National Junior College Mathematics Department 2016

National Junior College

2016 – 2017 H2 Further Mathematics
Topic F5: Mathematical Induction (Tutorial)

Basic Mastery Questions

n
1 Consider the following incorrect proof of   2r  1  (n  1) 2
for all r     {0} by
r 0
Mathematical Induction. Identify and explain all the mistakes made in the proof.

n
Step 1: Let Pn    2r  1  (n  1)2 for n     {0} .
r 0

Step 2: When n = 1,

LHS = 4
RHS = 4
 P1 is true.
k
Step 3: Assume that Pk is true for all k     {0} , i.e.   2r  1  (k  1) .
2

r 0

Then
k 1 k
LHS    2r  1  2k  3    2r  1  2k  3  ( k  1) 2
r 0 r 0
2
 k  4k  4.
RHS  (k  2)2  k 2  4k  4.
Therefore Pk is true  Pk 1 is true.
Step 4: Since P1 is true, and Pk is true  Pk 1 is true, by mathematical induction,
Pk is true for all k    .

n
1
2 Prove by induction that  r  r  4  6 n  n  1 2n  13 for n    .
r 1

3 A sequence of numbers x1 , x2 , x3 ... with x1  1 follows the recurrence relation

1
xn1   xn  4 .
3
n 1
1
Prove that xn  2    using Mathematical Induction.
3

4 Prove by induction that 26 n  32 n 2 is divisible by 5 for all n    .

5 Prove by induction that 2n  2  2n for n  4 .

2016 – 2017/ H2 FMaths / Mathematical Induction (Tutorial) Page 1 of 3

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Practice Questions

n
6 Prove by induction that  r
r 1
2

 1 r! nn  1! and hence show that
n
n!2n 3
 9n 2  13n 
 n! r!r 2  1 
r 1 6
for all n    .

7 Prove by mathematical induction that

nn  1
12  2 2  3 2  4 2  ...   1 n 2   1 for all n    .
n 1 n 1

8 Use the method of mathematical induction to prove that the sum of the first n terms of the series
1 3  5   2  4  6    3  5  7  
1
is n  n  1 n  4  n  5  .
4

9 Form a conjecture, in terms of n, for

 1  1  1  1
1  2 1  2 1  2 ...1  2  , for n    and n  2.
 2  3  4   n 

Use mathematical induction to prove your conjecture.

an
10 A sequence a1 , a2 , a3 , ... is such that a1  2 and an1  , for n  1 .
1   2n  1 an
2
Prove by induction that an  for all positive integers n .
2n 2  1

11 Prove by mathematical induction that 52 n  2  24n  25 is divisible by 576 for all n    .

dn y n
12 Given that y  8x , prove by mathematical induction that n
 8 x  ln 8  , where n is a positive
dx
integer.

N
dn y
Hence find 
n  2 dx
n
in terms of x and N.

13 Show that 6n  5n  5n for all integers n  2 .

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Further Practice Questions

14 A sequence of numbers {xn} is defined by the relation xn  xn 1  n  1 for all n = 2, 3, 4, … and

x1  1 .
2  xn  1
(i) Write down the values of for n = 2, 3, 4 and 5.
n 1
(ii) Hence make a conjecture for xn in terms of n.

Prove your conjecture in (ii) by induction.

15 A sequence u0 , u1 , u2 ,... is such that u0  1, u1  2, and un  2  un  4(n  1) for n 0 .

N
(i) By considering  u n2  un , show that u N 1  u N  2 N 2  2 N  3.
n 0

(ii) Hence, by use of mathematical induction, show that u N  N 2  1, for all N 0 .

16 The sequence U1 , U 2 , U 3 ,... is defined by

2U n  3
U 1  1 and U n1  for n    .
3Un  12
1
Prove by induction that U n  for n    .
4

n 1
17 Examine the divisors of 11n  3  4  for n  4. State a general result based on this evidence
and prove it by induction.

18 Given that n is a positive integer, show by the method of induction that

n 1 2 3 n
<    < n, for n  2.
2 2 3 4 n 1

19 In the following game, a player is to move all discs from pole A to pole C with as few steps as
possible.

There are two rules:

Rule 1: You can only move one disc at a time.
Rule 2: You cannot have a larger disc over a small disc at any time.

un denotes the smallest number of steps needed to move n discs from A to C and follows the
recurrence relation u n  1  2u n 1 , u1  1 .
(i) Calculate the values for u2 , u3 , u4 , u5 and find a general formula for u n in terms of n.
(ii) Prove by induction the formula for u n in (i) for all positive integers of n.

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