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Variables and Mathematical Statements

This document discusses variables and different types of mathematical statements. It defines variables as placeholders used when the specific value is unknown or when wanting a statement to apply to all values. It also defines three main types of mathematical statements: universal statements that apply to all cases, conditional statements with an "if-then" structure, and existential statements that assert a property is true for at least one case. Additionally, it discusses universal conditional, universal existential, and existential universal statements that combine these types.

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Jenica Mariel Gabaisen
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2K views

Variables and Mathematical Statements

This document discusses variables and different types of mathematical statements. It defines variables as placeholders used when the specific value is unknown or when wanting a statement to apply to all values. It also defines three main types of mathematical statements: universal statements that apply to all cases, conditional statements with an "if-then" structure, and existential statements that assert a property is true for at least one case. Additionally, it discusses universal conditional, universal existential, and existential universal statements that combine these types.

Uploaded by

Jenica Mariel Gabaisen
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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VARIABLES AND MATHEMATICAL STATEMENTS

VARIABLES

Used as a placeholder when you want to talk about something but either
(1) you imagine that it ha sone or more values but you don’t know
what they are; or (2) you want whatever you say about it to be equally
true for all elements in a given set, and so you don’t want to be
restricted to considering only a particular, concrete value for it.
To illustrate the first use, consider asking
Is there a number with the following property: doubling
it and adding 3 give the same result as squaring it?
In this sentence, you can introduce a variable to replace the
potentially ambiguous word “it”
Is there a number x with the property that 2x + 3 = x 2?
The advantage of using a variable is that it allows you to give a temporary
name to what you are seeking so that you can perform concrete
computations with it to help discover its possible values.
To emphasize the role of the variable as a placeholder, you might
write the following:
Is there a number __ with the property that

2 x __ + 3 = __^2?

The emptiness of the box/blank can help you imagine filling it in


with a variety of different values, some of which might make the
two sides equal and others of which might not.
To illustrate the second use of variables, consider the statement:
No matter what number might be chosen, if it is greater than 2,
then its square is greater than 4.
In this case, introducing a variable to give a temporary name to the
(arbitrary) number you might choose enables you to maintain the
generality of the statement, and replacing all instances of the word
“it” by the name of the variable ensures that possible ambiguity is
avoided:
No matter what number n might be chosen, if n is greater than
2 then n2 is greater than 4.

Writing Sentences Using Variables

Are there numbers with the property that the sum of their squares equals
to square of their sum?
Are there numbers a and b with the property that a 2 + b2 = (a + b)2?
Given any real number, its square is nonnegative.
Given any real number r, r2 is ≥ 0.

Three Important Kinds of Mathematical Statements

Universal statement
It says that a certain property is true for all elements in a set.
For example: All positive numbers are greater than zero.
Conditional statement
It says that if one thing is true then some other thing also has to be
true.
For example: If 378 is divisible by 18, then 378 is
divisible by 6.
Existential statement
Given that a property that may or may not be true, this statement
says that there is at least one thing for which the property is true.
For example: There is prime number that is even.

Universal Conditional Statements


Universal statements contain some variation of the words “for all”
and conditional statements contain version of the words “if-then”.
A universal conditional statement is a statement that is both
universal and conditional.
Example: For all animals a, if a is a dog, then a is a
mammal.
One of the most important facts about universal conditional
statements is that they can be rewritten in ways that make them
appear to be purely universal or purely conditional.
Example: If a is a dog, then a is a mammal.
If an animal is a dog, then the animal is a mammal.
The statement can be also expressed so as to make its universal
nature explicit and its conditional nature implicit.
Example: For all dogs a, a is a mammal.
All dogs are mammal.
Rewriting a Universal Conditional Statement
For all real numbers x, if x is nonzero then x^2 is positive.
If a real number is nonzero, then its square is positive.
For all nonzero real numbers x, x^2 is positive.
If x is a nonzero real number; then x^2 is positive.
The square of any nonzero real number is positive.
All nonzero real numbers have positive squares (or: squares
that are positive)
For all real numbers x, if x is greater than 2, then x^2 is greater
than 4.
If a real number is greater than 2, then its square is greater
than 4.
For all real numbers greater than 2, x^2 is greater than 4.
If x is a real number greater than 2, then x^2 is greater than
4.
The square of any real number greater than 2 is greater than
4.
All real numbers greater than 2 have squares greater than 4.

Universal Existential Statement


It is a statement that is universal because its first part says that a
certain property is true for all objects of a given type, and it is
existential because its second part asserts the existence of
something.
Example: Every real number has an additive inverse.
For all real numbers r, there is an additive inverse for r.
For all real numbers r, there is a real number s such that s is
an additive inverse for r.
Rewriting a Universal Existential Statement
Every pot has a lid.
All pots have lids.
For all pots P, there is a lid for P.
For all pots P, there is a lid L such that L is a lid for P.
All bottles have cap.
Every bottle has a cap.
For all bottles B, there is a cap for B.
For all bottles B, there is a cup C such that C is a cap for B.

Existential Universal Statements


an existential universal statement is a statement that is existential
because its first part asserts that a certain object exists and is
universal because its second part says that the object satisfies a
certain property for all things of a certain kind.
Example: There is a positive integer that is less than or
equal to every positive integer.
This statement is true because the number one is a positive
integer, and it satisfies the property of being less than or
equal to every positive integer.
We can rewrite the statement in several ways, some less
formal and some are more formal.
There is a positive integer m that is less than or equal
to every positive integer.
There is a positive integer, such that every positive
integer is greater than or equal to m.
There is a positive integer m with the property that for
all positive integers n, m≤n.

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