result. It turns out that the metric or geometric properties are
not in themselves what prevent the existence of a sixth regular solid, but
merely the numerical relationships between the numbers V, E, and F.
Theorem 5.1 There can be no more thanfive regular solids.
Proof. Suppose we have a regular solid; that is, a 2-connected polyhedron
with the property that the same number of edges meet at each vertex, and
such that each face is bounded by the same number of edges. The latter
condition means that we are actually considering figures that are much more
general than regular solids, for in a regular solid not only is each face bounded
by the same number of edges, but in fact each face is congruent to a fixed
regular polygon. But we shall show, nevertheless, that there can be but five
such figures, and it then follows that only five regular solids can exist.
Since the number of edges incident at each vertex is the same, let us
denote this number by p; similarly, let q denote the fixed number of edges
bounding each face. Let us first count the number of edges by multiplying
the number p incident at each vertex by the number V of vertices; we obtain
p V. But since this process counts each edge twice, we find that
pV = 2E.
qF = 2E.
5.3 Regular solids 125
Using the above two equations, we express each of E and Fin terms of V,
and we obtain
E = pV and F = pV.
2 q
pV pV
V--+-=2
2 q ,
or
2Vq - pqV + 2pV = 4q.
v= 4q
2p + 2q - pq
Now V is a positive whole number, and so is 4q, so that the last denominator
must be positive. That is,
2p + 2q - pq > 0,
or
pq - 2p - 2q < o.
We next add 4 to both sides of this last inequality in order to make it
possible to factor the left-hand side, and we get
pq - 2p - 2q + 4 < 4,
which, when factored, becomes
(p - 2)(q - 2) < 4.
Our definition ofpolyhedron implies that each face has at least three bounding
edges and that there are at least three edges incident at each vertex. Thus
each of p and q is no less than 3. Hence both p - 2 and q - 2 are positive
whole numbers, and their product is less than 4. The only possibilities are
these:
p = 3, q = 3: The tetrahedron
p = 4, q = 3: The octahedron
p = 3, q = 4: The cube
p = 5, q = 3: The icosahedron
p = 3, q = 5: The dodecahedron
126 Polyhedra 5.3
v = 4q ,
2p + 2q - pq
E = pV
2 '
F = pV.
q
Exercise
5.26 We have shown in Theorem 5.1 that there can be at most five regular
solids, but the theorem does not show that the five solids actually exist.
Some very careful work with blocks of wood, solid geometry, and a bandsaw
may make it seem very likely that all five do exist, but there is a difficulty.
No matter how carefully the bandsaw is used, and no matter how carefully
you measure lengths and angles, there is always the possibility that the figure
you have constructed is almost, but not quite, regular, since errors in lengths
and angles may be beyond the limits of physical measurement.
Suppose you were given eight equilateral and congruent triangles, and
were asked to prove that these can be assembled to form the boundary of a
regular octahedron. It would not be difficult to show that the first seven
could be matched up, each edge coinciding with another edge in most cases,
but then you would have the problem of showing that the last triangle would
exactly fit the triangular hole left in the constructed figure. This would
probably involve some very difficult solid analytic geometry and all sorts of
lengthy equations. Can you think of a way to prove the last triangle would
fit without all this agony? Then proceed to prove the existence of the other
four regular solids.
5.4 A converse of Euler's Formula 127
V + 4 ~ 2F < 4V - 8.
This inequality says, roughly, that the number of faces must be a little more
than half the number of vertices, but not quite so much as twice the number
of vertices. If you wish, you may convert the above inequality to the alter-
native form
F + 4 -~ 2 V -~ 4F - 8.
This shows that there is some symmetry hidden in the original inequality.
Later we will show a more natural geometric interpretation of this inequality.
We state Steinitz's result as a theorem and proceed with its proof.
Theorem 5.2 Let V, E, and F be three positive whole numbers. Then there
exists a 2-connected polyhedron with V vertices, E edges, and F faces if and
only if both of the following relations hold:
V - E + F = 2,
V + 4 ~ 2F :s 4V - 8.
This is called an "if and only if" theorem, for we must really supply
two almost independent proofs for the two theorems that Theorem 5.2 really
is. First we have to show that if K is a 2-connected polyhedron, then both the
above relations hold. Then we must show that if the numbers V, E, and F
satisfy both the above relations, then there exists a 2-connected polyhedron
K with the corresponding numbers of vertices, edges, and faces. The second
part will be a constructive proof; that is, we will show how one actually would
go about building the needed polyhedron. But the first part is much easier,
and so that is where we begin the proof.
128 Polyhedra 5.4
Fig. 5.17
A cut of type A.
a ------I b
\ v I
\ I
\ I
\ I
\ I
\ I
\ I
\ I
\ I
\ I
\ I
\ I Fig. 5.18
\ I
c A cut of type B.
" \
\
vertices of P. Cut along the plane determined by a, b, and c, and discard the
small tetrahedron with vertices v, a, b, and c.
Cut of Type B: See Fig. 5.18. Let P be a 2-connected polyhedron and v a
vertex of P where exactly three edges meet. Choose two points a and b,
one on each of two of these edges, and much closer to v than to the other
vertices of P. Let c be the vertex other than v on the third edge incident at v.
Cut along the plane determined by a, b, and c, and discard the small tetrahe-
dron with vertices v, a, b, and c.
Cut of Type C: Let P be a 2-connected polyhedron and v a vertex of P
where exactly three edges meet. Let a be a point on one of these edges much
closer to v than to the other vertices of P, and let band c be, respectively, the
vertices of P other than v on the other two edges incident at v. As indicated
in Fig. 5.19, cut along the plane determined by a, b, and c, and discard the
small tetrahedron with vertices v, a, b, and c.
In each case, a new vertex will be formed at the point a, and it is easy to
see that exactly three edges must be incident at this vertex. Hence if we use
only cuts of the three types described above, and begin with a tetrahedron,
we shall always have available at least one vertex where exactly three edges
meet. So this cutting process can be continued as long as we please. More-
over, it should be at least intuitively clear (though it is not difficult to prove)
5.4 A converse of Euler's Formula 131
_~~ ~-- I I
~-- I
....- I
a \- II
\ v I
\ I
\ I
\ I
\ I
\ I
\ I
Fig. 5.19
A cut of type C. \\ I
/
\ I
c
\ /
'.
,,
,,
Hence, under the right conditions, a cut of type C will increase the number of
faces by one without changing the number of vertices.
Note that we do not care what happens to the number of edges as a
result of any of these cuts, for the following reason: When we: finally succeed
in constructing a polyhedron K with the desired number of vertices and
faces, the number of edges will take care of itself because Euler's Formula
must hold for K.
Now we are ready to proceed with our construction of the polyhedron
K, which is to have Vvertices, E edges, and Ffaces. We begin with a tetrahe-
dron, which has four vertices, six edges, and four faces. Suppose first that
V = F. In this case, simply apply F - 4 cuts of type B. The number of
vertices and faces of the tetrahedron will then each be increased by F - 4,
so the resulting polyhedron will have 4 + (F - 4) vertices, or F vertices.
But in this case, V = F, so that the resulting number of vertices will be V,
as desired. Moreover, the resulting polyhedron will have 4 + (F - 4) = F
faces, also as desired. As we mentioned earlier, the value of E takes care of
itself, as in any case E = V + F - 2.
The second possibility is that F < V. If so, first apply to the tetrahedron
2F - V - 4 cuts of type B and then V - F cuts of type A. Again, it is not
hard to verify that the resulting polyhedron does indeed have V vertices and
Ffaces.
Finally, the only complicated case: that in which V < F. Here we must
use cuts of type C, but we must make sure that such a cut is applied only to a
5.4 A converse of Euler's Formula 133
12 • • • • • • •
11 • • • • • •
10 • • • • • •
9 • • • • •
:::::. 8 • • • • •
.....0
CIl
7 • • • •
Q.l
::J
6 • • • • • •
co
> 5 • • • • • • •
Fig. 5.21 The graphical 4 • • • • • • • •
interpretation of the formula
V + 4 ~ 2F ~ 4V - 8.
3 • • • • • • • •
2 • • • • • • • • •
1 • • • • • • • • • •
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
(Values of F)
vertex where three edges meet such that, of the three faces also incident there,
at least one has four or more edges. We do so as follows: We apply one cut
of type B followed by one of type C, using for the second cut one of the new
vertices formed by the cut of type B. It is not hard to see that a cut of type B
will always produce at least one new face with four or more edges, and that
one of the new vertices created on the edges of this face will be a vertex
where exactly three edges meet. So we use this vertex for the next cut of
type C.
We perform this process of first applying a cut of type B, then a cut of
type C, exactly F - V times. This is possible since V < F. After this process
is completed, we next apply exactly 2 V - F - 4 cuts of type B. Again, it is
easy to verify that the resulting polyhedron does have exactly V vertices and
F faces, as desired. This concludes the proof of Steinitz's Theorem.
Exercises
5.27 The graph shown in Fig. 5.21 shows plotted dots, each representing
a possible value pair for V and F. The two lines are the graphs of
V + 4 = 2F,
and
2F = 4V - 8.
134 Polyhedra 5.5
The shaded region between the lines represents possible value pairs for V
and F for which a polyhedron can exist; outside this region none can exist.
Why?
5.28 The proof of Steinitz's Theorem shows how one may begin with a
tetrahedron and construct a polyhedron with given values of V and F.
Note that the tetrahedron itself is represented by the point of intersection
of the two lines shown in Fig. 5.21. Give a geometric interpretation of the
construction in Steinitz's Theorem with the aid of Fig. 5.21.
5.29 Show that the application of a cut of anyone of the three types used in
the proof of Steinitz's Theorem to a convex polyhedron produces a convex
polyhedron. See Exercise 5.10. As a consequence of this exercise and Exercise
5.10, the construction used in the proof of the second part of Steinitz's
Theorem works because each polyhedron used is convex. Why is this enough
to make the construction work?
5.30 If a 2-connected polyhedron has 20 edges, what is the maximum number
of vertices it can have? What is the minimum number?
5.31 Verify that a cut of type A does indeed increase the number of vertices
of a polyhedron by two and the number of faces by one.
5.32 Verify that a cut of type B does indeed increase the number of vertices
of a polyhedron by one and the number of faces by one as well.
5.33 Verify that application of a cut of type C in the proper place on a
polyhedron does increase the number of faces by one without changing the
number of vertices.
5.34 In the proof of Steinitz's Theorem, where the polyhedron K is con-
structed, it is shown only for the case V = F that the constructed polyhedron
actually has the desired number of vertices and faces. Verify that the values
of V and F also come out right in the other two cases, the cases of F < V
and V < F.
5.35 To continue the previous exercise, how many cuts are actually needed
to produce the polyhedron K from a tetrahedron? Your answer should be in
terms of the number F of faces that K is supposed to have.
map requiring five colors, nor has anyone ever been able to prove that four
colors are sufficient for every possible map. This appears to be a very difficult
problem.
However, in what should be a more complicated case, the problem has
been solved. We refer to the case of a map on the surface of a torus. Actually,
the problem has even been solved for a number of other surfaces as well,
including the Mobius strip and the surface of a two-hole torus. It seems quite
strange that the problem has not been solved in what really ought to be the
simplest case of all-the case of the plane or sphere (the two are equivalent
problems). We present next the proof that the answer to the coloring problem
for the torus is seven; that is, that every map on the surface of a torus can be
colored with seven or fewer colors, and that there do exist maps that require
seven colors. Of course, we always refer to a proper coloring, in which
adjacent countries have different colors; moreover, in the case of maps on
the torus, we require not only that each of the countries be connected, but
also that each has connected boundary and that no country encircle the torus
in either of the two possible fashions. We could really eliminate these last
conditions by a simple device, but we will make these assumptions for
simplicity.
As you might expect, it will first be necessary to derive Euler's Formula
for a torus. Let a map of countries be given on a torus, subject to the con-
ditions mentioned above. As in Fig. 5.22, draw a circle around the torus
the short way, avoiding vertices, and passing through a country no more than
once. Remove the countries and boundaries crossed by this curve. This
operation will decrease the values of F and E for this map by the same amount,
136 Polyhedra 5.5
Theorem 5.3 Each map of connected countries each with connected boundary
on the surface of a torus can be colored with seven or fewer colors.
Proof The theorem is clearly true for a map consisting of seven or fewer
countries. Suppose it is.false for some value of F larger than seven: Then
there is a least such value of F for which the theorem is false; and so, letting
that value be itself denoted by F, there is a map on a torus with F countries
that cannot be colored with seven colors. Remember that F is the smallest
number for which we are supposing the theorem to be false, so that for
example, any map with F - 1 countries can be colored with seven colors.
We have a map of F countries on the surface of a torus, and this map
requires eight or more colors for a proper coloring. We next adjust this map
so that only three edges meet at each vertex. One way to do this is shown in
Fig. 5.24, in which a few edges are moved slightly to one side or the other.
This will increase the value of V and E, but F will not be changed.
Since three edges meet at each vertex, for this adjusted map we can
multiply the number of edges at each vertex by the number of vertices, and
obtain the number 3 V. This counts each edge twice, hence
3V = 2E,
or
6V = 4E.
Also, for this map
V - E + F = 0,
and so
F= E- V,
so that
6F = 6E - 6V.
138 Polyhedra 5.5
Fig. 5.25
Annexation of a
cou ntry by its
neighbors.
previously. Hence our coloring with seven colors will also work for the
original map. This contradicts the assumption that the map could not be
colored using only seven colors, and hence our supposition that the theorem
was false is itself a false assumption. Thus the theorem is"true, and we have
completed the proof of Theorem 5.3.
All that is left is to establish the existence of a map on the torus that
actually does require seven colors for a proper coloring. One such, using
in fact only seven countries, is shown in Fig. 5.26. This figure requires some
explanation. It is too confusing to draw a view of a semitransparent torus
on a two-dimensional piece of paper and try to show the various countries.
What appears in Fig. 5.26 is instead a recipe for building such a torus; or,
if you prefer, a set of directions for painting such a map on the surface of an
old inner tube. If you make a copy of Fig. 5.26 on a flat but flexible rectangle
of paper and glue together the two long sides of the rectangle, you will have a
long cylinder. Then glue together the ends of the cylinder; you will obtain
a torus. Hence, in Fig. 5.26, opposite sides of the rectangle are to be thought
of as attached, and so a country such as number 2 (for example) has a com-
mon boundary with country number 7. You can verify that each of the seven
countries actually shares a boundary with each of the other six. We have
drawn the figure, for simplicity, so that the sides of the rectangle are also
boundaries of countries, except for the four corners, all of which belong to
country number 1.
140 Polyhedra 5.5
This example, together with Theorem 5.3, shows that the map-coloring
number for the torus is indeed seven. The example shows that seven colors
are necessary; the theorem shows that more are unnecessary.
Exercises
5.36 Each face of a certain regular solid is a pentagon, and exactly three
edges meet at each of its vertices. Use the techniques of this chapter, but not
the results of Theorem 5.1, to find the possible number of faces such a figure
can have.
5.37 Suppose that a map on the surface of a torus has II vertices and each
country has three edges. How many countries can there be? Why?
5.38 What is the value of V - E + F for the Mobius strip? (See Exercise
5.13.) Prove that your answer is correct.
5.39 What is the map-coloring number for the Mobius strip? Hint: Use
Exercise 5.38.
5.40 A map on the surface of a sphere consists of pentagons and hexagons
attached as shown in Fig. 5.27. Note that:
a) five hexagons surround each pentagon;
b) three pentagons and three hexagons alternate, surrounding each hexagon;
c) each vertex necessarily lies on exactly three edges; and
d) not all of the map is shown in Fig. 5.27.
5.5 Map coloring 141
I
I
I
,,
\
142 Polyhedra 5.5
Find how many pentagons and hexagons there can be. Hint: Let P
denote the number of pentagons and H the number of hexagons. Then
P + H = F, where F is the number of faces; and, as usual,
V-E+F=2.
5.48 The situation involved in describing "regular solid tori" is in one way
simpler, in another way more complicated, than in the case of the sphere.
Assume that a map on the surface of a torus consists of a number of countries
such that
a) each country has connected boundary,
b) each vertex lies on the same number d > 3 of edges, and
c) each country has the same number n > 3 of sides.
(This is in analogy to the case for the ordinary regular solids.) Use the torus
formula
V-E+F=O
to show that there are only three possibilities for the shapes of the countries:
triangles, quadrilaterals, or hexagons.
5.49 Show that at least one map for each of the three possibilities of the
previous exercise exists.
5.50 Show that-in continuation of the previous two exercises-more than
one map of each of the sorts discovered can exist. In fact, infinitely many
exist, of each type, and thus there are infinitely many "regular tori"; in-
finitely many are composed of triangular countries, infinitely many of
rectangular countries, and infinitely many of hexagonal countries.
A complete proof of the Five-Color Theorem for the sphere and plane
may be found in Sherman Stein's Mathematics: The Man-Made Universe,
second edition (Freeman, 1969), in the chapter on map-coloring.
The great Swiss mathematician Leonhard Euler was born in Basle in
1707. He was one of the most productive of all mathematicians, continuing
his research even after he became totally blind in his sixtieth year until his
death seventeen years later. He spent most of his life either at St. Petersburg
(Leningrad) or at Berlin, under the sponsorship of royalty, and contributed
to mechanics, the calculus of variations, the three-body problem, number
theory-indeed, to virtually every branch of mathematics. His interests
were not restricted to mathematics. In his stay in Russia he developed a
mathematical theory of investment (out of which our present theory of
annuities grew), wrote most of the mathematics textbooks for the Russian
school system (he was a superb textbook writer), and reformed the Russian
system of weights and measures.
The four-color problem is not so old as most people think. The best
evidence we have is that Francis Guthrie (later a professor of mathematics)
asked one of his teachers at University College, London, for a proof that
four colors were sufficient to color any map in the plane. The teacher, who
was the well-known mathematician Augustus de Morgan, communicated
this problem to his colleague, the famous Sir William Rowan Hamilton, in a
letter written in 1852. Apparently the problem did not formally appear in
print until about 1878; at that time incorrect proofs were published by Kempe
and Tait. P. J. Heawood found the flaw in Kempe's proof, and published in
1890 a paper showing how Kempe's proof could be modified to show that
five colors are sufficient.
Last-minute note: The author has just received a copy of the paper
"The Four Color Theorem," by Professor Emeritus (of Duke University)
Joseph Miller Thomas. In this paper Dr. Thomas states that each map on the
sphere can be properly colored using no more than four colors, and gives
a proof of some twelve printed pages. Perhaps this century-old problem
has finally been solved.
CHAPTER 6
INFINITE
SETS
Imagine a hotel with so many rooms that it takes all the positive whole
numbers to number the rooms. That is, the hotel has its rooms numbered
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, ... , without any largest room number. If the hotel is filled with
guests, one in each room, it might seem difficult to provide space for an
additional guest. But should such an extra guest arrive at the hotel, a clever
room clerk can arrange for this guest to have a room to himself with only
minor inconvenience to the other guests: The room clerk can request the
guest in room 1 to move to room 2, the guest in room 2 to move to room 3,
and in general request the guest in room n to move to room n + 1. He can
then assign the new guest to room 1. The hotel is still full, all the guests still
have private rooms, and the new guest has been accommodated.
In order to repay all the other guests for their courtesy, the new guest
devises a scheme for improving the financial status of each. He posts a large
sign in the hotel lobby directing each guest in rooms numbered 1 through 10
to deliver one dollar to the guest in room 1, each guest in rooms numbered
11 through 20 to deliver one dollar to the guest in room 2, each guest in rooms
numbered 21 through 30 to deliver one dollar to the guest in room 3, and in
general, each guest in rooms numbered IOn + 1 through IOn + 10 to
deliver one dollar to the guest in the room numbered n + 1. (The number n
is supposed to take on all positive whole number values.) Now this is no
great inconvenience, for each guest need make no more than one trip, and the
net result is that each guest receives ten dollars while paying out one, thus
making a profit of nine dollars. Actually, our clever friend in room 1 does
best of all by this scheme, for he receives nine dollars just as everyone else
does, but he does not have to do any walking.
Of course, this plan will not work properly unless each guest has at least
one dollar to start with-but if some do not, there is still a way to handle the
145
146 Infinite sets 6.1
problem. Suppose we have the extreme case in which the guests in the odd-
numbered rooms have no money, but all the others have at least one dollar.
The guests in the even-numbered rooms could then be directed thus: Each is
to deliver one dollar to the guest in the room with the number half his room
number. Then the guest in room 2 would deliver a dollar to the guest in room
1, the guest in room 4 would deliver a dollar to the guest in room 2, and in
general the guest in room numbered 2n would deliver a dollar to the guest
in the room numbered n. You can easily verify for yourself that each guest
in an odd-numbered room receives one dollar, and each guest in an even-
numbered room pays out and receives one dollar. Thus there would be no
change in the financial status of the guests in the even-numbered rooms, while
each guest in an odd-numbered room would now have one dollar. Then the
original scheme proposed above could take place without any difficulty.
The reason that such peculiar manipulations are possible is of course
due to the fact that we are dealing with infinite sets-the hotel has infinitely
many rooms as well as infinitely many guests, and infinitely many dollars
are involved in the financial transactions. However, in spite of the apparent
contradictions involved here, we hope to show you that such phenomena
are natural-even common-when one deals with infinite sets. Throughout
much of the following material, the central idea is the concept of a one-to-
one correspondence between two sets. With this concept we will be able to
compare the numbers of elements of two infinite sets because it turns out to be
quite possible that one infinite set actually contains "more" elements than
another. The basic tools are some ideas about sets and functions.
6.1 SETS
By a set we mean a collection of objects, thought of as a whole. The objects
which make up the set are called the elements of the set.
We do not pretend that the above comprises a definition, at least in the
formal sense that previous definitions have been given in this book. Any
attempt to define a term requires the introduction of other more primitive
terms, and so it is easy to see that some terms must be taken as absolutely
primitive-their meaning assumed clear. However, it is helpful in such cases
to attempt to give synonyms and examples. For the term "set," which we
take as such a primitive term, we can supply a large list of synonyms. Some
of these could be "class," "collection," "aggregate," "conglomerate," or
just "bunch." We will soon give several examples, and ask you to use your
powers of abstraction. One final note: In the next section we shall encounter
the same problem with the definition of the term "function."
It is not necessary that the elements of a set have any particular property
in common. For example, it makes sense to talk of the set whose four elements
6.1 Sets 147
are the first two words on this page, the number 6, and the moon. But we do
ask two things:
First, that of any object potentially the member of a set under considera-
tion, it is at least theoretically possible to determine whether or not that
object belongs to the given set. In the above example, it is possible for you to
determine whether or not the word "however," or the positive square root of
36, or the eighth largest body in the Solar System, belongs to the set mentioned.
Second, we also require that we can at least theoretically tell apart any
two objects which do belong to a given set. One reason for this is that we will
follow the convention that objects of a given set are not to be listed in that
set more than once; otherwise, in the material which follows, we would run
into difficulties in counting the number of elements of a set. For example,
if W is to be the set whose elements are the first president of the United
States and George Washington, we want the list of elements of W to contain
only one entry, so that we can say that W contains one element.
These two considerations-that a set should be sufficiently well defined
to tell what its objects are and to tell them apart-are probably quite in
accord with your intuitive notion of what a set is, but they are also important
considerations for those mathematicians who study logic and the foundations
of mathematics.
There are basically two ways to specify a set. One method might be called
the listing method. One simply writes down the elements of the set. This
method is quite useful for sets with only a small number of objects or elements,
but if the number of elements is large (or if the set is infinite) we must resort
to the ellipsis:
A = {I, 2, 3, 4},
B = {l, 2, 3, 4, , lOO},
C = {I, 2, 3,4, }.
When the elements of a set are listed, the list is enclosed in braces for clarity.
The set A above consists of the first four positive whole numbers; B consists
of the first one hundred positive whole numbers; C consists of all the positive
whole numbers. It is certainly possible to tell whether or not any given object
is a positive whole number, and given two positive whole numbers it can be
decided whether or not they are equal. Thus these three examples satisfy
the two criteria previously mentioned.
As an alternative to the listing method for specifying a set, we can use the
descriptive method.
D = {x I x is a positive whole number}.
We read this notation as follows. As soon as you see the first brace on the
left, you realize that you are about to encounter a set, and you should think
to yourself "The set of," or "The set consisting of ...." The next word is
148 Infinite sets 6.1
"x ¢ C" translates as "The object x is not an element of the set C" or
"x is not an element of C."
In the example of the set C given above, two true statements using this
notation are
2EC and -3¢ C.
DEC and 17 ¢ C.
Finally, using this symbol E and the set C, we can use the descriptive notation
for the sets
A = {I, 2, 3, 4},
and
B = {I, 2, 3, 4, ... , loo},
S u T = {x I XES or XE T}
150 Infinite sets 6.1
We can also form the intersection of Sand T, consisting of all elements com-
mon to Sand T; that is,
Since it may happen that Sand T have no elements in common, it turns out
to be convenient to accept the notion of the so-called empty set, denoted by
0, which contains no elements. Thus, for example, if
S = {x I x is an even integer}
and
T = {x I x is an odd integer},
then
S fl T = 0.
In the examples below, let
A = {I, 2, 3, 4},
B = {I, 2, 3, 4, , loo},
C = {I, 2, 3, 4, },
S = {... , - 4, - 2, 0, 2, 4, 6, ... },
and
T = {... , - 3, -I, I, 3, 5, 7, ... }.
Example 6.1 The following are true statements:
5 ¢ A, 5 ¢ S,
5 E B, 5 E T,
5 E C, 5¢0·
Example 6.2 The following are true statements:
A c B, S ¢ T,
Be C, o c S,
C ¢ S, T¢ C.
Au B = B,
A u C = C,
SuT=W,
where W is the set of all whole numbers.
6.1 Sets 151
u u
A ns A US
Exercises
6.4 In drawing Venn diagrams involving three sets A, B, and C, they should
overlap as shown in Fig. 6.2 so as to allow for all possibilities of the various
intersections of these sets. Of course, it is possible that no elements lie in
some region, such as B n C, but it does no harm to let Band C overlap.
Shade in the following sets in two copies of Fig. 6.2:
A n (B u C),
and
(A n B) u (A n C).
6.5 Your result on the previous exercise should suggest that the formula
A n (B u C) = (A n B) u (A n C)
holds for all sets A, B, and C. The picture is, of course, no substitute for a
formal proof, but it can serve as a guide for construction of such a proof.
One way to invent such a proof is to choose an arbitrary element, say x,
from the set A n (B u C) and show that x must necessarily belong to the
set (A n B) u (A n C). Then one would choose an arbitrary element x
(there is no harm in using the same symbol as before) from the set (A n B) u
6.1 Sets 153
(A n C) and show that x must also necessarily belong to the set A n (B u C).
These two proofs would show that, in order,
A n (B u C) c (A n B) u (A n C),
and
(A n B) u (A n C) cAn (B u C).
Hence by the definition of equality of sets,
A n (B u C) = (A n B) u (A n C).
Provide the necessary details of this proof.
6.6 The previous exercise should remind you of the distributive law of
multiplication over addition, which holds in the real number system. If
a, b, and c are real numbers, then
a' (b + c) = (a' b) + (a ·c).
Addition does not distribute over multiplication in the real number system;
that is, it is generally false that
a + (b' c) = (a + b)' (a + c).
However, union of sets does distribute over intersection, for given sets
A, B, and C, it is true that
A u (B n C) = (A u B) n (A u C).
Please prove this.
6.7 The previous two exercises suggest that there is a formal "algebra" of
sets much as there is an algebra involving addition and multiplication of real
numbers. You may verify as many of the set-algebraic properties listed
below as you wish. Capital letters stand for sets.
A = A.
If A = B, then B = A.
If A = B and B = C, then A = C.
If A c B and Be C, then A c C.
A cA.
o cA.
A u A = A = AnA.
A u B =
B u A, and A n B = B n A.
(A u B) u C = A u (B u C).
(A n B) n C = A n (B n C).
ou A =A A = 0.
and 0 n
A u (B n C) = (A u B) n (A u C).
A n (B u C) = (A n B) u (A n C).
154 Infinite sets 6.2
6.8 In the above list of properties of the algebra of sets, one can make an
analogy with the algebra of real numbers, interpreting A, B, and C as real
numbers, intersection as multiplication, and union as addition. What role
does 0 play in this analogy? How good is the analogy? How do you in-
terpret the relation of set-inclusion?
6.9 We define A - Bas
A - B = {x E A I x ¢ B}.
Draw a Venn diagram, similar to the ones shown in Fig. 6.1, to illustrate
the set A-B.
6.10 Let A, B, and C be sets. Prove that
A - (B n C) = (A - B) u (A - C).
See Exercise 6.9.
6.11 Continuing the ideas in the previous exercise, discover and prove valid
a formula resembling the one above for A - (B u C).
6.12 How would you define
Ai u A 2 U A3 U A4 U "',
and
Ai n A 2 n A 3 n A 4 n "',
where, for each natural number n, An is a set?
6.13 Prove the formula
A - (B l n B 2 n B 3 n B 4 n ... )
= (A - B l ) u (A - B 2 ) u (A - B 3 ) u (A - B 4 ) u ....
6.2 FUNCTIONS
Even if the concept of "set" is of first magnitude in the galaxy of math-
ematics, so is the concept of a "function."
Let A and B be sets. A functionjfrom A to B is a rule which assigns to
each element of A one and only one element of B. We writej: A -+ B, call
A the domain off, and B the range off. If x is an element of A, and y is that
6.2 Functions 155
f(a) =F feb). Butfis not onto, because for each real number x, 2x is positive.
Although - 1 E R, the range off, - 1 ¢ [m(f). The graph of the function f
of this example is shown in Fig. 6.3.
Example 6.7 Let f: R ~ R by f(x) = x 3 - x. The graph off is shown in
Fig. 6.4. Again, f is a function, but f is not one-to-one, since 1 and - 1 are
both numbers in the domain off, but although 1 =F - 1, f(1) = 0 = f( - 1).
However,fis onto, since given a number y in the range off, there does exist
at least one value of X in the domain off for which y = x 3 - x; that is,
y = f(x).
y-axis
function from
RtoR.
=======-------i------------ x-axis
y-axis
--------,,e----"k--------,,e--------- x-axis
158 Infinite sets 6.2
Then I is not a function, for there is at least one number-namely O-in the
domain ofI to which no value in the range is assigned by f
Example 6.9 This is another example of a non-function. Again, let the
domain and range each be R. Let I assign to each irrational number the
value 17. Given a rational number, express it as a fraction a/b. Then f
assigns to this rational number the value a + b.
This is not a function, because there are equal numbers in the domain
to which are assigned unequal numbers in the range. For example, 1/2 =
2/4, but/O/2) = 3 ¥: 6 = f(2/4).
Example 6.10 This is our last example of a non-function. Let the domain
be the set R of all real numbers, and the range be the set [0, 1] of all real
° °
numbers between and 1 (including and 1). Let f have the rule f(x) =
2x + 3. Then/is not a function, for although the number 12 is in its domain,
f(12) is technically undefined-but in any case, the only "value" f(12) could
have, according to the rule off, is 27, and 27 does not belong to the range of
f. Hence f does not assign to the number 12 in its domain any value in its
range.
so that
and hence
=2. y - 3 +3
2
= (y - 3) + 3 = y.
6.2 Functions 159
Hence given the number y in the range off, there does exist a value of x-
namely, x = (y - 3)/2-such that f(x) = y and x does lie in the domain
R off Hence f is also onto, and thus by definition is a one-to-one corres-
pondence from R to itself.
If f: A ~ B is a one-to-one correspondence from the set A to the set B,
there is then naturally associated with this function another function
g: B ~ A according to the rule
g(y) is that element x of A such thatf(x) = y.
The function 9 is called the inverse of the function f, and is sometimes
denoted by f - 1.
Exercises
6.16 We give here another primitive term, that of ordered pair, by which an
equivalent definition of "function" can be given. The ordered pair (a, b)
160 Infinite sets 6.2
consists of two objects a and b together with the idea that a is the first, and
b the second, in the pairing.
The Cartesian product A x B of two sets is defined as follows:
A x B = {(a, b) I a E A and bE B}.
A familiar example of an application of the above concept is the ordinary
coordinate system for the two-dimensional plane used in analytic geometry.
One forms the Cartesian product R x R, and then a is the so-called x-
coordinate, and b the y-coordinate, of the point (a, b) E R x R.
We can provide an alternate but equivalent definition of the term
"function." Let A and B be sets. A function f from A to B is a subset of
A x B such that
a) for each x E A, there exists y E B such that (x, y) Ef; and
b) if (x, y) Efand (x, z) Ef, then y = z.
If f is a function in the sense of this definition, and (a, b) Ef, does our
old notationf(a) make sense? What is the value of f(a)?
6.17 Give an example unlike Example 6.6 of a function f: R -+ R that is
one-to-one but not onto.
6.18 Give an example unlike Example 6.7 of a function f: R -+ R that is
onto but not one-to-one.
6.19 Give an example unlike Example 6.11 of a functionf: R -+ R that is a
one-to-one correspondence from R to R.
6.20 Findf- 1 for your example above.
6.21 The open interval (- (nI2), n12) of all real numbers between - (nI2)
and nl2 can be thought of as a set of angles in radian measure, and with this
domain and with range R, the rule f(x) = tan x gives a function that is a
one-to-one correspondence from ( - (nI2, n12) to R. The graph off is shown
in Fig. 6.5. Sketch the graph off-I.
6.22 Let A and B be sets, and f a one-to-one correspondence from A to B.
Prove that not only is f- 1 a function with domain B and range A, but also
thatf- 1 is a one-to-one correspondence from B to A.
6.23 Let A be a set. Construct a one-to-one correspondence from A to
itself. Hint: This problem is very easy.
6.24 Let A, B, and C be sets, and letf: A -+ Band g: B -+ C be functions.
As indicated in Fig. 6.6, we can go directly from A to C by a new function,
called the composition off and g, which we construct as follows. We denote
this function by {g(f)}, and define {g(f)}: A -+ C according to the rule
{g(f)}(x) = g(f(x)).
Verify that {g(f)} : A -+ C is indeed a function.
6.2 Functions 161
y-axis
-(1T/2)
Fig. 6.6
The composition
o
{g( f) } of the
functions ( and g. {g(f)}
162 Infinite sets 6.3
6.25 Using the notation and definitions of the previous exercise, verify that
if each off and g is one-to-one, then so is {g(f)}.
6.26 Using the notation and definitions of Exercise 6.24, prove that if each
off and g is a one-to-one correspondence from its domain to its range, then
{g(f)} is a one-to-one correspondence from A to C.
6.27 Continuing the previous exercise, find a formula for {g(f)} -1 in terms
off- 1 and g-l.
6.28 See Exercise 6.24. Let f: R --+ R by f(x) = x 2 , and let g: R --+ R
by g(x) = x + 1. To be equal, two functions must have the same domain,
the same range, and the effects of their rules must be the same, in that if x
is in their common domain, then f(x) = g(x). Are the functions f and g
given in this exercise equal functions? Why?
6.29 Using the functions f and g of the previous exercise, find {g(f)} and
{f(g)}. Are the latter two equal functions? Explain your answer.
6.30 Let f: A --+ B be a one-to-one correspondence from the set A to the
set B, and let g = f-l. Show that {g(f)}(x) = x for all x E A and that
{f(g)}(x) = x for all x E B.
whose elements are all the positive whole numbers. But in order to show that
N is in fact an infinite set, it is necessary to show that N =1= 0 (which is easy)
and that there can exist no one-to-one correspondence between N and any
set of the form {I, 2, 3, ... ,n}. This is likely to be a formidable task, for
one must show for infinitely many different values of n that no such one-to-
one correspondence can exist. Moreover, it is also quite difficult to prove at
this point the obvious, necessary fact that the two sets {I, 2, 3, ... , n} and
{I, 2, 3, ... , m} can be put into one-to-one correspondence if and only if
m = n. In the next section we shall provide the Cantor-Schroeder-Bernstein
Theorem, an almost indispensable tool in dealing with problems of this sort.
Exercises
° °
6.40 Show that the set (0, I) of real numbers between and I (not including
or I) can be put into one-to-one correspondence with the set R of all real
numbers. Hint: In Exercise 6.21, an example was given of a one-to-one
correspondence between the set ( - (nI2), n12) and the set R. If you can show
that (-(nI2), n12) and (0, I) can also be put into one-to-one correspondence,
then it will follow (why?) that (0, I) and R can also be put into one-to-one
correspondence.
Assuming that you have established a one-to-one correspondence, say f,
from (0, I) to R, can you now show the existence of a one-to-one corres-
pondence from [0, I] to R? ([0, I] = {x E RIO ~ x ~ I}.) How?
Fig. 6.7
The hypotheses of the
Cantor-Schroeder-
Bernstein Theorem: The
functions are one-to-one.
• • • •
• • • •
• • • •
c
s T
(recall that 0 is an even number) and Sr: contains those elements of S with an
odd number of parents. See Fig. 6.8.
Similarly, we divide Tup into three mutually exclusive subsets as follows:
Too = {y E T I y has infinitely many parents}.
Tu = {y E T I the ancestry of y begins in S}.
~ = {y E T I the ancestry of y begins in T}.
We emphasize that Too, Tu' and Tr; are mutually exclusive-the intersection
of any two is the empty set-and that T = Too u Tu u~. Hence each
element of T belongs to exactly one of the sets described above. Similar
remarks hold for S.
6.4 The Cantor-Schroeder-Bernstein Theorem 167
The three domains shown above are disjoint and their union is all of S;
the three ranges shown above are also disjoint and their union is all of T.
168 Infinite sets 6.4
s~ T~
•
Fig.6.9 Each function
is a one-to-one
correspondence on the
indicated subset.
w= {... , - 2, - 1, 0, 1, 2, 3, ... }
of all whole numbers, and the set X = W x W, or
In each case, the output of'P is a positive whole number, so that 'P: X --+ W
is a function. The fact that each positive whole number has a unique prime
factorization into the product of primes means that the output of'P uniquely
determines its input; or, in other words, 'P is one-to-one.
Neither $ nor'P is onto, but this does not matter. We have exactly the
situation given in the hypotheses of the Cantor-Schroeder-Bernstein Theorem.
Wand X are sets, $: W --+ X is one-to-one, so that W '" B = Im($) c X,
and 'P: X --+ W is one-to-one, so that X '" A = Im('P) c W. Hence by
the Cantor-Schroeder-Bernstein Theorem, W '" X.
170 Infinite sets 6.5
Exercises
is still infinite and nonempty, and the process can be continued. Thus for
each positive whole number m we can produce an element X m E S, and by
our construction, if j :I: m then x j :I: X m • So the set M = {x h X2' x 3 , ••. }
is a set of distinct elements of S, one for each positive whole number.
Let f: N -+ M according to the rule f(n) = X n • It is clear that f is a
one-to-one correspondence, and hence that M ,.., N. This establishes the
theorem.
The next theorem seems "obvious," but it is not easy to prove, at least
without using the Cantor-Schroeder-Bernstein Theorem.
Theorem 6.4 Every subset of a finite set isfinite.
Proof. Suppose that F is a finite set. The theorem is clearly true if F = 0,
so we consider only the case in which F ,.., {I, 2, 3, ... , n} for some positive
whole number n.
Suppose by way of contradiction that F contains an infinite subset S.
By Theorem 6.3, S contains a subset M such that N ,.., M. Let f: N -+ M
be a one-to-one correspondence from N to M.
Now {I, 2, 3, ... ,n} c N, so that, lettingf(j) = mj for eachj EN,
is a subset of M such that K ,.., {I, 2, 3, ... , n}. So K ,.., F. Also, since
K c M and M c S, then K c S.
172 Infinite sets 6.5
Theorem 6.5 No finite set can be put into one-to-one correspondence with one
of its proper subsets.
Fig. 6.10
(fJ moves w to x and x to y.
Next, y e M([). For if not, then qJ(Y) = y. But also qJ(x) = y, and cp is
one-to-one. This implies that x = y, which we have shown false. Hence
yeM([).
Also, we M([). For if not, then qJ(w) = w. But cp(w) = x by choice of
w, so that W = x since cp is a function. But then cp(x) = x, again contrary
to our choice of x. So we M([) as well.
Hence we have the situation shown in Fig. 6.10. All three ofw, x, andy
belong to M([). Also w =1= x and y =1= x (although it is possible that w = y;
however, for clarity we have shown in Fig. 6.10 the more general case in which
w =1= y). Finally, qJ(w) = x and cp(x) = y.
We modify the function qJ and obtain a slightly different function I/J as
follows:
Let I/J(w) = y.
Let I/J(x) = x.
Let I/J(z) = qJ(z) if Z =1= w and Z =1= x.
Now I/J is almost the same function as qJ; all that has been done to cp in
order to obtain I/J is to switch the values of qJ at wand x, as indicated in Fig.
6.11. Hence it is easy to see that I/J is also a one-to-one correspondence from
F to G. But let us now consider the set M "', given by
. The particular element x, previously chosen from M tp' has the property
that q>(x) =1= x; but for this element x, t/J(x) = x. So X E Mtp' but x ¢ M",.
Moreover, if v ¢ Mtp' then q>(v) = v and, in addition, v =1= wand v =1= x
since x and ware elements of Mtp. So, by definition of t/J, also t/J(v) = v.
Thus if v ¢ Mtp' then v ¢ M",.
Hence M", can contain no more elements of F than Mtp' and in fact Mtp
actually contains more elements of F than M", because x E Mtp but x ¢ M",.
But q> was chosen so that its corresponding set of points Mtp would contain
the minimum possible number of elements of F, and here we have constructed
t/J, another one-to-one correspondence from F to G whose corresponding
set M", contains fewer elements than MfP. This is in contradiction to the
choice of q>, and this contradiction establishes that no such function as q> can
exist. Therefore no finite set can be put into one-to-one correspondence with
one of its proper subsets, and the theorem is proved.
The mathematician Richard Dedekind suggested an alternative, but
equivalent, definition of what it means for a set to be infinite; the term used
is that the set is Dedekind infinite, and this means that the set can be put
into one-to-one correspondence with one of its proper subsets. Theorem
6.6 shows that this is the same property as being infinite.
Theorem 6.6 The set S is infinite if and only if Sis Dedekind infinite.
Proof. Suppose first that S is Dedekind infinite. Then, by definition, Scan
be put into one-to-one correspondence with one of its proper subsets. By
6.5 Properties of finite and infinite sets 175
• • • • • • • •••
1234567···
Exercises
6.55 Use the ideas developed in the previous two exercises to show that if
each of B 1 , B 2 , B 3 , ••• is a denumerable set, then so is the set
B = B1 U B2 U B3 U .••.
6.56 An equilateral triangle of side length 2 is drawn in the plane, and five
points are selected within this triangle. Prove that some two of these points
must lie within distance I of each other. Hint: Use the Dedekind Box
Principle.
6.57 Prove that at least one pair of people in Atlanta, Georgia have the same
number of hairs on their heads.
6.58 Show that the sets
{I, 2, 3, ... , n}
and
{I, 2, 3, ... , m}
can be put into one-to-one correspondence if and only if m = n.
6.59 Prove that if F is a finite set and S is an infinite set, then S '" S u F.
6.60 So far, every infinite set has turned out to be denumerable. Do you
believe that every infinite set is denumerable? For example, let P be the set
of all polynomials with whole number coefficients. Is P denumerable? Hint:
See Exercise 6.55.
Now ex does not appear anywhere in the right-hand column, for the
decimal expansion of ex differs in at least one place from any of the numbers
listed in the right-hand column. But ex has a decimal expansion, and thus is
indeed a real number. This contradicts the fact that! is onto. Hence R is
nondenumerable.
As you have seen, we count by means of one-to-one correspondence.
For example, if the set A can be put into one-to-one correspondence with the
set {I, 2, 3, ... , n}, then we say that the set A contains n elements. If A ,..., 0,
then we say that A contains no, or zero, elements. The numbers 0, 1, 2, ... ,
that we use in counting the finite sets are called finite cardinal numbers. In
fact, if we consider the collection of all sets that can be put into one-to-one
correspondence with the set {I, 2}, there is but one significant property
common to all sets in this collection, "twoness" or the property of containing
two elements, and to be precise it is exactly this common property we mean
when we speak of the cardinal number 2.
There is nothing to prevent us from giving names to infinite cardinal
numbers as well. By tradition, the name ~o has been used for the cardinal
number of the set N of positive whole numbers, and thus is the cardinal
number of all denumerable sets. (~is the first letter of the Hebrew alphabet,
and ~o is usually pronounced "aleph-null.") The German letter c is
customarily used for the cardinal number of the set R of all real numbers,
because c is the first letter of the German word for continuum, used some-
times as a synonym for the real number line.
We shall not go into the arithmetic of cardinal numbers, but only mention
that it is possible to consider a natural order relation between them. Here
is how this is done.
First, if A is a set, then it has a cardinal number-finite or infinite-and
we denote this number sometimes by [A]. Next, given two sets A and B,
it may be possible to find a one-to-one function!: A ~ B. If so, then we say
that [A] < [B]. If we can also show that there can be no one-to-one and
onto function from A to B, then we can say in fact that [A] < [B]. This
order relation obeys the expected properties (with one exception: If m and
n are cardinal numbers, it does not follow without an additional powerful
axiom of set theory that either m < n, m = n, or n < m). In particular,
the Cantor-Schroeder-Bernstein Theorem may be translated into the language
of cardinal numbers as follows:
If m and n are cardinal numbers and both m ~ nand n < m are true,
then m = n.
Finally, Theorem 6.7 may be translated very simply:
~o < c.
But so far, the only two infinite cardinal numbers we have seen are just
~o and c. Our final theorem says, in effect, that there are infinitely many.
180 Infinite sets 6.6
Theorem 6.8 Let S be any set and let f/ be the collection of all subsets of S.
Then there exists a one-to-one function from S to f/ but no such function can
be onto. Hence, in the terminology of cardinal numbers, [S] < [f/J.
Proof There clearly does exist a one-to-one function f from S to f/; just
let f(x) = {x} for each XES. Suppose, by way of contradiction, that
there exists a function 9 that is a one-to-one correspondence from S to f/.
What 9 must then do is assign to each element s E S a subset of S, which we
will call K s ; thus K s E f/, for K s c S, and K s is just another name for g(s).
Consider s E S. Since K s c S there are just two possibilities: either
s E K s or s f K s • We are particularly interested in the latter case; in fact,
we let
Exercises
6.61 Prove that irrational real numbers exist, using results of this chapter.
6.62 It was mentioned just before the proof of Theorem 6.7 that the same
real number may have two different decimal expansions; the example given
was 0.99999 . .. and 1.00000... . You can prove these two are equal by
using some of the techniques of infinite geometric series (see Exercise 1.45).
Of course, you use the fact that the correct interpretation of the decimal
expansion 0.99999 ... is the sum of the series
9/10 + 9/100 + 9/1000 + ....
6.63 Modify the proof of Theorem 6.7 to show that the set of real numbers
between 0 and 1 is nondenumerable.
6.64 Use the previous exercise and other results to show that the cardinal
number of the set of real numbers between 0 and 1 is c.
6.65 Show that the cardinal number of the set of points in the unit square S
in the plane is also c by using the previous exercise and setting up a one-to-
one function from [0, 1] into S and a one-to-one function from S into [0, 1],
then applying the Cantor-Schroeder-Bernstein Theorem. Note:
S = {(a, b) E R x RIO < a, b ~ I}.
Hint: If (a, b) E S, then a and b have decimal expansions of the form
and
bo . b 1 b2b3b4 · ..
where ao and bo are each either 0 or 1. Where is the number
o . aObOalbla2b2a3b4 . .. ?
6.66 Use the definition of "Dedekind Infinite" to prove that the set R of all
real numbers is infinite.
6.67 Let E be the set of all even positive whole numbers. Translate the
statement "E is denumerable" into the language of cardinal numbers.
6.68 If % is the collection of all subsets of Rand [%] = n, what is the rela-
tion between c and n?
6.69 See Exercise 6.38; translate its statement into the language of cardinal
numbers.
182 Infinite sets 6.6
6.70 Translate the statement of Theorem 6.3 into the language of cardinal
numbers.
6.71 Translate the statement of Theorem 6.4 into the language of cardinal
numbers.
6.72 Let ~ denote the collection of all finite subsets of N. Prove that [~] =
No. Hint: See Exercise 6.55.
6.73 If the collection of all sets were a set f/, then every subset of f/ would
be an element of f/. This is a contradiction-but to what? Hint: See
Theorem 6.8.
6.74 What is the cardinal number of the collection of all (unbounded)
straight lines in the plane?
6.75 Suppose that an urn is filled with No balls, numbered 1, 2, 3, .... Let
us call a "stage" in the following experiment, the act of removing three balls
from the urn and then replacing two of the balls then outside the urn.
Imagine performing an experiment, in which each "stage" is performed
No times. It is clear that after stage 1, one ball is outside the urn; after stage 2,
two balls are outside the urn; and, in general, after stage n, n balls are outside
the urn. The question is this: After No stages-that is, after stage 1, stage 2,
stage 3, ... ,-how many balls are in the urn?
Be careful. This is a trick question.
the "infinite." In fact, most of the material of this chapter can be found in
Cantor's published works. These innovations shocked mathematicians of
the day, and stimulated violent attacks on Cantor by his colleagues. Cantor
was sensitive and unable to weather the criticisms thrown his way; he had
attacks of irrational anger or overwhelming depression, beginning when he
was about forty, and he died in a mental institution in 1918. By this time he
had been belatedly recognized as the genius he was.
The German mathematician Richard Dedekind was one of Cantor's
few allies during the above troubles. Dedekind had a long life-he lived from
1831 until 1916-and a very productive one; he suffered a mild form of the
same sort of attack directed against Cantor because of his own researches.
He is well known for putting the concept of an irrational number into a
logically sound structure, and his brilliant ideas were not at first universally
well received. However, he did live long enough to become recognized as one
of Germany's greatest mathematicians.
CHAPTER 7
NUMBER
THEORY
The theory of numbers is meant principally to answer questions about the set
N = {I, 2, 3, 4, ... }
of positive whole numbers, or natural numbers, and sometimes about the set
Z = {... , - 2, -I, 0, I, 2, 3, ... }
of integers, or whole numbers. However, the techniques used to answer such
questions frequently involve the rational numbers, complex numbers, or even
calculus. The questions themselves have fascinated people for centuries-
indeed, number theory is one of the oldest branches of mathematics-perhaps
because the questions themselves are easy to pose, and the privilege of
searching for the answers is available to almost everyone. Indeed, for his
research in number theory Pierre de Fermat is known as the "Prince of
Amateurs"; he was a French jurist of the seventeenth century who made
many of the most important contributions to number theory.
We assume that you are familiar with the arithmetic properties of the
sets Nand Z; that is, that addition and multiplication are both commutative
and associative, that multiplication distributes over addition, and so on.
With this background you may plunge immediately into number theory.
One of the cornerstone concepts is that of divisibility, for upon this concept
are built many of the other important definitions and theorems of number
theory-and so it is with divisibility that we begin.
7.1 DIVISIBILITY
The integer m is said to be divisible by the integer d provided that there
exists an integer k such that m = dk. If so, then d is said to be a divisor of
184
7.1 Divisibility 185
a) a I a.
b) If a I b and bla then a = b.
c) If a I b and blc then a I c.
To prove this theorem it is necessary only to look at the definition of
divisibility. The details of the proof are outlined in the exercises for you to
complete. Note the close similarity between the behavior of the symbols
I and ~; the above theorem is true if the former symbol is replaced by the
latter.
The natural number I has but one divisor (remember, by "divisor" we
mean only natural number divisors); 1 is the only such natural number, so we
divide the others into two classes, as indicated in the next definition.
The natural number p is said to be prime provided that p has exactly
two divisors. If the natural number m has three or more divisors, then m is
said to be composite.
Note that I is neither prime nor composite. If you need a name for such a
situation, you may refer to I as a unit, as it is called in some branches of
mathematics. It is easy to see that there are infinitely many composite
186 Number theory 7.1
numbers (why?). On the other hand, prime numbers do not seem so plentiful.
The first twenty, as you may easily verify, are as follows:
2 3 5 7 11 13 17 19 23 29
31 37 41 43 47 53 59 61 67 71
There are twenty-five primes between 1 and 100, sixteen between 1000 and
1100, eleven between 10,000 and 10,100, and only six between 100,000 and
100,100. Since primes tend to become less plentiful among the larger numbers,
you might suspect that there are only finitely many primes. However, it
has been known for several thousand years that the opposite is true-there
are in fact infinitely many primes, just as there are infinitely many composite
numbers. An outline of the simple proof of this fact appears as one of the
exercises at the end of this section; in order to supply the details of this proof
all that is needed is our next result.
Exercises
7.1 List the divisors of 60, 100, 117, and 119. Circle the least such that
exceeds 1 in each case, and go on to the next exercise.
7.2 Is the least divisor of 60 (other than 1) prime? Does this also hold for
100, 117, and 119?
7.3 The proof of Theorem 7.2 actually "proves" a little more than is needed.
Rephrase Theorem 7.2 with the stronger conclusion that follows from the
proof given.
7.4 If the natural number n has d divisors, how many integral divisors has n?
7.5 Suppose that a and b are integers such that both a I band b I a are true.
What can you say about the relationship between a and b? In particular,
must it be true that a = b? Why?
7.6 Let p and q be primes such that p I q. What can you say about the
relationship between p and q?
7.7 List all the even primes. How many odd primes are there?
7.8 The text stated that if d and m are natural numbers such that dim,
then 1 ~ d ~ m. Fill in the details of the following possible proof of this
fact.
First, it is clear that 1 ~ d (why?).
Let us suppose by way of contradiction that m < d. Then the difference
d - m is a positive whole number; say,
d - m = a.
Since dim, m = dk for some natural number k (why?). Moreover,
k =1= 1 (why?). Hence k > 2. But then
m
k =-
d '
m+a-a
------
d
d a
= - --
d d
a
= 1
d
188 Number theory 7.1
a
k=l--<1.
d
where Pi stands for the ith prime in the complete list of all n primes above.
Form the number
q = PtP2P3 .. ·Pn + 1.
7.2 Well-ordering 189
Show that there are n consecutive composite natural numbers in the sequence
(n + I)!, (n + I)! + 1, (n + I)! + 2, (n + I)! + 3, ... ,
(n + I)! + (n - 1), (n + I)! + n, (n + I)! + (n + 1).
7.18 In the proof of Theorem 7.3 outlined in Exercise 7.16, a finite number
of primes are multiplied together, the number 1 is added to the product,
and the fact that this product is composite leads to a contradiction. It would
seem to follow that if the first n primes were multiplied together and the
number 1 added to the product, thus obtaining
1 + PIPZP3 ••• Pn'
then this number would be prime. Is this always so? If not, does this mean
that the proof given for Theorem 7.3 is invalid? Explain your answer.
7.19 It follows from Exercise 7.8 that no natural number can have infinitely
many divisors. Why not?
7.20 A surprising formula is that if a natural number n has k divisors, then
their product is
~nk.
Verify this formula for three different two-digit values of n.
7.2 WELL-ORDERING
One property of the set N of natural numbers is quite important in establish-
ing many results in number theory. It is strange that this property has nothing
to do with the algebraic structure of the natural number system; at least on the
190 Number theory 7.2
• •
n
, •
9
I 8
I 7
I 6
I 5
I 4
I 3
Fig. 7.1 Visualizing the induction
principle as falling dominoes. I 2
1
-
~
"""
~
I--
f--
natural number k. The fact that !/ is true for all values of n and the fact that
k is a natural number together imply that m < dk. But we know that m = dk.
This is a contradiction, and hence the assumption that m < d must be false.
Hence if dim, then 1 < d ~ m.
Other examples of applications of this principle to prove various theorems
may be found elsewhere in this book, in the next set of exercises, and in
George Polya's book Induction and Analogy in Mathematics (Princeton
University Press, 1954). We proceed to show the logical equivalence of the
Well-Ordering Axiom and the Induction Principle for N.
Theorem 7.5 The Well-Ordering Axiom implies the Induction Principle for N.
Proof We assume that the Well-Ordering Axiom is true; that is, every
nonempty set of natural numbers contains a least element. We assume also
the hypotheses of the Induction Principle: that !/ is a statement meaningful
for each natural number, that !/ is true of the number 1, and that whenever
!/ is true of the natural number n, it follows that !/ is also true for the natural
number n + 1. We wish to show the conclusion of the Induction Principle,
that !/ must be true for every natural number.
Suppose, by way of contradiction, that !/ is not true for every natural
number. Let F be the set of natural numbers for which !/ is false. Then F
is nonempty because of the above assumption, and hence contains a least
element k because of the Well-Ordering Axiom. Moreover, k =F 1 since !/ is
true of the number 1 by hypothesis. So k > 1.
Hence k - 1 is also a natural number, and moreover, !/ is true of the
number k - 1 because k is the least natural number for which !/ is false.
But we have one more hypothesis to use: That whenever !/ is true of a
given natural number n, then also !/ must be true for the number n + 1.
In particular, since k - 1 is a natural number for which !/ is true, then also
!/ must be true for (k - 1) + 1 = k. But!/ is false for k, and so we have
reached a contradiction. Consequently,!/ must be true for each natural
number. This establishes the Induction Principle for N, and completes the
proof of Theorem 7.5.
Now for the converse.
Theorem 7.6 The Induction Principle for N implies the Well-Ordering Axiom.
Exercises
7.21 Use the Induction Principle to prove that the sum of the first n natural
numbers is n(n + 1)/2; that is, that
n· (n + 1)
1+2+3+···+n= .
2
7.22 Use the Induction Principle to prove that the following formula holds
for all natural numbers n:
-1 + -
1 1
+- + ... + - -1- - ---
n
1·2 2·3 3·4 n·(n + 1) n +1
194 Number theory 7.2
7.23 In the proof of Theorem 7.6, what goes wrong if we replace the state-
ment f/ used there by the far simpler statement, "If n is a natural number
then n is not an element of S."?
7.24 It is frequently easier to apply the Induction Principle when it is stated
in the following form:
Suppose that f/ is a statement meaningful for natural numbers, that f/
is true of the natural number 1, and that whenever f/ is true of every natural
number less than the number n, then f/ is true for n as well. Then f/ is true
for every natural number.
Show that this form of the Induction Principle follows from the form
previously stated. Note: Since the original form of the Induction Principle
has been shown equivalent to the Well-Ordering Axiom, it may be easier
(and is certainly sufficient) to show that the above form of the Induction
Principle follows from the Well-Ordering Axiom.
7.25 Let S be the set of all positive real numbers. Does S contain a least
element? Does the Well-Ordering Axiom hold for the real number system?
7.26 Suppose that % is a statement meaningful for natural numbers, that
% is true of the natural number 5, and that whenever % is true for the natural
number n, then also % is true for the natural number n + 1. For what
natural numbers need % be true? Can you prove this?
7.27 Compute the values of the successive sums
1, 1 + 3, 1 + 3 + 5, 1 + 3 + 5 + 7, ....
Guess a formula and prove it by induction.
7.28 Does the Well-Ordering Axiom hold for the set
E = {2, 4, 6, 8, 10, ... }
of all even natural numbers? Can you prove this?
7.29 Does the Well-Ordering Axiom hold for the set of all rational numbers?
Give a reason for your answers.
7.30 Compute the values of the successive sums
1 1 111
1, 1 + -1 1 +-+- 1+-+-+-
2' 2 4' 2 4 8'
1 1 1 1
1+-+-+-+-
2 4 8 16 '
Guess a formula and prove it by induction.
7.31 The number 125 can be expressed as the sum of two squares in two
different ways:
7.2 Well-ordering 195
Knowing this, could you prove that there is a least natural number which can
be expressed as the sum of two squares in two different ways? If so, what is it?
7.32 Prove by induction: If S is a finite set containing n elements, then S has
2" subsets. Hint: Having assumed this proposition true for n, suppose that S
is a set containing n + 1 elements. Choose a E S and let T = S - {a}.
Then T contains n elements, and hence has 2" subsets. Note that every subset
of S is either a subset of T or a subset of T with the element a adjoined.
7.33 Let the sequence
1
51 = - = 1,
1
52 = 1 + -1 = -,
2
51 1
1 3
53 = 1 + - = -,
52 2
1 5
54 = 1 +- = -,
53 3
1
5,,+ 1 = 1 +- .
5"
If you write a few more terms of this sequence you will notice that
if n is odd;
if n is even; and
It may help if you first est~blish that if s" = alb, then s,,+ 1 = (a + b)la.
7.34 Prove by induction: If x and yare positive real numbers such that
x < y, then x" < y" for each natural number n.
7.35 Prove by induction: For each natural number n, 3 I (n 3 - n).
196 Number theory 7.3
4 q
5')23 d)7;
Fig.7.2 23 = (4)·5 + 3, 20 qd
and m = dq + r. 3 r
Perhaps you have begun to notice a pattern in most of our proofs that
use the Well-Ordering Axiom. We first suppose that the theorem is false;
then the set of natural numbers for which the theorem does not hold is non-
empty, and thus contains a least element. Using this smallest exception to
the theorem, we produce smaller numbers for which the theorem must then
be true. We use the truth of the theorem about the smaller numbers-in
the above theorem, factors of the original number-to establish the truth
of the theorem about the original number, the number about which the
theorem was supposed to be false. This contradiction establishes the theorem.
We next use the Well-Ordering Axiom to establish the Euclidean
Algorithm-which says, quite simply, that it is possible to divide one integer
into another so as to obtain not only a quotient but also a nonnegative
"small" remainder. We shall treat only the case in which the divisor is
positive; the case in which it is negative can be handled similarly.
Theorem 7.8 Let m be an integer and d a natural number. Then there exist
integers q and r such that m = dq + rand 0 < r < d.
Proof In spite of the fact that the statement of this theorem contains no
mention of divisibility, it really is a theorem about dividing one number into
another. See Fig. 7.2.
We take as an example the case where d = 5 and m = 23. You recall
from the chronological vicinity of the third grade the process by which one
divides 5 into 23, as shown in Fig. 7.2. The quotient is 4 and the remainder
is 3. Moreover, we hope you also recall the method by which your third-
grade teacher asked you to check your work. You were to multiply the
divisor by the quotient and add the remainder to this product; if you obtained
the dividend, your arithmetic was correct. Finally, you should also recall
that your answer was "wrong" unless your remainder was a nonnegative
integer less than the divisor; in this example,
o ~. 3 < 5
is true, and the arithmetic check looks like
(5 . 4) + 3 = 23.
198 Number theory 7.3
2 6
SJ23 s}23
10 30
13 -7
Fig. 7.3 Arithmetically correct
23 = (2)' S + 13 23 = (6)'S + (-7) ways of dividing 5 into 23.
The general case is also shown in Fig. 7.2. The divisor d is divided into
the dividend m, obtaining the quotient q and the remainder r. The equivalent
check would be to verify that
O~r<d,
and that
dq +r= m.
But this is precisely the statement of this theorem. So the theorem really
does say that it is possible to divide one whole number by another and obtain
a quotient and a remainder, the remainder nonnegative and less than the
divisor.
Without the requirement that the remainder r satisfy the inequality
o ::;; r < d, there would be infinitely many ways to divide d into m in which
the arithmetic would check. For example, we could divide 5 into 23 with a
quotient of 2 and a remainder of 13, as shown in Fig. 7.3; in this case we
would be informed by the third-grade teacher that our quotient is not large
enough because "5 goes into 23 more than twice." Or if you prefer, you
could obtain a quotient of 6 and a "remainder" of - 7; again, the arithmetic
checks, as indicated in Fig. 7.3. Here the third-grade teacher would inform
us that the remainder is supposed to be nonnegative. The restriction that the
remainder be nonnegative and less than the divisor provides not only the
answer referred to as "correct" by the third-grade teacher, but also provides
a unique choice of q and r, as we shall prove.
Our method of proof will be to look at all possible such divisions of d
into m, without the restriction that 0 ~ r < d, and by use of the Well-
Ordering Axiom select the division that gives the least nonnegative value of r.
We will then show that 0 ~ r < d; the quotient q will automatically "work"
in that m = dq + r. Finally, we show that this choice of q and r is indeed
unique. Now for the proof of Theorem 7.8.
7.3 The fundamental theorem of arithmetic 199
•
•
•
'i m - di
•
•
•
'3 m - d·3
'2 m - d·2
'1 m - d·1
'0 = m d·O
Fig. 7.4 Possible remainders
upon division of m by d. '-1 m - d·(-1l
'-2 m - d·(-2l
•
•
•
Recall that we are given the divisor d, which is a natural number, and the
dividend m, which is an integer. For each integer i, we let
'i = m - di.
are true, then x = q and y = r. Suppose that x and yare integers satisfying
the above two relations.
Now r was chosen to be the least nonnegative integer such that m =
dq + r for some integer q; since y is such an integer, it must be true that
r ~ y. Suppose that y = r. Then
r = m - dq,
and
y = m - dx,
hence
m - dq = m - dx,
and thus
dq = dx,
so that x = q. In this case, y = r and x = q, as we wish to show. On the
other hand, suppose that r < y.
Then we have the inequality
o~ r < y < d.
Now
m = dq + r,
and
m = dx + y,
hence
dq + r = dx + y.
Thus
dq - dx = y - r,
or
d(q - x) = y - r.
Therefore d is a divisor of y - r. But since
o~ r < y < d,
it follows that
o< y - r < d - r < d,
so that
o< y - r < d.
202 Number theory 7.3
Hence
and
where all the p's and q's are primes, and these two factorizations are different
in that the p's and q's differ in number or in kind, or both.
If PI = q l' then
and since n < m, these two prime factorizations of n must be the same.
Hence by properly rearranging subscripts, we have P2 = q 2, P3 = q 3' . . . ,
Pi = q j' and i = j. But then the two factorizations of m shown above are
the same, for also PI = q 1. This contradicts the fact that the two given
factorizations of m are different. And by repeating this argument for other
p's and q's, we see that none of the p's can equal any of the q's.
7.3 The fundamental theorem of arithmetic 203
Since P1 '1= q l' we can suppose that the p's and q's are so named that
P1 < q 1· By Theorem 7.8, there exist integers wand r such that
q1 =P1 W + r,
and
and obtain
m = (P1 W + r)q2q3··· qj
=P1 wq2q3···qj + rq2q3···qj·
Hence
rq2q3··· qj = P1P2P3·· ·Pi - P1 wq2q3··· qj
= P1(P2P3 ... Pi - wq2q3··· q).
So P1 is a divisor of rq 2q 3 ••• q j.
Now r < P1 andp1 < q1' so r < q1. Hence the natural number
becomes
where the exponents nt, n2' ... , nk are natural numbers, and Pt, P2' ... ,Pk
are primes arranged so that Pt < P2 < ... < Pk'
Exercises
7.36 In the proof of Theorem 7.7, only one of four cases was considered-
the one in which m = ab, where a was composite and b was prime. Show
how to handle the other three cases.
7.37 Let m = -23 and d = -5. For what values of q and r is it true that
m = dq + r
and
o~ r < -d?
(One handles the statement of Theorem 7.8 for the case of a negative divisor
by changing the sign of d to obtain a pusitive number.)
7.38 Factor 6300 into the product of primes. In how many essentially
different ways can this be done?
7.39 If we interpret the product of no numbers to be the number 1, and the
product of one number to be itself, can we then state that "Every natural
number has a prime factorization?" Can we state that "Every natural
number has a unique prime factorization?"
7.40 Let a, b, and c be integers. Prove that if a I b and a I c, then a I (b + c)
and a I (b - c).
7.41 Suppose that a and b are natural numbers and P is a prime such that
P I abo Prove that either P I a or P I b.
7.42 Is it true that if n is a natural number such that 12 I n 2 then 12 I n?
7.43 Prove that every divisor of both m and n is also a divisor of both
3m + nand m + 2n.
7.44 Suppose that p is a prime and m and n are natural numbers such that
P I (m + n). Does it follow that one of the relations P I m or pin is true?
7.45 Wilson's Theorem states that the natural number n is prime if and only if
n I (n - I)! + 1.
7.47 See Exercise 7.45. Use Wilson's Theorem to prove that l00! + 1 is
not prime.
7.48 Suppose that P and q are two different primes and n is a natural number
such that both pin and q I n are true. Prove that pq I n.
7.49 How could you use the prime factorization of 144 in order to write
down all the divisors of 144?
7.50 Suppose that n is a natural number with the "canonical" prime
factorization
n -- p(Zlp(Z2
I 2
• •• p(Zk
k'
3 1 2 2
21}78 15}21 6}15 3T6
63 15 12 6 Fig.7.5 Successive
15 6 3 a divisions to find (21, 78).
2 1 7
67) 193 59}67 8)59
134 59 56
59 8 3
2 1
3)8 2)"3 Fig.7.6 Finding (67, 193)-Note
6 2 that each remainder is next divided
2 1 into the corresponding divisor.
Since the remainders must decrease with each division, we must eventually
reach the remainder zero after a finite number of steps. So in any problem
of this sort, our last entry in a chain such as the one above will have the form
(0, r), where r is the next-to-Iast remainder. But r =1= 0; in fact, r > 0, and
it is easy to see that (0, r) = r. So the greatest common divisor of m and n
will be the last nonzero remainder in the sequence of successive divisions of
previous remainder into previous divisor.
For another example, we show the calculations to find (67, 193) in Fig.
7.6. We obtain the chain of equalities
Moreover, a sort of reverse of this process can be carried out once the
above computations are made. We take the example (21, 78) = 3. The
divisions shown in Fig. 7.5 can be expressed in the form below:
78 = (3)' 21 + 15,
21 = (1)'15 + 6,
15=(2)'6+3,
6 = (2)' 3 + O.
Recall that (21, 78) is 3, the last nonzero remainder above. We ignore the
last equation, and solve the one in which the remainder 3 appears for 3 itself,
thus obtaining
3 = (1)·15 + (-2)·6.
We solve the second equation in the above list for its remainder, 6, and
substitute
6 = (1)·21 + (-1)' 15
in the previous equation to obtain
3 = (1)' 15 + (- 2) . [(1) ·21 + (-1)' 15]
= (3)·15 + (-2)·21.
The remainder previous to 6 is 15; we solve the equation 78 = (21)' 3 + 15
for 15, and substitute the result for the 15 in the above equation:
15 = (1)·78 + (-3)·21,
so that
3 = (3)'[(1)'78 + (-3)·21] + (-2)·21
= (3)·78 + (-11)·21.
What we have accomplished is the expression of 3, the greatest common
divisor of 78 and 21, in terms of 78 and 21 themselves. It should be clear that
this process of back-substitution of remainders can always be carried out so
as to express (m, n) in terms of m and n. We give one more example, using
67 and 193. From the data shown in Fig. 7.6, we obtain the following
equations:
193 = (2)·67 + 59,
67 = (1). 59 + 8,
59 = (7)· 8 + 3,
8 = (2)' 3 + 2,
3 = (1)·2 + 1,
2 = (2)' 1 + O.
208 Number theory 7.4
Theorem 7.11 Let g = (m, n). Then there exist integers x and y such that
xm + yn = g.
Exercises
7.53 One can use the Well-Ordering Axiom to prove Theorem 7.11; how-
ever, this proof will merely show the existence of integers x and y such that
xm + yn = (m, n).
One proceeds as follows: Let
S = {xm + yn I x and yare integers and xm + yn > O}.
7.4 The greatest common divisor 209
First show that S is nonempty; then let 9 be the least element of S. Prove
that 9 = (m, n). Please fill in the details of this proof.
7.54 Fill in the details of the following proof of Theorem 7.10: If m and n
are natural numbers and q and r are integers such that m = qn + rand
o ~ r < n, then (n, m) = (r, n).
Let d be any common divisor of nand m. Show that d must be a divisor
of rand n. Then show that every common divisor of rand n is also a common
divisor of nand m. Since the common divisors of nand m are thus the same
set of natural numbers as the common divisors of rand m, it follows im-
mediately that (n, m) = (r, n).
7.55 Show that (36, 64) = 4, and find integers x and y such that 36x +
64y = 4.
7.56 Show that (11, 27) = 1, and find integers x and y such that llx +
27y = 1.
7.57 Using the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic, we can factor 4200
into the prime product 2 3 . 3 . 52 . 7 and 4500 into the prime product 2 2 . 32 . 53.
Show how these factorizations can be used to find the greatest common
divisor (4200, 4500) of 4200 and 4500.
7.58 Is it possible to find integers m and n such that 12m + 16n = I?
Explain.
7.59 Is it possible to find integers m and n such that 12m + 13n = 6?
7.60 Find integers m and n such that
31m + 231n = 1.
(n, n + 3) =1= 2.
(n, n + 2) ~ 2.
7.5 APPLICATIONS
The equation ax + by = c, where a, b, and c are whole numbers, has of
course infinitely many solutions in the real number system (unless for example
a = 0 = band c i= 0). But in number theory we are interested in only
those whole numbers rand s which are solutions to the equation ax +
by = c. The ability to find such solutions opens the way to solve a wide
variety of fascinating problems.
Let us consider the equation ax + by = c, where a, b, and c are given
fixed whole numbers. The only case giving difficulty occurs when none of
a, b, and c is zero. We begin by letting 9 = (a, b).
If 9 is not a divisor of c, then the equation ax + by = c has no solution
in whole numbers, so we further suppose that 9 I c.
7.5 Applications 211
Now r, s, a, b, and g are all known, so that we have expressed the other
solution pair p, q in terms of known quantities and the "variable" t-which is
an integer. Since it is not hard to verify also that each integer choice of t
does indeed produce a solution pair p, q to the equation ax + by = c, we
have in effect established our next theorem.
Theorem 7.12 Let a, b, and c be nonzero whole numbers and let g = (a, b).
Consider the equation ax + by = c. Ifg does not divide c, there is no solution
to the equation. If g I c, then all possible integral solutions are given by
x = p and y = q, where
p = r + (big)· t,
q = s - (alg)· t,
where r, s is one solution pair for the original equation and t is allowed to range
through all whole number values.
Example 7.1 Find all solutions in whole numbers of the equation 8x +
9y = 10.
Now (8, 9) = 1 and 1 I 10, so solutions do exist. We first solve 8x +
9y = 1. In this simple case one can see a solution immediately: x = - 1
and y = 1. Hence we multiply this solution pair by 10 to obtain a solution
to the original equation:
8· (-10) + 9· (10) = 10.
So we have a = 8, b = 9, c = 10, r = - 10, s = 10, and g = 1. By
Theorem 7.12, all solutions are given by the formulas
x = -10 + 9t,
y = 10 - 8t,
where t is a whole number.
It frequently happens in such problems that we are interested only in the
positive solutions. If so, we must have both
-10 + 9t > 0,
and
10 - 8t > 0,
so that
8t < 10 < 9t,
and thus that
t < 1 and 2 < t.
But there is no integer t satisfying both these inequalities, and so we can
conclude that the equation 8x + 9y = 10 has no positive whole number
solutions.
7.5 Applications 213
Example 7.2 Find all integral solutions of the equation 3x + 12y = 100.
There is no solution, since (3, 12) = 3 but 3 is not a divisor of 100.
Example 7.3 Find all positive integral solutions of the equation 5x +
15y = 100.
A simplifying procedure is to divide each term by (5, 15) = 5, and the
resulting equations will have the same solutions as the original equation.
Thus we consider instead the equation
x + 3y = 20.
Now (1, 3) = .1, so we first solve instead
x + 3y = 1.
The obvious solution x = 1, y = 0 will of course do. We multiply each of
x and y by 20 to obtain the solution r = 20, s = 0 to
x + 3y = 20.
By Theorem 7.12, we can obtain all possible solutions from the equations
x = 20 + 31,
Y = 0 - 1,
where 1 is an integer. For positive solutions, it is further necessary that
20 + 31 > 0,
and
o- 1 > O.
These relations lead to the inequalities
-20 < 31 and 1 < 0,
and thus
-6 ~ 1 ~ -1.
Example 7.4 If a man has ninety-five cents in dimes and quarters, how many
of each type of coin might he have?
If we let d denote the number of dimes and q the number of quarters he
has, then we need to find the nonnegative solutions of the equation
10d + 25q = 95.
Exercises
ax + by = c,
where a, b, and c are integers, in case one of a and b is zero? What if both
a and b are zero?
7.71 Let a, b, and c be whole numbers with neither a nor b equal to zero,
and let 9 = (a, b). Prove that if the equation ax + by = c has a solution
in integers, then 9 I c.
7.72 To prove Theorem 7.12, it is necessary to show that if a and bare
nonzero whole numbers and 9 = (a, b), then the greatest common divisor
of alg and bIg is 1. Please prove this.
7.73 Here is the method for solving the equation
ax + by + cz = d
and
-b
b=-.
(b, c)
ax + by + cz =d
are given by the three equations below, where t and u are allowed to assume
all possible whole number values (and every solution can be obtained from
the equations below):
dJl
- (bex + cy)t
x =-
,
exdv exat
"
Y = T + T + fJu,
z =-
ydv
, , +-
yat
+ bu.
x + 2y + 3z = 12.
7.74 If four marks are worth one dollar, five zlotys are worth one dollar,
and eight pesos are worth one dollar, how maya dollar be exchanged fairly
for marks, zlotys, and pesos so that at least one unit in each of the foreign
currencies is obtained?
7.75 A man paid two dollars for 100 eggs, including some new-laid eggs at
ten cents each, some fresh eggs at two cents each, and some old eggs at one
cent each. He found that he had the same number of two kinds of these eggs.
How many of each did he buy?
7.76 A man bought pomegranates at 16 cents each, oranges at two cents
each, and tangerines at one cent each. If he bought twenty pieces of fruit,
including at least one of each kind, and spent 80 cents in all, how many of
each did he buy?
7.77 A man cashed a check for less than one hundred dollars at a bank.
The teller confused the number of dollars on the check for the number of
cents, and paid the man forty-three dollars and fifty-six cents more than he
deserved. In how many different amounts could the check have been written?
7.78 Find three different solutions of
8x + 9y + 10z = 12.
7.79 Verify that the solutions x andy given in Example 7.1 actually work for
all integral values of t.
7.80 Verify that the solutions p and q given in Theorem 7.12 actually work
for all integral values of t.
7.5 Applications 217
7.81 If 11 brass balls (or equal weight) weigh exactly 15 pounds, 11 copper
balls weigh 16 pounds, and 11 silver balls weigh 17 pounds, how many of
each are required to weigh exactly 11 pounds?
7.82 Prove that
1 1 1
-+-+-+ ... +-1
2 3 4 n
is never a whole number.
7.83 Each odd prime has the form 4n + 1 or else the form 4n + 3, where
n is a nonnegative integer. Prove that no prime of the latter form is the sum
of two squares of whole numbers.
7.84 Prove that if n is a cube of a natural number, then the product of the
three consecutive integers n - 1, n, and n + 1 is divisible by 504.
7.85 Find a natural number half of which is a square (of a natural number),
one-third of which is a cube, and one-fifth of which is a fifth power.
7.86 Show that if n is a natural number, then
10 I (n 5 - n).
7.87 What is the last digit of 7355 ?
7.88 We consider the equation x 2 + y2 = Z2, and seek natural number
solutions. It turns out that any solution has the form
x = m2 - n2 ,
y = 2mn,
Z = m 2 + n2,
(provided that, since one of x and y must be even, we let that be y) where m
and n are natural numbers with m > n. Verify that the formulas given above
actually do provide a solution for the equation x 2 + y2 = Z2.
7.89 Find three different solutions to the equation
x2 + y2 = Z2.
7.95 Prove that one leg of a Pythagorean right triangle always has length
divisible by 3 and that one side always has length divisible by 5.
7.96 Find three different Pythagorean right triangles such that the length
of the hypotenuse and the length of one leg differ by the number 1.
7.97 Prove that every natural number n can be expressed in the form
n = a2 + b2 - c2 ,
where a, b, and c are integers.
7.98 Is 2 100 - I prime? Why or why not?
7.99 Let n be a natural number and p a prime not a factor of n. Fermat's
Theorem states that p I (n P - 1 - I). Use Fermat's Theorem to prove that
7 I 999,999.
7.100 Show that every prime other than 2 and 5 divides evenly into some
number of the form 999 ... 99 (k digits, all nines).
Suppose that p and q are two different odd primes. The problem is in
finding a natural number n such that
p I (n 2 - q).
Notes and references 219
The Law of Quadratic Reciprocity states that such a natural number n can be
found if and only if there exists a natural number m such that
q I (m 2 - p),
with an exception: If p and q are both of the form 4k + 3, then the first
relation above has a solution if and only if the second does not.
The Euclidean Algorithm of Section 7.3 is, of course, named for the Greek
mathematician Euclid-about whom very little is known other than that he
lived in the third century B.c. His Elements formed such a complete system-
ization of geometry that his work has been used as a geometry text even in this
century.
On the other hand, a great deal is known about the life of Carl Friedrich
Gauss. He was born in 1777 of very poor parents in Braunschweig, Germany,
and only a succession of fortunate coincidences made it possible for him to
become a mathematician. He lived seventy-eight years, and though not so
prolific a writer as Euler, unquestionably made far greater contributions to
mathematics: His work in number theory is particularly impressive, but he
also laid the foundations for differential geometry, complex analysis, and
modern topology. He desired perfection in his publications, and thus it is
that he anticipated results of many later mathematicians-his journal contains
a large number of valuable results which he never published, and for this
reason many of these were credited to others. In any case, the consensus
seems to be that the world has produced three truly outstanding men of
genius-Archimedes, Newton, and Gauss.
CHAPTER 8
ANIMAL
POPULATIONS
220
8.1 Unrestricted growth of a single species 221
j
222 Animal populations 8.1 i
1
I
We can try to make plausible the assumption that N' is proportional to N
in this simple case. We can by virtue of the above discussion at least write
the equation
N' = f(N)
to indicate that there is some function f that gives the manner in which
N' behaves with respect to the value of N. For example, it might be that
N' = N 3,
or
N' = 2N + N2 + N
N + 1
Suppose our bacteria culture were divided into two equal populations,
each thus containing N /2 individuals. This division could be done either
physically, by removing half the bacteria to another culture medium-or it
could be done by drawing an imaginary line down the middle of the culture.
Since the actual rate of increase of each half of the population should be the
same in either case, but in the former case it should be f(N /2) and in the latter
case just N' /2, we could therefore write the equation
N' /2 = f(N /2).
Similar considerations with respect to dividing the population into
thirds, or multiplying it by four, lead us to the equation
a- N' = f(aN)
for all meaningful values of a. But since
N' = f(N),
we can substitute this into the former equation, and obtain
a .f(N) = f(aN).
This means that the function f has the property that f(ax) = af(x) for
all values of a and x. It turns out that the only such function with a smooth
graph must be of the form f(x) = kx, where k is a constant, and hence
N' = f(N) = k - N.
In other words, it would seem reasonable that the form of the function f is
extremely simple, and that N' is indeed proportional to N. Note that the
constant k must be positive in the case of bacterial growth, since we are
assuming N to be positive, and N' is also positive because the population is
increasing rather than decreasing.
8.1 Unrestricted growth of a single species 223
the calculus student first divides by N(t), since we may assume that N(t)
IS never zero.
N'(t) = k.
N(t)
Then
f N'(t) dt =
N(t)
f k dt
,
and hence
log N(t) = kt + C,
where C is a constant and the logarithm function is to the base e (the approxi-
mate value of e is 2.71828) rather than to the base 10. From this follows
N(t) = ekt + C = eC ' ~t.
and hence
N(t) = No' ~t.
224 Animal populations 8.1
N-axis
0....- t-axis
The graph of the function N(t) is shown in Fig. 8.1. In this graph, we
have assumed that the constant of proportionaHty k is positive, as we have
already mentioned. The graph increases more and more rapidly with in-
creasing values of t, indicating that the rate of population increase is itself
increasing. Of course, the value of k itself as well as the value of No must
be determined individually for each experimental case; k, for example, should
depend not only on the species of animal involved, but also on the concentra-
tion of the food supply, the effectiveness of the food in promoting reproduc-
tion, the temperature of the environment, and numerous other experimental
factors.
The information that we want to derive from our initial population
equation
N' = k·N
8.1 Unrestricted growth of a single species 225
Exercises
8.1 Suppose for some reason we had been led to the equation
N' =~
N'
226 Animal populations 8.1
N-axis
--
is well approximated by
---------- N(t) = No· ekt for small
~';1'
"'.... populations.
~';1'
~~
' - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - t-axis
where k is a constant. Assuming that the population N and its rate of in-
crease N' are both positive at some initial time t = 0, sketch the graph
showing-very roughly-the behavior of the function N(t).
8.2 If a population N is initially positive, and its rate of increase N' is
constant, what will be the behavior of the function N(t)? Treat three cases:
when the constant is positive, when it is zero, and when it is negative.
8.3 For reasons given in Section 8.1, it would be plausible to suppose that
an animal population of N individuals would have a constant birth rate b,
resulting in a rate of increase in the population B = bN proportional to the
value of N ; it is equally reasonable that the population would have a constant
death rate d, resulting in a rate of decrease D = dN in the population also
proportional to the value of N. The net rate of increase in the population,
which we have denoted by N', should then have the form
N' = B - D.
Show how the equation
N' = kN
.
can be derived from the above assumptions. What is the value of k? What
interpretation can be given to the constant k?
8.1 Unrestricted growth of a single species 227
N-axis
L....- t-axis
N-axis
8.5 Here is one method by which the graph of a function N(t) satisfying a
differential equation such as
N'(t) = k· N(t)
can be found approximately, without the necessity of actually obtaining an
explicit formula for the function N(t). We shall illustrate how the procedure
works with the equation above, assuming k > 0, and leave it to you to fill
in the details.
Imagine a point in the first quadrant, as shown emphasized in Fig. 8.4.
Here both Nand t are nonnegative, and since N' = k· N, N' is also non-
negative. Also, the larger the value of N, the larger the corresponding value of
N'. So the point indicated on the graph not only represents a certain possible
population at a certain time, but also can be thought of as lying on the graph
of a solution to the above equation. As t increases the value of N must also
increase, as indicated by the arrow. For larger values of N the rate of increase
will be proportionately greater, as indicated by the equation N' = k· N.
Thus arrows of steeper slope are indicated for the larger values of N. Note
that smaller values of N have associated with them arrows of smaller slope
8.2 Growth of a species under limiting conditions 229
as well, but the slope is always positive because N' is positive in the first
quadrant (except when N = 0). If you select an initial population value
No, and sketch in a smooth curve following the trend of the arrows, you will
obtain a rough idea of the shape of the graph of N(t).
You can repeat this process with the first two exercises, as well as with
other differential equations such as
N'= N
N + l'
N' = k·N.
One very simple way to do this is to introduce into the equation a term which
will, in effect, decrease the value of the rate constant k as the value of N
increases. A very natural way of doing this is to assume that the population
is living in an environment that will support a certain maximum population
M of individuals, and the closer the value of N gets to the number M, the
smaller the value of k (and thus the smaller the value of N'). However, the
solution of the previous section turns out to be quite accurate for small
values of N, and hence we do not wish to modify the value of k when N
is small. What we need is a term that has the value 1 for N very small, and
which decreases to 0 as N increases; in fact, it should become 0 when N = M
and become negative for N > M.
The reason for the latter consideration is that we can imagine an animal
population in an environment of insufficient resources to support that
population. In such a case, it seems reasonable that the number of deaths
would exceed the number of births, and thus that the value of N' would be
negative, indicating a net decrease in the population.
Hence we need to multiply the constant k by a term that is nearly 1 for
N close to zero, a term that decreases to zero as N gets closer and closer to
the value M, and that becomes negative if N exceeds M. One of the simplest
ways of inventing a formula for such a term is to use
M-N
M
230 Animal populations 8.2
and this is the equation that we shall examine. There is only moderate
difficulty in actually finding the form of the function N(t), but we shall spare
you the details, and use instead the sort of analysis that will be appropriate
in later sections. Remember that, as before, k is a positive constant, and M
too is a positive constant, indicating a maximum population that can be
supported by the environment.
We can use the same sort of analysis as was used in Exercise 8.5. We
sketch in Fig. 8.5 the arrows indicating the direction of movement of the
value of the population. For small values of N (small, that is, relative to M)
the value of(M - N)/M is very close to the number 1, so that its effect on the
equation can be neglected. Hence, for small N, N' is approximately pro-
portional to N, and so for larger values of N the arrows become steeper.
However, somewhere along the line the effect of the term (M - N)/M
begins to make itself felt, and the arrows become no steeper; indeed, as N
increases, the term (M - N)/M becomes quite small, effectively reducing the
value of k and thus the value of N'. Hence the arrows begin to flatten out.
For N = M, in fact, the arrows must be horizontal, indicating no change in
the population, for when N = M, the equation
M N
N'=kN· -
M
becomes
N' = O.
That is, there is no change in the population.
Finally, for N > M the value of (M - N)/M is negative, and the arrows
must slope downward; as N continues to increase, the downward slope of the
arrows must increase since (M - N)/M is taking on values such as -1,
-2, -3, ....
In Fig. 8.6 we show three different population curves, each depending
on the initial choice No of the population at time t = O. These curves are
8.2 Growth of a species under limiting conditions 231
N-axis
,N =M
""","
""" " """ " ........... .........
------------------------------------------------
.....,. .....,.
.." . . " ~ .....,.
./ / / / / /
I I I I I I Fig.8.5 Approximating
the graph of a solution to
N' = kN·(M - N)/M.
I I I I I I
I I I I I I
./ ./ / / /
"~
"" ~ ~.....,. ,;#'"
t-axis
N-axis
~--------------t-axis
232 Animal populations 8.2
N' = kN. M - N
M
would give a solution N(t) that would more accurately fit the experimental
data in more cases; for example, one might wish to consider instead the
equation
or even ask, in general, for the best possible exponent rx in the equation
However, for reasonable choices of rx, the steady-state behavior of the system
will generally be unchanged. We shall consider at present only the case of our
original equation, where rx = 1. Suppose, then, we inquire into the behavior
of the function N(t) that solves
N' = kN. M - N
M '
as t increases without bound. The answer is already before us. The fact that
all the arrows in Fig. 8.6 are directed toward the horizontal line where N = M
indicates that, regardless of the initial population, its size will tend toward the
value Mas t increases; unless, of course, No = O. This simple analysis will
not be much complicated in the more complex systems we take up in the
next sections.
8.3 The case of two competing species 233
Exercises
8.6 Repeat the analysis of this section for the differential equation
and show that the population tends toward one of the two values 0 or M.
For what initial value of the population will it tend toward the value O?
8.7 Examine the behavior of the population equation
N' = k. (N)1/2 . M - N .
M
This equation has been observed to give accurate fits to experimental data
under certain conditions.
8.8 Construct, as an alternative to (M - N)jM, a formula for the so-called
degree of realization of potential population increase. Examine the corres-
ponding differential equation and see if it has the right sort of general
behavior as t increases without bound.
8.9 Suppose that a cylindrical tank with vertical axis has a small hole in its
bottom, is filled with water, and the water leaves the tank at a rate proportional
to the water pressure. Make the necessary assumptions about constants
(height of tank, density of water, and so on) and write down the differential
equation whose solution V(t) is the volume of water in the tank at time t.
8.10 Suppose that the increase in a certain animal population due to births
is proportional to the number of individuals present, but that the decrease in
the population due to deaths is constant. Write down the differential equation
describing the behavior of the population N as a function of time t, and
include the term (M - N)jM for degree of realization of potential. What is
the behavior of the solution of this differential equation as t increases with-
out bound?
8.3 THE CASE OF TWO COMPETING SPECIES
We now turn our attention to the case of two different species of animals with
a coexistence problem. We assume that they live in the same space and are
competing for much the same food supply. However, please remember that
we are still making a large number of simplifying assumptions; for example,
we assume that there is under such circumstances a maximum population
which the environment will support with respect to each species, and that
this maximum is constant; in practice, of course, this maximum is likely
to undergo variations because of the available food supply suffering seasonal
variations, and the like.
In order to make the ideas of this section more concrete, we shall con-
sider the case of two reasonably similar species of fish-bluegill and redear-
234 Animal populations 8.3
living in a pond free from predators and with a constant but limited food
supply. Since adults of these species are not predatory upon one another,
we shall ignore the effects of predation on immature fish, so that the most
important aspect of the interspecies competition is the sharing of food and
living space. The important thing here is that bluegill and redear have similar,
though not identical, food preferences. To make the significance of the
notation easy to remember, we shall use the following symbols:
B(t) or B will denote the number of bluegill present at time t.
R(t) or R will denote the number of redear present at time t.
B'(t) or B' will denote the rate of increase of the bluegill population-
as usual, if B' is negative this means that the population is actually decreasing.
R'(t) or R' will denote the rate of increase of the redear population.
With redear absent, we suppose that the pond will support a certain
maximum population of bluegill, and we denote this maximum by C (since
the letters Band C are alphabetically adjacent). Similarly, we let S denote
the maximum population of redear the pond would support in the absence
of bluegill. With redear absent, we have seen in Section 8.2 that a reasonable
differential equation describing the population B(t) of bluegill would be
B' = kB. C - B
C '
where k is a positive constant having to do with the birth and death rate of
bluegill. Similarly, with bluegill absent, we can describe the behavior of the
redear population by
R ' = vR . S - R .
S
Again, v is a positive constant.
With both species present, neither of the above equations will still be
appropriate, for the very existence of redear in the pond impinges upon
the available food and space for bluegill, and in effect decreases the value of C,
the maximum possible bluegill population. In fact, it seems reasonable to
suppose that the value of C would be decreased in direct proportion to the
number of redear present, and hence our degree of realization of potential
term would become
C-B-exR
C
where ex is a constant that can be thought of as representing the degree to
which redear interfere with the bluegills in the latter's quest for food and
space. If a wide variety of foods were available to the two species and their
food preferences overlapped only partially, one would expect the constant
ex to be somewhere between 0 and I; however, if there were only one type of
8.3 The case of two competing species 235
food available and the redear were more efficient in obtaining it than bluegill,
then it would be reasonable to suppose that ex > 1. We shall treat all
possibilities, but remember that there are also numerous other such factors
of comparison between the two species that are concealed in the little
constant ex.
To continue our analysis, we can write a reasonable (though oversim-
plified) equation for the population of bluegill as
B' = kB. C - B - exR
C
and, similarly, the redear equation becomes
R' = vR. S - R - pB .
S
Of course, p plays a role for redear analogous to the role of ex with respect to
bluegill.
What we now ask is this: Given initial populations of the two species
of fish, and values of the various constants, what will be the eventual popula-
tion of the pond? Will one species inevitably dominate the other, so that the
latter becomes extinct and the former reaches its maximum population?
Or can the two species coexist, each at a certain percentage of its maximum
population?
In Fig. 8.7, rather than plotting either of the functions B(t) and R(t)
against the time variable t, we plot instead values of B(t) on the x-axis and
values of R(t) on the y-axis. The reason for this will shortly become clear.
We now ask for what values of Band R will B be increasing; that is, we
solve the inequality B' > O. That is done by recalling that
R-axis
R = Cia
.. 8'<0 Fig.8.7 B' = 0 on the
straight line R = (C - B)/a.
.,
8'>0
L-.---------------'""'-----8-axis
8=C
Case 1 Case 2
,\
\ ,
\ ,
\\
Case 3 Case 4
Fig. 8.8 The four important cases for the positions of the lines on
which B' = 0 and R' = O.
R-axis
8'<0
R'<O
L
L
C S/{3
Which of the actual cases shown in Fig. 8.8 actually occurs depends on
the experimentally obtained values of four of the constants we have in-
troduced; the first case shown in Fig. 8.8 corresponds to the case when
C 8
-<8 and C < -.
(X
f3
We begin our analysis with this case. Under the solid line (or bluegill
line) we have indicated with arrows pointing to the right the fact that B is
increasing, and above that line the arrows pointing to the left mean that in
that region B is decreasing. At the beginning of each of these arrows we have
attached another arrow, vertically upward if R is increasing and vertically
downward if R is decreasing. All this is shown in Fig. 8.9, and is just a
convenient way of indicating that in the small triangle, both populations are
increasing; in the middle region, the redear population is increasing while the
bluegill population is decreasing, and above both lines both populations are
decreasing. Moreover, note that on the bluegill line the values of Band R
are such that B' = 0; that is, the bluegill population is steady. Similarly,
the redear population is steady on the redear line.
8.3 The case of two competing species 239
R-axis
C 8
-<8 and C < -.
a. fJ
For simplicity, and because the two species are fairly similar in this example,
we suppose that C = S. Then
8 8
- < 8 and 8<-
a. fJ'
or
1 < a. and fJ<1.
Remember that a. can be thought of, very roughly, as measuring the degree to
which the redears interfere with the success of bluegills, and fJ the degree to
which bluegills interfere with redears. That a. > 1 and fJ < 1 thus could be
interpreted, very simply, as meaning that in this situation, redear is a "more
successful" species.
If we pass to the second case shown in Fig. 8.8, then the situation would
be exactly reversed. If it turned out, by experimental measurement, that C
and S were approximately equal and that a. < I and fJ > 1, then the stable
critical point would be located at (C, 0), indicating that one would expect
that the population ofthe pond would tend toward the maximum of bluegill
and no redear.
The third case shown in Fig. 8.8 is the most complicated. If you fill in the
arrows indicating the direction of population trend as in Fig. 8.9, you will
obtain a diagram much like that shown in Fig. 8.11. Here, for C and S
approximately equal, it turns out that both a. and fJ can be expected to exceed
242 Animal populations 8.3
R-axis
Fig.8.11 Directions of
Cia population trends in the
case of an unstable critical
point in the first quadrant.
L
L-----------~---~--B-axis
SI(3 C
the number 1, which should indicate that each species competes more suc-
cessfully with the other than with itself. This sounds like a peculiar situation,
and some typical lines of population flow are shown in Fig. 8.12.
We have here two stable critical points-one where B = 0 and R = S
(all redear) and one where B = C and R = 0 (all bluegill). The expected
critical point at (0, 0) is unstable and also rather uninteresting. But the
bluegill line and redear line cross at a point in the first quadrant, specifically at
rxS - C
B= ,
rxf3 - 1
and
R _ ,--f3C
_ -_S
- rxf3 - 1 .
At this point, both B' and R' are zero, indicating a steady-state popula-
tion, but this state is certainly unstable since a small change will generally
force a population movement toward one of the two stable critical points.
8.3 The case of two competing species 243
R-axis
The curves in Fig. 8.12 also tell us how to predict the eventual fish population.
If the pond starts with relatively few redear, the curves flow toward the point
of eventual extinction of redear; with relatively few bluegill, the redear will
eventually dominate the pond.
The most interesting case of all, shown as the fourth case in Fig. 8.8,
has been reserved for your enjoyment as the very next exercise.
Exercises
S<-
c and c s
<-.
ex p
Draw figures analogous to Figs. 8.11 and 8.12. Find the stable and
unstable critical points and discuss the physical interpretation of your
solution.
8.12 Give a reason why we can ignore such cases as those in which the
redear and bluegill lines coincide, or intersect on one of the coordinate axes.
244 Animal populations 8.4
8.13 What sort of critical points are obtained in case the redear and bluegill
lines do coincide?
8.14 See Exercise 8.11. Does it make sense to draw the arrows on the co-
ordinate axes? Does it make sense to draw curves of population movement
that intersect the axes? What interpretation would you give to such a curve?
8.15 Let us consider the case examined in Exercise 8.11, in which a critical
point is found where both Band R are positive. Assume it is plausible that a
fisherman fishing for bluegill and only bluegill has the effect of decreasing the
value of C, the maximum population of bluegill supportable by the pond.
What effect will his fishing have on the relative populations of bluegill and
redear in case the populations have previously stabilized at the critical point
mentioned above? What if the fisherman is so expert that he reduces the value
of C so much that Clr.x < 8?
8.16 In analogy to the case of two competing species considered in this
section, write down reasonable differential equations describing the case of
three competing species.
8.17 Why must the "bluegill line" and the "redear line" each cross the
coordinate axes at a positive value?
8.18 In Section 8.2, the differential equation
M N
N'=kN· -
M
redear will not prey upon bass above a certain minimum size. We will make a
large number of simplifying assumptions here, including the following:
• We assume that neither population is so great as to necessitate the in-
troduction of the degree of realization factor. Consequently, the rate of
increase of redear population will be the increase due to births, minus those
redear consumed by bass; here we further assume that such consumption
completely accounts for attrition of redear.
• Moreover, we assume that the increase in the bass population due to
births is wholly dependent on the available food supply-redear and nothing
else. Thus we must introduce a term to account for the decrease in bass
population due to deaths.
• Finally, we assume that redear are consumed at a rate proportional to the
number of encounters between bass and redear. Since the number of such
encounters will thus be proportional to the number of bass as well as to the
number of redear, it is not hard to see that the number of encounters will be
proportional to the product of the number of bass and the number of redear.
For if the number of bass were doubled, the number of encounters would be
doubled. If then, in addition, the number of redear were doubled, the number
of encounters would again be doubled, resulting in four times as many
encounters in all.
Hence we assume that the following very simple differential equations
describe the predator-prey situation:
B' = kBR - dB,
R' = vR - wBR.
Here, B is the number of bass present, B' is as usual the rate of increase of the
bass population, R is the number of redear, and R' their rate of increase.
As we have said, we assume that the rate of increase of the bass population
is proportional to the number of encounters between bass and redear, so that
this rate of increase is kBR, where k is a positive constant. The positive
constant d represents the death rate of bass, presumably from old age; since
the number of deaths of bass is proportional to the bass population, the
attrition of the bass population is thus dB. Since this term represents a
decrease in the bass population, we subtract the number of deaths from the
number of births to obtain the net population increase of bass, and thus we
obtain the first equation
B' = kBR - dB.
We have also assumed that the increase of the redear population due to
births is proportional to the population of redear, so that this term becomes
vR, where v is a positive constant. Redear vanish from the redear population
246 Animal populations 8.4
R-axis
Fig.8.13 Directions of
trends of bass population
B'>O in the predator-prey
example.
R = d/kt-------------------
.. B'<O
.......- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - B - a x i s
R-axis
R'
L
> 0, B' > 0
r
R' <O,B' >0
Fig.8.14 Trends of
bass and redear
d/kl------------~I__-------- population.
kR > d,
or
d
R>-
k'
since k, too, is positive.
We plot the straight line R = djk in the graph shown in Fig. 8.13,
where values of B lie on the x-axis and values of R lie on the y-axis. Thus
the line R = djk is a horizontal line passing through the point djk on the
y-axis, and for values of R in excess of djk-that is, above this straight line-
the bass population is increasing since B' > 0, when R > djk. This makes
good sense; when there are many redear, the bass population should be on
the increase, and when there are few redear the number of bass should be
decreasing. This information is indicated by the usual arrows in Fig. 8.13.
We next ask for what values of Band R is the redear population increas-
ing; that is, we solve R' > 0. We have
vR - wBR > 0,
so that
v - wB > 0,
and hence
v
B < -.
w
We plot the vertical line B = vjw in the graph shown in Fig. 8.14; for
values of B less than vjw (that is, to the left of this line) R' > 0, and so the
redear population is increasing. And if B > vjw, the redear population is
decreasing. The usual arrows have been drawn in Fig. 8.14, summarizing
our findings about the population changes of the two species.
Now on the line R = djk, the horizontal line shown in Fig. 8.14,
B' = 0. This can be seen by substitution of R = djk in the bass equation
R-axis
°
Similarly, R' = on the vertical line B = v/w. Hence the point (v/w, d/k)
where the two lines intersect is a critical point. Its stability will be discussed
shortly. Another critical point is (0, 0), the case in which the two species are
absent from the pond. In practice this should probably be considered a stable
critical point, since if a few of each species are introduced the bass could be
expected to eliminate the redear and then die of starvation themselves-
remember, we are assuming that the bass have no other food supply.
There is no other critical point where R = 0, for again, in the absence of
redear, the bass population will decrease to zero. One can expect a critical
point where B = 0, somewhere high up on the vertical axis, where the
population of redear will stabilize at a point much higher than if bass were
present. This is not indicated by our differential equations, since for sim-
plicity we omitted the degree of realization term from each equation.
In Fig. 8.15 we have indicated the apparent behavior of the curves of
population trend. The behavior of the arrows in the previous figure very
strongly suggests that the curves are closed, and thus that the population
8.4 The predator-prey case 249
of each species will undergo periodic variations. First bass and redear in-
crease, then the larger number of bass cause the redear population to decrease;
next, the diminished food supply causes a decrease in the bass population,
and finally this last decrease permits an increase in redear until there are
sufficiently many to permit an increase in the number of bass.
It might actually be that the curves are slowly spiraling in to the point
(v/w, d/k), in which case the latter would be a stable critical point; or,
possibly, the curves could be spiraling slowly outward, and the point
(v/w, d/k) would then be an unstable critical point. For these particularly
simple differential equations, it turns out that the point (v/w, d/k) is neither.
The curves actually are closed, and hence a perturbation in a population
initially with values B = v/w, R = d/k will result in a new population which
can be thought of as having values circling about the point (v/w, d/k), and
thus not really moving either away from or closer to the point (v/w, d/k).
Perhaps some term could be invented here, such as calling this the case of a
quasi-stable critical point.
In addition, each closed curve of the sort shown in Fig. 8.15 can also be
thought of as a critical path ("path" seems a better term than "point"
here), since deviations from one curve simply place the population on a
nearby curve. It also is sensible to ask about the duration of such a path-
that is, how long does it take the population to go through one complete
cycle? For some species of fish and many mammals, the duration of a cycle
is usually measured in terms of a few years; curiously enough, even the much
"longer" paths do not seem to have much greater duration that the very
short ones. Of course, these very simple differential equations cannot pretend
to be an accurate representation of what actually takes place in nature, but
such cycles have been observed with sufficient frequency so that they deserve
some explanation, even a weak one.
In summary, the mathematics predicts the existence of periodic cycles
in populations of predators and their prey, such cycles have been observed,
and there is apparently a good reason why such cycles should occur.
Exercises
8.21 In the predator-prey case involving bass and redear, it would seem to
the fisherman's advantage to fish so as to move the populations of each
species close to the quasi-stable critical point (v/w, d/k). Why?
8.22 Continuing the previous exercise, during which parts of the population
cycle should the fisherman fish for bass? For redear? Can he ever fish for
both? Should he ever fish for neither?
8.23 Suppose that there are two species of fish in a pond, say A and B, and
the members of species A eat the eggs of species B at a rate proportional to
the population of species A. Suppose also that the members of species B
250 Animal populations 8.4
A' = etA. KB - A
KB '
and
B' = f3B' M - B - kA .
M
S-R
R' = vR· - wBR
S '
where S is the maximum population of redear the pond can support, and the
other constants and terms have the same meaning as in the last section.
Making reasonable assumptions about the relative sizes of these constants
where necessary, find critical points and sketch curves of population trend
for this system of differential equations.
8.4 The predator-prey case 251
8.29 Suppose the two sPecies Band R are symbiotic, though neither is
completely dependent on the other, and there is no competition for food or
space. Explain the origin of the descriptive equations
for bass and redear, suppose a poison is introduced into the pond which
kills members of each species at a rate proportional to the population of that
species. We could then write the modified equations
B' = kBR - dB - pB,
R' = vR - wBR - qR,
where p and q are the positive "poison" coefficients. Without the poison
terms, the most interesting stable critical point is (v/w, d/k), as we have seen.
Where is the corresponding critical point for the new system of equations?
In particular, will the number of prey rise or fall?
8.33 Ladybugs prey on aphids, and aphids are hard on many vegetables and
ornamentals. If you observe a stable population of ladybugs and aphids in
your garden, and you have an insecticide as effective in killing ladybugs as in
killing aphids, should you spray?
8.34 Suppose that a city of fixed area contains N(t) automobiles at time t.
Suppose also that new cars are being introduced into the city at a constant
rate, and that cars are being permanently removed by total destruction due to
two types of accidents-single-vehicle accidents and two-vehicle accidents.
252 Animal populations 8.4
B' = kBR. M - R
M '
THE
ART
GALLERY
THEOREM
254
9.1 Convex sets 255
y-axis
- - - - + - - -.......- - - - - - - - - - - x-axis
a
be true that the segment [a, b] belongs wholly to C. And thus, to prove a set
is convex, a usually fruitful approach is to select two arbitrary points a and b
of the set, and then prove that [a, b] is a subset of the given set.
For some examples, the plane sets shown in Fig. 9.2 are convex; those
shown in Fig. 9.3 are not. Some special cases of convex sets are these:
E 2 itself is convex.
Each segment [a, b] is convex.
A set consisting of just one point in E 2 is convex.
A circular disk in E 2 , containing all, part, or none of its boundary, is
convex.
If C consists of a triangle together with all points within the triangle, then
C is convex. (We will call such a set a triangular region.)
The empty set 0 is convex.
The last assertion above is a consequence of the definition of convexity.
For if a set S is not convex, it must contain at least one pair of points a and
b such that [a, b] is not wholly contained in S. The empty set contains no
such pair of points, for it contains no points at all.
On the other hand, while it is at least intuitively clear that a triangular
region is convex, a formal proof of this is difficult and depends on a careful
definition of "triangle." You should assume whenever necessary that a
triangular region is convex, even though we will not supply a proof of this
fact.
Exercises
9.1 Professor Aardvark told his class that a convex set was one "each
two points of which could see each other." What did he mean?
9.2 Let a and b be points of E 2 • Under what circumstances is the set {a, b}
convex?
9.3 How would you define convexity for subsets of three-dimensional
space E 3 ?
9.4 How would you define convexity for subsets of one-dimensional
space E 1 ?
9.5 Prove Theorem 9.1; that is, show that if a and b are points of E 2 and
p E [a, b], then
[~p]u[p,~ = [~~.
9.6 Draw three convex sets in E 2 such that any two of them have at least
one point in common, but such that there is no point common to all three of
the sets.
9.7 Prove that each segment [a, b] is convex.
9.1 Convex sets 257
Fig.9.2 Two
convex sets in £2.
Fig.9.3 Two
nonconvex sets in £2.
258 The art gallery theorem 9.2
C and Dare.
9.8 Draw two overlapping convex sets C and D. In your example, is their
intersection C (J D also convex?
9.9 Prove that if C and D are any two convex sets whatsoever in £2, then
C (J D must be convex.
9.10 Must the union of two convex sets be convex? Explain the reason for
your answers.
By mimicking this proof, you can show without difficulty that the inter-
section of three convex sets must be convex. For a start, let A, B, and C be
convex sets, and let D = A n B n C. Stop here and try to prove that D
must be convex.
If you worked Exercise 9.10, you probably saw that the union of two
convex sets need not be convex. In fact, if p and q are two points of £2,
then each of the sets {p} and {q} is convex, but their union {p, q} is not,
since it does not contain all the points of the segment [p, q]. Even if two
convex sets have points in common, their union need not be convex, a fact
that you can establish by means of innumerable simple examples. However,
there is one situation in which the union of convex sets is convex-this
situation will be discussed in the next group of exercises.
Though you may have thought of one proof that the intersection of
three convex sets must be convex, there are two, one proof involving seg-
ments (probably the one you thought of), and one not; the latter is the one
given for our next result.
D = (A n B) n C,
Exercises
9.11 Use the technique of the proof of Theorem 9.3 to show that the inter-
section of four convex sets must be convex.
9.12 Suppose that n is a natural number at least 2, and it is known that the
intersection of any collection of n convex sets is convex. Use this fact and
the technique of the proof of Theorem 9.3 to show that the intersection of any
collection of n + 1 convex sets is a convex set.
9.13 Does it follow from Theorem 9.2 and the previous exercise that the
intersection of any finite collection of convex sets is convex? Explain
carefully.
9.14 Does it follow from Theorem 9.2 and Exercise 9.12 that the intersection
of infinitely many convex sets is convex? Explain your answer.
260 The art gallery theorem 9.3
9.15 In the previous section it was mentioned that there is one special
situation in which the union of convex sets must be convex. This occurs when
the collection of convex sets forms what is called a tower. That is, the
collection ~ of sets-eonvex or not-is said to be a tower if, given any two
sets A and B in the collection ~, it is true that either
AcB or B cA.
Prove that if ~ is a tower of convex sets, then u ~ (the union of all sets
in the collection ~) is convex. Hint: If p and q are two points of u~, then
pEA and q E B for some sets A and B in~. How can you use the fact that
~ is a tower?
9.16 Does Theorem 9.2 hold for convex sets in E 3 ? (The notation E 3 of
course stands for three-dimensional Euclidean space.) Explain.
9.17 Do Theorem 9.3 and the technique of its proof remain valid for
convex sets in E 3 ? Why?
9.18 Does Exercise 9.15 hold for convex sets in E 3 ? Give your reasons.
9.19 Let ~ be a collection of sets each finite subcollection of which is a
tower. Does it follow that ~ itself must be a tower? Explain your answer.
9.20 If ~ is a tower of sets in E 2 , need there be a "largest" element of ~
that is, need ~ include a set L such that L contains all the other sets in ~?
Explain carefully.
s
Fig. 9.5 Forming
the convex hull
of the two sets
Sand T.
Hul (S) I
Hull TI
Ker (T)
Some examples of the formation of Ker (A) from A are shown in Fig. 9.6.
One convenient way to remember the definition of Ker (A) is to say that
Ker (A) is the set of all points of A that can "see" all the other points of A.
And, in analogy to our theorem about the convex hull, we have our next
result.
Again, the easy proof is left for the exercises. The analogy between
kernels and hulls is not perfect; while there is a unique "smallest" convex
set containing the given set A, the kernel need be neither the largest nor the
smallest convex subset of A. However, there is a connection between Ker (A)
and the "largest" convex subsets of A, and we will make this connection
explicit in our next theorem. But, before we even state that theorem, some
preliminaries are needed.
Let ~ be a collection of sets, and let II be a property meaningful for each
set A E~. (That is, for each set A in ~ it is either true or false that A has
property II.) The set M in ~ is said to be maximal with respect to property
II if
a) M has property II, and
b) M is not a proper subset of any other set in ~ having property II.
It is important that you do not confuse the property of being maximal
with the property of being maximum. A maximum set having property II
would be a set having property II and also containing every other set having
property n. To illustrate the distinction, we give an example.
Let ~ be the collection of all subsets of £2. Let us say that a subset of the
plane is nonlinear if no three of its points lie on a straight line. Let II be the
property of "being nonlinear." Then II is certainly meaningful for sets in the
collection~. And ~ contains sets maximal with respect to property II; for
example, let M be a circle.
Then M is maximal with respect to being nonlinear, because
a) M itself is nonlinear, and
b) if M is a proper subset of L (where L E~) then L cannot have property
II-for since M is a proper subset of L, L contains at least one point
x ¢ M. A straight line through x and the center of the circle M contains
x and two points of M, thus three points of L, since MeL.
This example shows that a set that is maximal with respect to property II
need not be unique, for there are numerous different circles in the plane,
and each is maximal with respect to being nonlinear. However, there is no
subset of £2 that is a maximum with respect to being nonlinear, for the only
subset of £2 containing all circles is £2 itself, and £2 is not nonlinear.
The following axiom is one form of the so-called Zermelo Axiom, which
is usually assumed true by most mathematicians. We will need this axiom
to prove our next theorem.
Axiom Let ~ be a collection of sets and let II be the property of "being a
tower." (Then II is meaningful for each subcollection d c ~, since each
such subcollection either is or is not a tower.) Then ~ contains a subcollection
.,I( maximal with respect to property n.
264 The art gallery theorem 9.3
b) C c A;
c) C is convex; and
d) C is maximal with respect to the above three properties.
Proof Let ~ be the collection of all convex subsets of A containing p.
Then ~ is not the empty collection, since {p} E~. By the axiom, ~ contains a
maximal tower J(. By Exercise 9.15, u vii is convex. Let C = u vii. It
is not difficult to show that C has the four desired properties listed in the
statement of the lemma.
Theorem 9.7 Let A be a subset of E 2 • Let f!A be the collection of all maximal
convex subsets of A. Then Ker (A) = n f!A.
The proof is outlined in one of the next exercises.
Exercises
9.21 This and the next three exercises provide a proof of Theorem 9.5.
Let A be a subset of E 2 • Show that A c Hul (A).
9.22 Let A be a subset of E 2 • Show that Hul (A) is convex.
9.23 Let A be a subset of E 2 and let C be a convex subset of E 2 such that
A c C. Prove that Hul (A) c C.
9.24 Let A be a subset of E 2 • Prove that A is convex if and only if A =
Hul (A).
9.3 Hulls and kernels 265
9.25 Let A be a subset of £2, and let A(A) be the set obtained by adjoining
to A all points belonging to segments [p, q], where p and q are points of A.
For example, if A is a circle, this process produces a circular disk for A(A).
Need the set A(A) formed in this way be convex? Explain.
9.26 Continuing the previous exercise, show that A C A(A) and that
A(A) C Hul (A).
9.27 See the previous two exercises. Is it true that, given A c £2, the
application of A a finite number of times will produce Hul (A)? That is, is it
true that one of the sets
A, A(A), A(A(A»), A(A(A(A»), . ..
must be the convex hull of A? Is there a maximum number of applications of
A that will always suffice for the production ofHul (A)? What is this number?
9.28 Repeat the previous three exercises for subsets of £3 rather than £2.
9.29 Repeat Exercises 9.25, 9.26, and 9.27 for subsets of £1 rather than £2.
9.30 Let A be a subset of £2 and let 9" be the collection of all triangular
regions whose vertices lie in A. Need Hul (A) = u 9"? Why?
9.31 Let A be a subset of £3 and let 9" be the collection of all triangular
regions whose vertices lie in A. Need Hul (A) = u 9"? Explain.
9.32 Give an example of a tower CC of convex subsets of £2 such that (") CC
is nonempty. Then give an example such that (") CC is empty.
9.33 In the previous section we provided an example-being nonlinear-
as a property meaningful for subsets of £2, and a set maximal with respect
to this property. Provide a different example of such a property and, if
.
possible, find a subset maximal with respect to that property.
9.34 Let CC consist of all convex subsets of £2 no one of which contains the
origin (0, 0). Show that there exists a maximal convex subset of £2 not
containing the origin. Is it possible to use the axiom of the last section?
Is it necessary?
9.35 If CC is the empty collection of subsets of £2, what is (") CC? Hint: If
p ¢ (") CC, then p must fail to belong to some set in the collection CC. What
points p have this property?
9.36 IfCC is the collection of subsets of £2 consisting of just one set, say A-
that is, CC = {A}-then what is (") CC?
9.37 Let A be a subset of £2. Show that the point p belongs to Hul (A)
if and only if p belongs to the convex hull of a set consisting of three or fewer
points of A. Hint: Use Exercise 9.30 if you wish.
9.38 The last line of the proof of the Lemma of the preceding section leaves
verification of the four properties of the Lemma for the reader. Please verify
them.
266 The art gallery theorem 9.4
(5,0)
ABC
, ABO
I , \
\
,,,
I \
\
\
,,,
\
\
\
,,,
\
\
\ Fig. 9.8 One case in the
---------- --
---- ----
ACO
A n B n (D n E), B n C n (D n E).
Because of what we have observed about fJI, each of the above sets is
nonempty. Hence each three sets in d have nonempty intersection. Since
each set in d is convex, it follows by what we have already proved that any
four sets in d have nonempty intersection. There are only four sets in d,
so we now know that
A n B n C n (D n E)
270 The art gallery theorem 9.4
In every case, any intersection of four sets from if can be thought of as the
intersection of five or fewer sets from fi), and hence any intersection of four
sets from if is nonempty. Hence, by what we have already shown, the inter-
section of any five sets from if must also be nonempty. The only possibility
for such an intersection is
A n B n C n D n (E n F),
but this is the same as the intersection of all six of the sets in f!}. So the
intersection of any six sets from Cfj itself is nonempty.
Thus, given n > 4, we will eventually reach the value of the integer n
after a number of repetitions of this idea, and thus we can conclude that the
intersection of any finite subcollection of sets from Cfj is nonempty. This
establishes our version of Helly's Theorem.
Exercises
9.41 Does the following statement describe what was actually shown in our
proof of Helly's Theorem?
Suppose that Cfj is a collection of convex sets in the plane, n is a whole
number at least 3, and any n sets in Cfj have nonempty intersection. Then any
n + 1 sets in Cfj have nonempty intersection.
9.42 Suppose that Cfj is a collection of 5000 unbounded straight lines in the
plane, any three of which have one point in common. What can you conclude?
9.5 Krasnoselskii's theorem 271
,
,
I
,,
I
I
/'11.
I
...... ......
..., Fig. 9.9 Construction of
I
I
the squares in the Art
I
I Gallery proof.
,
I
I
I
,,
I
, I
I
p ,
I
/..............
,
I
I
I
I .............. I
I -......... I
I........ I
I
,
I -..........
...... , -~_ " I
/
I
, .........
............ ..... -
~'''''I
I "
I
From the second form of the theorem, you can see that the art gallery
must be polygonal in shape and with vertical walls. There are certain other
differences in the statements given above for the Art Gallery Theorem, but
these differences can be resolved by a careful study of the following proof.
We prove the second form, of course.
Proof As shown in Fig. 9.9, we first give the sides of P a counterclockwise
orientation. For each side (J of P thus oriented, there is an unbounded
straight line A containing (J, and the orientation of (J induces a like orientation
on A. This orientation of A makes it possible to distinguish the points on the
"left side" of A from those on the right; just imagine yourself standing on
A, like a tightrope walker, facing in the direction of the orientation; the
"left side" of A consists of those points of £2 to your left.
9.5 Krasnoselskii's theorem 273
The plane set consisting of A together with all points to the left of A is
called the closed left half-plane determined by A. In this half-plane use a
segment of Ato construct a square 8 with the following properties:
But x must lie on the left side of each of the corresponding three lines
A 1 , A2' and A3' For if x were to lie to the right of (for example) A 1 , then
[x, a] would also lie to the right of A1 , and thus there would be points of P
arbitrarily close to (J 1 but to the right of (J l' This cannot happen, for the
counterclockwise orientation of the sides of P guarantees that no points of P
lie immediately to the right of any side of P.
Hence x must lie to the left of each of the lines A 1 , A 2 , and A 3 , and x E P
too. Since each of the three squares 8 1 , 8 2 , and 8 3 is constructed so as to
contain all points of P to the left of the lines used to construct these squares,
it follows that x belongs to all three of the squares 8 b 8 2 , and 8 3 , So each
of the possible triples of squares we have constructed has nonempty inter-
section, and in fact, given three such squares, there is a point of P belonging
to all three of them.
Each square is a convex subset of E 2 (here we understand that a "square"
consists of the boundary together with its interior). So we have the following
situation: We have finitely many convex sets in E 2 -namely, the squares-
and each three of these sets has nonempty intersection. By Helly's Theorem,
there must be a point common to all the squares. We call this point q, and
now we wish to show that q E P.
If q were not a point of P, we could draw a straight line segment from q
to some interior point r of P, and so arrange matters that [q, r] does not
intersect a vertex of P. Then, as one moves along [q, r] in the direction from
q to r, one must first encounter a point of some side (J of P, as shown in Fig.
9.10. Call that point t. Since [q, t] meets P only at the point t, then each
point of [q, t] must lie to the right of the side (J and thus to the right of the
line Adrawn through (J. In particular, q itself would have to lie to the right
of A, and thus q could not be a point of the square 8 built on the line A.
274 The art gallery theorem 9.5
Fig. 9.10
The situation if q ¢ P.
\
\
\
\
This is impossible, since q belongs to every square, and hence we may con-
clude that q is, after all, a point of P.
If we can show that q E Ker (P), this will establish the theorem, for it
will show that Ker (P) =I 0. But suppose that q ¢= Ker (P). Then there
exists some point Z E P that q cannot "see"-that is, such that the segment
[q, z] does not lie entirely within P. Let y be a point of [q, z] not contained
in P, as shown in Fig. 9.11.
Then, as one travels along the segment [y, z] from y to z, one first meets
the boundary of P at some point w on a side (j of P. Hence [q, w] lies to the
right of the side (j, as there are points of [q, w] arbitrarily close to (j but not in
P. But then, q must lie to the right of the straight line A through (j, and hence
q cannot belong to the square S built on A. This is in contradiction to the
fact that q lies in each of the squares, and this contradiction establishes
that q E Ker (P).
Therefore Ker (P) =I 0, and this establishes Krasnoselskii's Theorem.
Actually, Krasnoselskii's Theorem is true for any plane figure bounded
by a closed curve, and the method of proof is quite similar. However, this
version of the theorem requires the use of a form of Helly's Theorem for the
case of the intersection of infinitely many convex sets.
9.5 Krasnoselskii's theorem 275
-----------~~~~ -----x--------
Exercises
9.51 The proof of the Art Gallery Theorem is so long that it is difficult to
understand without a summary. Try summarizing the proof of the theorem;
make your summary as condensed as possible, omitting most reasons. For
example, you might begin like this:
"First orient the sides of P in a counterclockwise direction, then draw
an unbounded straight line through each side. On each such line, construct
a square such that ... "
9.52 How could you phrase the Art Gallery Theorem for a three-dimensional
gallery, with pictures hung in all sorts of directions from an observer?
Should the word "three' in the statement of the theorem then be replaced by
the word "four"?
9.53 Is it possible that although 8 is a nonempty subset of £2, Ker (8) = 0?
Give your reasons.
9.54 An unbounded straight line A in £2 divides £2 into three sets: A itself,
the points of £2 on one side of A, and the points of £2 on the other side of A
(the latter two sets are to contain no points of A itself). The last two sets are
called the open half-planes determined by A.
276 The art gallery theorem 9.6
9.6 i-CONVEXITY
One frequently fruitful approach to mathematics is the generalization of
previous results. Sometimes such generalizations actually simplify the theory
by removing extraneous details, and they sometimes show connections be-
tween branches of mathematics that were thought to be unrelated. One
9.6 L -convexity 277
p# S = u rEp, s] I s E S}.
It would seem plausible that if S is any subset of £2, then p # S would
be convex. Unfortunately, this is not the case. However, it is true that p # S
is L-convex. We leave further development of these ideas to the exercises.
278 The art gallery theorem 9.6
Exercises
9.79 Let P be a polygonal region in E 2 • Suppose that for each two points
x and y on the boundary of P, there exists a point z of P such that [x, z] u
[z, y] c P. Does it follow that P must be L-convex?
9.80 Is it true that the subset S of E 2 is L-convex if and only ifKer (S) :I: 0?
THE
REAL
NUMBER
SYSTEM
We shall begin with the assumption that you already clearly understand the
system (Q, " +, <) of rational numbers with ordinary multiplication and
addition and the usual order relation. We shall examine four main topics:
1) the inadequacies of the rational number system,
2) remedying such inadequacies by construction of the real number system,
3) the significance of decimal expansions for real numbers, and
4) some unusual and important properties of the real number system.
280
10.1 The rational numbers 281
Hence
But,2 = 2, and so
m2
2=-
n2 '
and hence
Now m and n are integers, but here we are concerned only with their
squares, so we may suppose that both m and n are positive. By the Fun-
damental Theorem of Arithmetic, each of m and n has a unique prime
factorization, and so do m 2 and n2 • The prime factorization of m has some
number-possibly zero-of 2's in it, and hence m 2 has one factorization in
which twice as many 2's appear. That is, m 2 has a factorization with an even
number of 2's. Since this factorization is unique, we see that the prime
factorization of m 2 must contain an even number of 2's.
Similarly, the prime factorization of n2 contains an even number of 2's.
So one factorization of 2n 2 contains an odd number of 2's; again, this prime
facto~ization is unique, so the prime factorization of 2n 2 must contain an
odd number of 2's.
But we have the equation
2n 2 = m2•
We have seen that if the term 2n 2 is factored into primes an odd number of
2's must appear in that factorization, while if m 2 is factored into primes
this factorization must contain an even number of 2's. Hence the natural
number with the two names above-the two names 2n 2 and m2-has two
different prime factorizations, one with an even number of 2's and one with
an odd number of 2's. This is in contradiction to the Fundamental Theorem
of Arithmetic, since that theorem guarantees a unique prime factorization
of each natural number. This contradiction means that our original sup-
position-that the equation
you may say that such numbers have yet to be constructed. It depends on
whether you think a mathematician is an explorer or an inventor.)
An alternative formulation of the above situation is this: If S is the set
of all positive rational numbers with squares no less than 2; that is,
S = {r E Q+ I r 2 > 2},
(where Q+ denotes the set of all positive rationals) then the set S contains
no smallest element. The method of showing this will be outlined in one of
the exercises at the end of this section.
But you have undoubtedly approximated .J2 by a sequence of numbers
such as
1.4, 1.41, 1.414, 1.4142, 1.41421, ....
And you have likely carried out the above decimal approximations sufficiently
far to obtain the necessary accuracy in the context of the problem you are
working. It is not difficult to find what such a sequence is tending to, if
there is some regularity or periodicity in the terms of the sequence. For
example, the sequence
0.3, 0.33, 0.333, 0.3333, 0.33333, ...
can easily be seen to be tending toward the number whose decimal expansion
IS
0.333 333 333 ... ,
and the "value" of this decimal can be calculated using some elementary
knowledge about geometric series. The above nonterminating decimal is
actually just an abbreviation for
3 3 3
10 + 100 + 1000 +"',
which is a geometric series with ratio 1/10 (since each term is 1/10 the
previous) and first term 3/10. If the ratio is between -1, and 1, the sum of
such a series is given by the formula
a
1- r
where a is the first term of the series and r is its ratio; in the case of the series
for the decimal 0.333 333 333 ... , we find its value to be
3
10 1
1 3
1
10
284 The real number system 10.1
/i\
/' I \
VL./, / '
.f7'f I: " \
"
" " "I'
I
\
\
,," I '
-(3/2) 7/4 3
Exercises
n =1= 22 ?
7
as a rational number; that is, in the form min, where m and n are integers
and n =1= O.
10.16 Express
0.327 327 327 ...
as a rational number.
10.17 Express
0.999 999 999 ...
as a rational number.
10.18 Prove that ,J6 is not a rational number.
10.19 Prove that,J2 + ,J3 is not a rational number. Hint: Begin much as
in the proof of Theorem 10.1. Then use Exercise 10.18.
10.20 Prove that,J2 + ,J3 is not a solution of any equation of the form
ax 2 + bx + c = 0,
where a, b, and c are rational numbers. Hint: There is no loss of generality
in supposing that a = I-why not?
This exercise together with the previous one shows that there are irrational
numbers not solutions to any quadratic equation with rational coefficients.
10.21 Prove that no rational number is a solution of the equation
x 3 = 2.
288 The real number system 10.2
That is, [a, b] consists of all rational numbers between a and b, including
a and b. As we have seen in Theorem 10.2, each such set contains infinitely
many rational numbers.
If [a, b] is given, then we denote its length by A([a, b]), which is given by
the formula
A([a, b]) = b - a.
Thus if I is an interval of rational numbers, then A(I) is a positive rational
number, and if J c I and J is an interval of rational numbers, then
A(J) ~ A(I).
In fact, if J is a proper subset of I, then A(J) < A(I), a fact whose proof
is outlined in the next set of exercises.
We shall be concerned with sequences of such intervals of the form
where each interval contains the one immediately after it In the above
sequence, and where the sequence of numbers
This definition does not mean merely that as n increases, the numbers Sn
get closer and closer to zero.
3/2
2
o
Fig. 10.3 The sequence gets closer to 0 but does not have limit O.
1/16
0
/ I
1/5 1/4
I I
1/3 1
I
/
1/7
Fig. 10.4 The sequence has limit 0 though it does not steadily get closer to O.
10.2 Nested intervals of rational numbers 291
1 ! ! 111 1
, 4' 3' 16' 5' 64' ;;'
as indicated in Fig. 10.4. The terms of this sequence do not steadily get
closer and closer to zero; however, the sequence does have limit zero. Here
is one proof of this fact; note how we follow exactly the pattern of the
definition.
Let e > 0 be given. Since to this point, only rational numbers "exist,"
e itself is rational, and thus has the form
a
e = -,
b
where a and b are natural numbers. Let k = b + 1. Suppose that n > k.
For n odd,
1 1
ISnl = - --
n n
and for n even,
1 1
= - n <-.
2 - n
Hence, if n > k, then
That is, given e > 0, we have shown the existence of a natural number k
such that for each n > k,
ISnl < e.
Therefore, by definition, the given sequence {sn} has limit zero.
An alternative way of putting the definition of the sequence {sn} having
limit zero is this: No matter how small an interval of the form (- e, e) is
chosen around zero, from some point on all the terms of the sequence {sn}
lie within that interval. This phenomenon is illustrated in Fig. 10.5.
We shall, in essence, construct the real numbers by locating their position
using sequences of closed intervals of rational numbers. A typical sequence
for locating .J2 would be
11 = [1, 2],
12 = [1.4, 1.5],
13 = [1.41, 1.42],
14 = [1.414, 1.415],
Is = [1.4141, 1.4142],
292 The real number system 10.2
( I I I ""11111 I I ) I
o
Fig.10.5 All terms of the sequence from 524 on lie in the interval ( -e, e).
2
1.4 1.5
1.414 1.415
1.41 1.42
These intervals are shown in Fig. 10.6. The behavior of these intervals is
such that only the number ,J"2 can belong to all of them. However, since
,J"2 has not yet been "constructed," we cannot speak of the one number
belonging to all of these intervals; indeed, in our context of the rational
numbers and only the rational numbers, there is no number which belongs
to all the above intervals. Hence what we will do is simply say that the number
,J"2 is the sequence {In}' This is a subtle and ingenious idea, and the way it
succeeds is aesthetically very pleasing.
What is necessary to make this idea succeed is the behavior of the above
sequence of intervals. The significant characteristics we need are these given
below, which you can check in the above example.
a) For each n, I n+ 1 is a proper subset of In.
b) The sequence {A(In)} has limit zero.
We abstract such behavior to obtain our next definition.
A nested sequence of closed intervals of rational numbers is a sequence
Exercises
a) 1191 b) 1-71
c) 101 d) Ixl
e) I-xl f) Ilxll
10.30 Prove that the sequence
1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, 1, 0, ... ?
r, r 2
,r3,r
4
, ...
has limit zero.
10.34 Let a and r be rational numbers and n a natural number. Show that
a(1 - r n + 1)
a + ar + ar 2
+ ar 3
+ ... + ar n
= .
1 - r
10.3 Construction of the real numbers 295
In = [1 - ~, 1+ ~}
and
In = [1 - ~, 1]
for each natural number n. If' = {In} and" = {In}, then' = ,,; the reason
is that every interval In as well as every interval I n contains the number 1,
296 The real number system 10.3
r s
Kn
~[
1m
r
] [ -,
}
~------------------~
L Jr .J
Fig. 10.7 A contradiction is reached because all the intervals J t have length at
least s - t.
c) 1] and 1] = e then
Proof Parts (a) and (b) are obvious. To establish part (c), suppose by way of
contradiction that' i= e. Then some interval 1m in , is disjoint from some
interval K n in e. Since 1m and K n are intervals, we can suppose that each
number in 1m is less than each number in K m as indicated in Fig. 10.7. In
particular, the right-hand endpoint r or 1m is less than the left-hand endpoint
s of K n•
Since , = 1] and 1] = (), it is not hard to see that each interval J t in
the sequence 1] must contain both rand s, since each interval J t must intersect
both 1m and K n • Since r < s, s - r is a positive number, and hence
J...(Jt) > s - r
for all natural numbers t, as the interval [r, sJ is a subset of J t for each natural
number t. Hence the sequence {J...(Jtn cannot have limit zero. This con-
tradicts the fact that 1] is a sequence of nested intervals of rational numbers,
10.3 Construction of the real numbers 297
and
'1 = {J1 , J 2 , J 3 , ••• }.
We define, + '1 to be the sequence
{I 1 + J 1 , 12 + J 2 , 13 + J3 , ••• },
Although {In} and {Xn} are equivalent, they need not be identical;
similar remarks hold for {In } and {Yn }. Thus you should not expect the two
sequences
and
10.3 Construction of the real numbers 299
to be identical; the problem is, however, that they may not even be equivalent.
Since they are both supposed to determine the same sum' + 1'/, the two
sequence sums above should be equivalent, or else there is an unacceptable
ambiguity in our definition of real number addition.
This problem can best be illustrated by an attempt to define a method
of combining rational numbers other than addition or multiplication.
Suppose, for each two rational numbers rand s, we define r # s as follows:
Represent each of rand s as quotients of whole numbers (with nonzero
denominator)-thus
m a
r =- and s = -
n b'
where m, n, a, and b are integers, and neither n nor b is zero. Then r # s
is to have the value
m + a
n + b
This fails to be a "valid" operation, in that the definition of r # s is
ambiguous: If r = 1/2 and s = 2/5, then
r # s = 0/2) # (2/5) = 3/7.
But there are alternative representations of rand s as fractions-for
example, we could write r as 2/4 and s as 6/15. Then
r # s = (2/4) # (6/15) = 8/19.
Since 3/7 =I 8/19, we see that the result of combining rational numbers
with the operation # gives a result dependent on the numeral used to represent
each rational number, rather than on the actual number itself. This ambiguity
is just what we need to show cannot happen in the case of our definition of
addition for real numbers. To do so, it suffices to establish the next theorem.
Theorem 10.5 Let' and 1'/ be real numbers, and let' be represented by the two
sequences of nested intervals {In} and {Xn} and let 1'/ be represented by the two
sequences of nested intervals {In } and {Yn }. Then the two sequences of nested
intervals {In + I n} and {Xn + Yn} are equivalent, and hence give rise to the
same real number' + 1'/.
Proof. Suppose that we have the conditions as given in the hypotheses to
this theorem. And also suppose, by way of contradiction, that the sequence
{In + I n} represents the real number y, the sequence {Xn + Yn} represents
the real number (j, and that y =I (j.
Because of the last condition, the two sequences {In + I n} and {Xn + Yn}
are not equivalent, so that there must be some interval of the form I k + J k
300 The real number system 10.3
same as that given on Q when both can be applied, we have thus constructed
a natural extension of the rational number system (Q, ., +) to the real
number system (R, ., +); and we can think of the former as a subsystem
of the latter, for not only is it true that Q c R, but the operations are the
same on Q in either case.
There remains only the question of how the order relation on Q is to be
extended to R; we take up this topic in the next section.
Exercises
10.42 Prove that the real number 0 is an additive identity; that is, that
o + ( = ( for each real number (.
10.43 Suppose that the real number ( is represented by the sequence {In} of
nested intervals of rational numbers. In terms of this sequence, what is a
sequence representing - (? Show that - ( + ( = 0 for all real numbers (.
10.44 Show that if ( is a real number such that some representation of (
by a sequence {In} contains an interval I k of positive rational numbers only,
then there exists a representation of ( by a sequence {In} in which every
interval contains only positive rational numbers. Show that a similar result
holds in the "negative" case.
10.45 Show how to define the product of two real numbers ( and 11 in
terms of products of sequences of nested closed intervals of rational numbers.
10.46 Prove that if ( is a real number, then o· ( = 0 and 1 . ( = (.
10.47 Show that multiplication of real numbers is both commutative and
associative.
10.48 Show that multiplication of real numbers distributes over addition;
that is, for any three real numbers (, 11, and 0,
( . (11 + 0) = (. 11 + (. o.
10.49 Show that each real number other than zero has a multiplicative
inverse. Hint: Use Exercise 10.44.
10.50 Show that the multiplication for real numbers defined by yourself
in Exercise 10.45 coincides with ordinary rational number multiplication
when both can be applied to two numbers.
Note: The notation , < '7 means that either' < '7 or , = '7 is true. (By
virtue of Theorem 10.8, at most one can be true.)
Theorem 10.10 If' is a real number and 0 < " then there exists a natural
number n such that
-1 < ,.
n
Theorem 10.11 (Archimedean Property of R) If e is a real number with
o < e, and y is a real number with 0 < y, then no matter how small e is and
no matter how large y is, there exists a natural number n such that
y < n·e.
Let S be a nonempty set of real numbers. The number b is said to be an
upper bound for S provided that x ~ b for all XES. If c is an upper bound
for S such that c ~ b whenever b is also an upper bound for S, then c is
called a least upper bound for S.
The next theorem really says that the real number line contains no
"gaps."
Theorem 10.12 (Least Upper Bound Theorem) If S is a nonempty set of
real numbers with an upper bound, then S has a least upper bound.
The proofs of the above six theorems are outlined in the next set of
exercises. Using Theorem 10.12, we can prove that ,J2 is a real number;
that is, that there exists a real number y such that y2 = 2. Here is an
alternative method.
The method is to construct two sequences of positive rational numbers
of the form
and
such that, for every natural number n, (an)2 < 2, (b n)2 > 2, an < an+ h
bn+ I < bn, and such that the sequence {Ibn - anI} is approaching zero.
This sequence looks much like that illustrated in Fig. 10.8, arranged so that
al < a2 < a3 < ... < ,J2 < ... < b3 < b2 < bi
in actuality, although we have not yet shown the existence of,Ji Since
{Ibn - anI} has limit zero, the sequence of intervals {In} = {[am bn]} will be
a nested sequence of closed intervals of rational numbers, thus representing
some real number y. It is then natural to expect that y2 = 2, and this will
be proved.
304 The real number system 10.4
The first problem is the construction of the two sequences {an} and
{bn }. We begin by letting a i = 1 and bi = 2. Then we average:
This average is a positive rational number whose square is either less than 2,
or greater than 2. If less, we call it a2; if greater, we call it b 2. In this case,
it turns out to be b 2 • Now that we have ai' b i , and b 2 , we average the last an
constructed with the last bn constructed, and obtain
Again this average is a positive rational number; if its square is less than
2, we call it a2; if greater, we call it b 3.
We continue this process. In general, if an and bm are the last numbers
constructed in each sequence, we form the average
and call this number an + 1 if its square is less than 2; we call it bm + 1 if its
square is greater than 2.
10.4 The order relation on R 305
It is not hard to see that {an} and {b n} are sequences of positive rational
numbers so arranged that
The only real problem is in showing that there are actually infinitely
many a's and infinitely many b's. But suppose, for example, that there were
but finitely many b's. Then there must be infinitely many a's, and we would
have
not only represents the real number l, but also has the property-again by
construction-that it represents the number 2; for (an)Z < 2 < (bn)Z for
each natural number n. Therefore yZ = 2, and hence .J"2
exists.
306 The real number system 10.4
Exercises
10.51 Part of the proof of Theorem 10.7 is presented below; please supply
the details.
Suppose that a and b are rational numbers and a < b in the order
relation on Q. First construct a rational number r such that a < r < b.
Represent a by the sequence {An} and b by the sequence {Bn} of nested
intervals of rational numbers. Show that, for some sufficiently large value
of n, each number in An is less than r and each number in Bn exceeds r.
It may be helpful to do this last step by contradiction. Remember that
{A(A n )} and {A(Bn)} are sequences approaching zero.
The conclusion is then that a < b in the order relation on R.
10.52 The other part of the proof of Theorem 10.7 is presented below;
please supply the details.
Suppose that a and b are rational numbers such that a < b in the order
relation on R. Show why there must exist a rational number r such that
a < rand r < b in the order on Q. Conclude that a < b in the order on Q.
10.53 An outline of the proof of Theorem 10.8 is presented below; please
supply the details.
Suppose first that , < '1 and , = '1 are both true. Represent' by a
sequence of nested intervals {In} and '1 by a sequence of nested intervals
{In}. Since' = '1, each In must interse~t each J m.
But since' < '1, there exists a natural number n and a rational number r
such that each number in In is less than r and each number in I n is greater
than r. Why does this lead to a contradiction?
By similar treatment of other cases, conclude that at most one of the
three relations
can be true.
Suppose that neither of the last two relations above is true, and show
that the first one must be true; since' =1= '1, there must be a natural number n
so large that In and I n are disjoint. Show how to construct a rational number r
such that each number in In is less than r and each number in I n exceeds r.
This shows that' < '1, and thus establishes Theorem 10.8.
10.54 Prove Theorem 10.9. Hint: Use techniques similar to those in the
above exercise, and use the fact that Theorem 10.9 does hold for rational
numbers.
10.55 Prove Theorem 10.10. Hint: Use Exercise 10.44.
10.56 Prove Theorem 10.11. Hint: Use Theorem 10.10.
10.57 Prove Theorem 10.12. Hint: Let S be a nonempty set of real numbers
with an upper bound. Let
A = {x E R I x > s for all S E S}
10.5 Are there more numbers 7 307
and
B = {x E R I x <s for some S E S}.
be such a point. There is certainly at least one rational number r to the right
of P and -1 is a rational number to the left of P. Hence the set
s = {x E Q Ix is to the left of P}
is a nonempty set of real numbers with an upper bound. Let' be the least
If'
upper bound of S.
is to the left of P, then by the construction of' there must exist some
closed interval I of rational numbers with , E I and P to the right of each
number in I. In particular, the right-hand endpoint b of I is a rational number
to the left of P. So b E S. But' < b; this is a contradiction, since' is the
least upper bound of S.
Similarly, if' is to the right of P, a contradiction is obtained. Hence the
point P is the location of the real number'. This establishes that each point
on the line is the location of some real number'; moreover, this is the natural
location of' because this point is to the right of every rational number less
than , and to the left of every rational number greater than'.
We now show how each real number can be located in a natural position
on the unbounded straight line of rational numbers. This will be easiest to
see with an example; we show how to locate the number
[
n +!!..! n + n 1 +
10' 10
1].
In this case, using TC, we obtain 12 = [3.1, 3.2]'
We continue this process, obtaining the sequence
Exercises
10.61 Suppose that Cis a real number in the interval [n, n + I] where n is
an integer. Prove that there exists a nonnegative integer m such that
m
CE [ n+-,n+ m + 1] .
10 10
What is the maximum possible value of m?
10.62 Suppose in the construction of a sequence of nested intervals of
rational numbers, as we did for the number n, the number Cfor which the
sequence is constructed lies at the right-hand end of each interval. For
example, suppose that Cis the number 1. Then
1E [0, 1],
1E [0.9, 1],
1E [0.99, 1],
1E [0.999, 1],
310 The real number system 10.5
Has the above construction been carried out in the same way as was indicated
for the number n?
Since 1 lies in each of the above intervals, it would seem reasonable that a
decimal expansion for 1 might be given by 0.999 999. . .. Is this correct?
See Exercise 10.17.
10.63 What real numbers have two different decimal expansions? Hint:
See Exercise 10.62.
10.64 A question of some theoretical interest is this: If we were to repeat
the construction of this chapter, beginning with R rather than with Q,
would any new' numbers be obtained? The answer is that none would, and
the reason is the truth of Theorem 10.12, the Least Upper Bound Theorem.
Let {In} be a nested sequence of closed intervals of real numbers. Each
interval In is of the form [am bn], where an and bn are real numbers and an <
bn. Let' be the least upper bound of the set {an I n EN}, and show that'
is the only real number that belongs to all the intervals In. Since in this
alternative development, , is represented by the sequence {In}, this sequence
produces only a number that is already a real number. Fill in the details of
this argument.
10.65 In order to construct a solution to the equation
x 2 + 1 = 0,
a procedure can be used much simpler than the construction of R. Let
c = {(a, b) I a E R and bE R}.
For (a, b) and (e, d) in C, let
(a, b) + (e, d) = (a + e, b + d)
and
(a, b) . (e, d) = (ae - bd, ad + be).
x2 + 1 = 0
has a solution in C.
10.6 An unusual set of real numbers 311
A fraction written with the numeral 1/4 in the decimal system would then
be written 1/11 in the ternary system, and so on. The development of the
real number system from the rationals could be carried out exactly as before,
and only the "decimal" expansions would look any different. The ternary
"decimal" for the above fraction could be computed by division:
0·02020202···
11)1·00000000· ..
22
100
22
100
22
100
22
1
can be "evaluated" using the formula for the sum of a geometric series
(Exercise 10.35), as follows:
0.022222 ... = 0 + 0/3 + 2/9 + 2/27 + 2/81 + ....
This is a geometric series with "first" term 2/9 and ratio 1/3, hence its sum is
2
-
9 1
1 - 3'
1 - -
3
or, in ternary notation, 0.022222 . . . can be written as
1
or 0.100000 ...
10
Here is an example of a very unusual set of real numbers, known as the
Cantor Ternary Set. Let K be those real numbers in the interval [0, 1] not
requiring use of the digit 1 in their ternary expansion.
Thus the number 1/3 belongs to K, since although 1/3 does have a ternary
expanSIOn
0.100000 ...
in which the digit 1 is used, it also has a ternary expansion
0.022222 ...
in which the digit 1 is not required.
If 1/3 < x < 2/3, x does require the use of the digit 1 in its ternary
expansion, since the ternary expansion of such a number must use the digit 1
in the first place after the decimal. So K c [0, 1/3] u [2/3, 1].
Also, if 1/9 < x < 2/9 or if 7/9 < x < 8/9, it is necessary to use the
digit 1 in the second place after the decimal point in representing x as a
ternary decimal, and hence
K c [0, 1/9] u [2/9, 1/3] u [2/3, 7/9] u [8/9, 1].
If this process of elimination is continued, it can be seen that K is that subset
of [0, 1] that remains after the middle third (except for endpoints) of [0, 1]
is deleted, then the middle third of each of the two resulting intervals is
deleted, then the middle third of each of the resulting four intervals is deleted,
and so on. This process is shown in Fig. 10.9.
In this deletion process, once a point becomes an "endpoint" of K, it
must remain in K in spite of all subsequent deletions; thus, for example, K
contains the infinite set
{I, 1/3, 1/9, 1/27, 1/81, ... }.
10.6 An unusual set of real numbers 313
0[-------------]1
0[-----]1/3 2/3[-----]1
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]
E-3E-3 E-3B
• •
• •
• •
Fig. 10.9 First four stages in the construction of the Cantor Ternary Set.
This series is geometric, with first term 1/3 and ratio 2/3, so its sum gives
us the value of Jl:
1
-
3
Jl= - 1.
2
1 - -
3
Since the length of K is I - fl, K has length zero.
314 The real number system 10.6
Exercises
10.66 How do you count in the binary system, using only the digits 0 and 1?
10.67 Give the binary and ternary decimals for the numbers 1/2,2/9, and 3/7.
10.68 Show that the Cantor Ternary Set contains infinitely many points
not endpoints.
10.69 Evaluate f(1/3) and f(2/3) for the function f constructed in this
section.
10.70 Suppose instead of the middle third, the middle fifth is deleted from
[0, 1], the middle fifth next deleted from each of the two resulting intervals,
and so on. What is the length of the resulting set?
and Schmidt, 1969) develop the real numbers from the rationals usmg
Dedekind cuts.
R. L. Wilder's Introduction to the Foundations of Mathematics (Wiley,
1952) gives, in addition, the development of the integers from the natural
numbers, then the development of the rational numbers from the integers.
B. Kripke's Introduction to Analysis (Freeman, 1968) gives some further
topics in the study of the real number system, and contains a valuable first
chapter on the approach to the study of mathematics.
c. Goffman's Real Functions (Rinehart, 1953), D. A. Sprecher's Elements
of Real Analysis (Academic Press, 1970), and R. R. Stoll's Set Theory and
Logic (Freeman, 1963) develop the real numbers from the rationals using
equivalent convergent sequences of rational numbers.
EPILOGUE
Finally, here is a list of more general books, some with intent similar
to this one, some not even intended as textbooks, but all appropriate for the
educated layman:
Aleksandrov, A. D., Kolmogorov, A. N., and Lavrent'ev, M. A.,
Mathematics: Its Content, Methods, and Meaning (M.I.T. Press, 1963,
translated by Gould, Bartha, and Hirsch).
Beck, A., Bleicher, M., and Crowe, D., Excursions into Mathematics
(Worth, 1969).
Crowdis, D. G. and Wheeler, B. W., Introduction to Mathematical
Ideas (McGraw-Hill, 1969).
Fraleigh, J.B., Mainstreams of Mathematics (Addison-Wesley, 1969).
Polya, G., Mathematics and Plausible Reasoning (Princeton, 1954).
Stein, S., Mathematics: The Man-Made Universe (second edition,
Freeman, 1969).
Wilder, R. L., Evolution of Mathematical Concepts (Wiley, 1968).
Wilder, R. L., Introduction to the Foundations of Mathematics (Wiley,
1952).
Of course, many fine books have been omitted from the above listing;
but the bibliographies that appear in many of those listed will serve as a
guide to additional reading.
Epilogue 319
GREEK ALPHABET
A ex Alpha al'f~ pat
B p Beta ba't~, be't~ ~ about
r ')' Gamma gam'~ pay
A b Delta del't~ pet
E
Z
H
,
8 Epsilon
Zeta
Eta
ep's~-lon'
za't~, ze't~
a't~, e't~
pot
thin
pie
e "
() Theta tha't~, the't~ toe
I I Iota i-6't~ boot
K K Kappa kap'~ pit
A A. Lambda lam'd~ out
M f.l Mu myoo, moo paw
N v Nu - nyoo
noo, - cut
.....
...
.... e Xi zi, si
0 0 Omicron ,
om'~-kron' o'm~-kron'
n 1t Pi pi
P P Rho ro
1: q Sigma sig'm~
T 't Tau tou, to
y v Upsilon up's~-lon'
<f) 4J Phi fi
X X Chi, Khi ki
'II t/J Psi psi, si
n OJ Omega o-meg'~, o-me'g~, 6-ma'g~
ANSWERS
AND
HINTS
CHAPTER 1
1.1 The only polygon is (d).
1.2 Suppose that a polygon had fewer than three vertices, and reach a
contradiction.
1.3 It can be done.
1.4 Yes. Choose a point p on one edge but not a vertex. A sufficiently
small circular disk centered at p will be bisected by this edge, and part of this
disk must lie within the polygon. But a semicircular region has positive area.
1.5 See a plane geometry textbook for a formula concerning the sum of the
interior angles of a polygon.
1.6 See Section 1.8 for one approach.
1.7 In either case, since only finitely many parallelograms may be used,
there must be one with a vertex coinciding with a vertex of the triangle and
with one of the two sides incident at that vertex lying on one side of the
triangle.
1.8 See Fig. 1.2.
1.9 For each integer n > 0, let Rn be the rectangle with vertices at the plane
coordinates
(n,O) (n + 1, 0)
and let P be the union of all these rectangles. Since R n has area 2- n, the total
area of Pis
1 + 1/2 + 1/4 + 1/8 + ... = 2.
320
Answers and hints 321
1.11 Make R into two squares with one cut. Cut each resulting square
along a diagonal. Reassemble.
1.12 Cut the strip into squares each of which has side length the same as the
width of the strip. Reassemble the strip
I 2 3 4 5 6 ...
in the pattern
1 3 5 7 .
2 4 6 8 .
1.13 Use the same squares as in Exercise 1.12. Start at the origin and work
"circularly" outward.
1.14 Drop a perpendicular from the largest angle to the opposite side.
1.15 It can be done; you should really try to find the solution on your own.
1.18 One reasonable analogue to "polygon" in the one-dimensional case
might be a figure which can be expressed as the union of finitely many line
segments, each of which contains both its end points.
1.19 Test your theorem on the two line segments Sand T, both of length 1,
where S consists of all numbers x such that 0 ~ x < 1 and T consists of all
numbers y such that 2 ~ y < 3.
1.20 The relation is an equivalence relation.
1.21 There should be n - 3 cuts, resulting in n - 2 triangles.
1.22 First rephrase the induction principle as follows:
If a statement meaningful for natural numbers is true for n = 3, and
whenever it is true for all integers k with 3 ~ k < n then it is also true of n,
then the statement is true for all natural numbers n > 3.
1.23 If you have assumed that
1 + 2 + 3 + ... + k _ k(k + 1)
2
then
1 + 2 + 3 + ... + k + (k + 1) = k(k + 1) + (k + 1).
2
1.24 Suppose that if a polygon has k vertices and 3 =:;; k < n, then the
polygon can be triangulated. Let P be a polygon with n vertices. Use the
proof in Section 1.3 to divide P into two polygons each of which has fewer
than n vertices. Apply the above assumption, and then the answer to Exercise
1.22.
322 Answers and hints
1.25 It cannot always be done. Try polyhedra of the sort that have a hole
running all the way through. This is not an easy problem.
1.26 You may wish to use the fact that if b < c and a > 0, then ab < ac.
1.27 This is easy; you may wish to split the proof into two cases.
1.28 If 4n - 1 is divisible by 3, then there exists a natural number k such
that 4n - 1 = 3k. Hence 4n is always of the form 3k + 1. What do you
do to 4n to turn it into 4n + I?
1.29 This is not only a difficult question, it is also a trick question. In his
book Mathematics: The Man-Made Universe (second edition, Freeman, 1969),
in Theorem 3 of Chapter 8, Sherman Stein shows that-for example-the
rectangle with sides of length 1 and ,J2 can not be cut up into finitely many
squares in any way whatsoever!
1.30 Try the rectangle of sides of length 1 and ,J2, and suppose that, by way
of contradiction, it can be cut into squares of side length a > O.
1.31 A 1800 rotation of one line does not change the fact that it is parallel
to another line.
1.32 A right triangle, if cut the proper way.
1.33 There are really only two choices for which perpendicular to use.
Show that at least one choice must produce a segment that lies within the
parallelogram.
1.34 A motion without rotation will not change the fact that two lines are
parallel.
1.35 The answer is best couched in terms of the ratio of the length of the
altitude of the parallelogram to the length of its base.
1.36 In Fig. 1.4, the lines from q to the end points of the diameter are the
hypotenuses of two similar right triangles, whose sides are thus in proportion.
1.37 A little experience with inequalities of real numbers will be helpful
here.
1.38 This is a complicated but straightforward problem involving
inequalities.
1.39 Note that no rotations are used, and that x 2 = abo
1.40 First show that the four right triangles in the "corners" of square A
are c?ng(uent to each other.
1.41 Again, this is a long but not difficult problem.
Answers and hints 323
1.42 In Fig. 1.6, let the square S have side length c. Then show that a2 +
b 2 = c2 •
1.43 Read the summary immediately preceding this exercise.
1.44 Take a = 1 and b = 5 in the proof given in Section 1.6.
1.45 First, (4/3)3 > 2, so the numbers
(4/3)3, (4/3)6, (4/3)9, (4/3)12, ...
CHAPTER 2
2.1 A circle together with one of its diameters is a candidate for an answer
to the first question. For other combinations, try finding figures that satisfy
two of the properties but not the other two.
2.2 Certainly not the first.
2.3 Certainly not the last.
2.4 See the answer to Exercise 2.1.
2.17 Since one, and thus any, curve representing ab can be deformed
continuously to a curve representing ba. The right convincing drawing can
be found after a little effort.
2.18 Yes; since ab = ba, then also xy = yx if x and yare any two ex-
pressions whatsoever in the algebra.
2.19 Both (y-l X -l)(xy) and (xy)-l(xy) are equal to 1.
2.30 Here is one solution. Draw three circles A, B, and C forming the
Borromean Rings, and then so arrange matters that D links A and B in the
Borromean manner as well as linking A and C in the same way. One possible
formula for D is thus
aba - 1 b - 1 aca - 1 C - 1 .
2.36 The two expressions represent the same curve if the point p is allowed
to move. This is not permissible in the algebra, but is allowable for the
purposes of constructing the various links of this chapter. This is the one way
in which the geometry and the algebra are not in perfect correspondence.
CHAPTER 3
3.1 Try solving the equation 1x = 2.
3.2 The graph looks much like the one in Fig. 3.2.
3.3 Note that the number 1/2 must be taken to a negative power to give a
value larger than 1.
3.4 First establish this for b = l/e, where e > 1.
3.5 What does y = 10gb x mean in terms of exponents?
3.7 Note that log2 (4 3 ) = 3 log2 (4).
3.8 Let 10gb xy = p, 10gb X = q, and 10gb y = r. Then
bP = xy, bq = x, and
3.9 Use the techniques of the previous exercise.
3.10 For b > 0, b i= 1, and x any real number, define bX to be that real
number a such that a > 0 and x = 10gb a. Show first that such a value of a
exists and is unique.
Answers and hints 327
CHAPTER 4
4.3 No matter how the elements of (say) the group of Example 4.4 are
renamed, one cannot obtain the multiplication of Example 4.5, since in the
latter example the square of each element is the identity, and the former
example does not have this property. This observation enables one to avoid
Answers and hints 329
4.27 The group L contains infinitely many elements of finite order and
infinitely many elements of infinite order.
4.28 A rotation of the disk one-seventh of the way around generates a
subgroup of order 7. Generalize. The group L does contain many subgroups
of infinite order, but this may not be so obvious.
4.30 First show that (x- 1gx)n = x- 1g nx.
330 Answers and hints
CHAPTER 5
5.2 Yes.
5.3 Yes.
5.4 Yes.
5.5 A man walking around a vertex passes through an even number of
countries. Will this fact help in showing that a two-color "checkerboard"
coloring pattern will work?
5.9 To prevent the boundary and exterior of (say) a cube from being a
polyhedron.
5.10 The answer to the second question is "no."
5.11 The maximum possible is 12. Finding a map that requires all 12 colors
is difficult; proving that 12 is sufficient for all such maps is very difficult.
5.13 It can be done. Curiously enough, it does not matter whether countries
"go all the way through" the strip or whether one has different countries
and non-coincident boundaries on the two "sides" of the strip. Can you see
why not?
5.14 Yes; you can construct such "maps" requiring any given number of
colors for a proper coloring.
5.15 There is no upper limit.
5.16 The proof might involve consideration of what happens to the value of
V - E + F when one hole is "plugged up."
5.17 If the lines do not intersect, you have a net in the plane for which
V - E + F = 1. What is the value of F? Reach a contradiction by
considering the possible number of boundary edges of each country.
332 Answers and hints
CHAPTER 6
6.13 The other formula IS also valid. These formulas are known as
DeMorgan's laws.
6.14 If k is the larger of the two numbers 111 and n, then the answer may be
given in terms of an inequality involving k.
6.15 The answer is a formula involving k, m, and n.
6.16 Yes, the notationf(a) makes sense: If (a, b) Ef, thenf(a) = b.
6.19 The function f: R -4 R according to the rule f(x) = x 3 is sufficiently
different from Example 6.11.
6.21 If you hold the page on which Fig. 6.5 is printed up to the light, and
look at the other side of the page so that the x-axis is vertical and the positive
y-axis is to the right, this has the effect of interchanging these two axes;
thus, what you see is the graph off-I.
Answers and hints 333
f(x) = 2x.
g(x) = x + 9?
6.36 One possibility is
f(1) = 2,
f(2) = 1,
f(x) = x if x > 3.
f(x) = 2X if x > 1,
f(x) = 3- X if x ~ o.
6.52 You may wish to show this first in the special case in which A n B = 0,
and then apply some of the previous exercises or theorems.
6.59 Remember that S must contain a denumerable subset.
334 Answers and hints
CHAPTER 7
7.2 Yes; see the next exercise.
7.4 Check your answer with a few experiments.
7.5 Remember that integers may be negative as well as positive.
7.6 Remember that each prime is positive.
7.9 This is true under certain conditions, but not always true.
7.10 Yes; supply a proof.
7.12 Yes; supply an example.
7.17 The last n numbers in the sequence are composite.
7.18 The answer to each question is "no."
7.21 See Exercise 1.23 and the answer to it.
7.25 If a were the least positive real number, what about a12?
7.28 E is a subset of N.
7.29 What is the last positive rational number?
7.31 The number happens to be 65, but you should prove its existence using
the Well-Ordering Axiom.
7.33 This is a moderately long problem. If you have studied Chapter 3,
compare this exercise with Exercise 3.33.
7.34 If a < b, x < y, and all numbers involved are positive, then ax < by.
Why?
Answers and hints 335
7.75 If X is the number of new eggs, y the number of fresh eggs, and z the
number of old eggs, then
X + Y + z = 100,
and
lOx + 2y + z = 200.
If you solve the first equation for z and substitute the result in the second
equation, you obtain
9x +Y= 100,
7.76 Use the same sort of simplification as in the previous problem. There
is only one solution.
7.77 There is no need to list the solutions in order to count them; however,
there turn out to be 45 ways in which the check could have been written.
7.81 If there are b brass balls, c copper balls, and s silver balls, then one
obtains the equation
15b + 16c + I7s = 121.
This problem is quite long, and the author is reasonably sure that there is
only one solution. Hint: In that solution, no balls of one type were used.
This is not ruled out as a possible solution.
7.82 You can get an easy proof if you know the following fact: If m > 2
is a whole number, then there exists at least one prime p such that m <
p < 2m. Observe that if
7.91 This is not so easy. The author believes that the smallest perimeter
that solves the problem is 480.
7.92 This is easy, and can be answered without much trouble for any whole
number, not just 10.
7.93 There is only one solution.
7.94 This is quite difficult, unless you have found a short cut unknown to the
author. The smallest solutions he obtained are
32 + 42 = 52,
(696)2 + (697)2 = (985)2,
(23,660)2 + (23,661)2 = (33,461)2.
CHAPTER 8
8.1 The conditions of the problem indicate that k is positive. Hence N'
is always positive, but as N increases, the value of N' gets closer to zero.
8.2 Since N' is constant, the graph of N(t) will be a straight line in each
case.
8.3 The equation N' = B - D becomes
N' = bN - dN,
so that
N' = (b - d)N.
Since b - d is constant, set k = b - d.
8.4 Note that
No = No' e kT
2
8.9 Since the water flows out at the rate V'et), and V'(t) is proportional to
the pressure at time t, and the pressure then is proportional to Vet) itself
because of the shape of the tank, we obtain the differential equation
V'et) = k Vet),
where k is a negative constant. Now see Exercise 8.4.
8.10 An equation giving a satisfactory interpretation of the conditions of the
problem would be
M
N ' = bN - N - d
M '
the plane corresponding to it and negative above. There are a large number
of possibilities for the eventual behavior of the system; for example, one
species might disappear, followed by the coexistence of the remaining two.
8.18 The system is critical for N = M and for N = 0. The former is stable,
the latter unstable.
8.20 Compare this exercise with Exercise 8.10.
8.21 Wide variations in population may result in the elimination of one
species from the pond.
8.23 One reasonable set of equations is
A' = (kA _ f3B) M ;; A ,
where all constants are positive, M and C representing the maximum popula-
tions of A and B, respectively, that can be supported by the pond.
8.28 The qualitative behavior of the solution is unchanged.
8.29 The fact that ex and p are positive describes the condition that each of the
two species contributes to the success of the other. A culture of yeast and
slime mold on nutrient agar in a large dish will exhibit this sort of behavior.
8.33 You should not spray unless you can spray enough to completely
eliminate aphids.
8.35 Yes; what is the value of to in terms of the given constants?
8.37 One could obtain the solution of the differential equation, substitute
enough values of the population at various times in order to evaluate all
unknown constants, and then check the resulting solution with values of the
population at other times.
8.38 See the answer to the previous exercise.
CHAPTER 9
9.2 If and only if a = b.
9.3 Use the same definition.
9.5 Since p E[a, b], if p is different from a and different from b then the
same straight line contains {a, p} as contains {p, b}.
9.7 Use the previous two exercises if you wish.
9.8 See the next exercise.
9.9 This is Theorem 9.2.
9.10 No; give an example.
9.13 See the material on "proof by induction" in Chapter 7, or see Exercise
1.45.
9.14 No; proof by induction can only show something true "for each natural
number n." However, although it does not follow from Theorem 9.2 and
Exercise 9.12 that the intersection of infinitely many convex sets is convex,
this is nevertheless true.
9.15 To answer the last question of the exercise, you know that either
A c B or B c A; there is no harm in supposing that the sets have been so
named that A c B.
9.16 Yes, and the proof is the same.
340 Answers and hints
9.52 In order to apply Helly's Theorem in E 3 , the number of sets that in-
tersect must be increased to four. Hence it would be necessary for each set of
four pictures to be visible from some point in the gallery.
9.53 Yes; give an example.
9.55 Yes; one way is to divide E 2 into the disjoint convex sets E 2 and 0.
There are other solutions; find them.
9.56 By Helly's Theorem, it is clear that k < 3.
9.57 Note that the equation of the straight line through (n, 0) with slope n is
y = nx - n2 •
CHAPTER 10
10.2 Use the fact that each rational number can be expressed in the form
min, where m and n are integers and n i= O.
10.4 No. Why not?
10.5 The decimal expansion given in the text can be so used; how?
10.6 How about 3.14159?
10.10 Every rational number has a finite continued fraction expanSIOn.
This follows from the Euclidean Algorithm (Theorem 7.8).
10.12 Use the technique of Theorem 10.1.
10.15 8/9.
10.16 327/999. Examine the previous exercise; do you see a pattern?
10.17 Note that if 0.999 999 ... were less than 1, then there would be a
number r such that
0.999 999 ... < r < 1.
342 Answers and hints
10.20 The techniques of Chapter 7 can be used to show that there are
irrational numbers not solutions to any equation of the form
p(x) = 0,
where p(x) is a polynomial with rational coefficients. These are called
transcendental numbers.
10.22 There is a connection with Exercise 3.48.
10.23 Suppose by way of contradiction that IX + r is a rational number.
10.25 You can conclude that b 2 - 4ac is the square of an integer.
10.27 The proof is similar to that given in the answer to Exercise 3.42.
10.29 Nothing can be done with either (d) or (e). Why not?
10.32 The sequence has no limit.
10.33 This is not easy.
10.34 Expand the product
(1 - r)(1 +r+ r2 + r3 + . .. + r n).
10.39 See Section 10.5.
10.44 Let J 1 = /b J 2 = /k+ l' and so on.
10.45 Treat the case when both real numbers are positive first. Define the
product in the other cases by using absolute values.
10.59 If a set had two least upper bounds, one would have to exceed the
other.
10.61 Clearly, 0 ~ m ::; 9. Or is it clear?
10.62 The construction differs in the choice of the first interval.
10.63 What about zero?
10.65 Both (0, 1) and (0, - 1) are solutions of the equation
x2 + 1 = O.
10.68 For example, show that 1/4 E K.
10.69 The function has the same value at the two numbers.
INDEX
INDEX
345
346 Index
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