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Math 335 Portfolio: 1 Induction Proofs

This document is Jean Marie Linhart's math portfolio from January 2019. It contains an induction proof showing that the sum of the first n natural numbers equals n(n+1)/2. The proof uses a base case of n=0 and assumes the statement is true for an arbitrary n. It then shows the statement is also true for n+1, completing the induction proof.

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Marlon Santos
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52 views1 page

Math 335 Portfolio: 1 Induction Proofs

This document is Jean Marie Linhart's math portfolio from January 2019. It contains an induction proof showing that the sum of the first n natural numbers equals n(n+1)/2. The proof uses a base case of n=0 and assumes the statement is true for an arbitrary n. It then shows the statement is also true for n+1, completing the induction proof.

Uploaded by

Marlon Santos
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Math 335 Portfolio

Jean Marie Linhart


January 2019

1 Induction Proofs
1.1 Ordinary Induction
Exercise 1. Prove, for all natural numbers n, that
n
X n(n + 1)
k = 1 + 2 + 3 + ··· + n = (1)
k=0
2

Proof. We prove this by induction on n ∈ N. In the base case, n = 0, and (1) becomes
n 0
X X 0(1) n(n + 1)
k= k=0= =
k=0 k=0
2 2
n+1
X (n + 1)(n + 2)
Now, let n > 0 be arbitrary, and assume (1). We show k= . To that
k=0
2
end note
n+1 n
!
X X
k= k + (n + 1) (sum definition)
k=0 k=0
n(n + 1)
= + (n + 1) (induction hypothesis)
2
n(n + 1) 2n + 2
= + (common denominator)
2 2
2
n + n 2n + 2
= + (distribute)
2 2
n2 + 3n + 2
= (combine like terms)
2
(n + 1)(n + 2)
= (factor the numerator)
2

n
X n(n + 1)
In all cases, (1) is true, so ∀n ∈ N, k=
k=0
2

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