ALGEBRA

INTEGERS
The set of counting numbers, 1, 2, 3, ..., is the first set of numbers encountered by everyone, to which we
frequently refer in our discussion concerning sets. The mathematician calls this set of numbers the set of
positive integers, or natural numbers, and uses it as the foundation for our entire number system. This set
of numbers, together with the negative integers -1, -2, -3, ... and the zero integer, constitutes the complete
set of integers, denoted by Z. In a study of any number system, such as the set of integers, we concern
ourselves with certain basic operations on these numbers. The two most basic operations are addition and
multiplication.
Definition 1-10: A set of numbers A is closed under the operation of addition if the sum of any two
numbers in A is also in A. This is called the closure property of addition. A similar definition can be given
for multiplication or any operation. A well-known property of the set of integers is that if any two integers
are added or multiplied, the result is an integer. In line with the above definition, we say Z is closed under
addition and multiplication. There are, of course, many sets whose elements are integers that are not
closed under either addition or multiplication. The set {1, 2, 3} is one such set. Neither the number 5, the
sum of 2 and 3, nor the number 6, their product, is in the set. The set {-1, 0, 1} is not closed under
addition, but is closed under multiplication.
Problems:
1. We noticed that the set of integers Z was closed under addition and multiplication. Is it closed
under: (a) subtraction, (b) division?
2. Is the set of natural numbers closed under: (a) addition, (b) multiplication, (c) subtraction, (d)
division?
3. Examine the following sets with regard to closure under addition and multiplication: (a) {1}, (b)
{1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6}, (c) {1, 0}.
4. An even natural number is any natural number which may be expressed as 2k, where k is a
natural number. Is the set of even natural numbers closed under: (a) addition, (b) multiplication?
5. Define an odd natural number. Is the set of odd natural numbers closed under: (a) addition, (b)
multiplication?
Definition 1-11: If a, b, and c are integers such that a • b = c, a and b are called factors or divisors of c,
and c is a multiple of a or b. Thus, 2, 3, and 5 are factors of 30, as are -6 or -15. We recall (Problem 4) that
an even integer is any integer which has 2 as a factor (or is a multiple of 2). If we define an odd integer to
be any integer which is not even, it is possible to express any odd integer as 2k + 1, where k is an integer.
The integer -8 is even since -8 = 2 • -4, while 9 is odd since 9 = 2 • 4 + 1.
All positive integers except the number one may be classified as either composite numbers or primes. A
positive integer is called composite if it is different from one and can be expressed as the product of two
or more positive integers, which are its factors. In certain cases, some of these factors may be equal.
For example, 4, 6, 9, and 12 are composite, for 4 = 2 • 2, 6 = 3 • 2, 9 = 3 • 3, and 12 = 3 • 2 • 2. In fact,
every even integer greater than 2 is composite.
A positive integer is called prime if it is different from one and is not composite. In other words, it can be
expressed as a product of two positive integers only in the trivial way in which one factor is itself and the
other the integer one. Examples of prime numbers are 2, 3, 5, and 7. The decomposition of any composite
number, that is, the expression of such a number as a product of prime numbers, is most important. Such a
decomposition is always possible, since each factor which is composite can be expressed as the product of
smaller factors, and ultimately the factors will all be prime. Thus, 60 = 12 • 5 = 4 • 3 • 5 = 2 • 2 • 3 • 5.
Moreover, decomposition is unique, although the proof of this fact is too advanced for this discussion.
Specifically, a composite number can be expressed as a product of prime factors in one and only one way,
except for the order of the factors. Thus 60 can also be expressed as 15 • 4 = 5 • 3 • 4 = 5 • 3 • 2 • 2. Two
integers are called relatively prime or prime to each other if they contain no common prime factors. We
shall consider factors again in a more general way in Article 3-5.
Problems:
1. List all the factors of 12; of 120.
2. List the common divisors of 30 and 50.
3. If E is the set of all even integers and O is the set of all odd integers, notice that E is a subset of Z
and O is a subset of Z. What can be said about: (a) E U O, (b) E ∩ O?
4. If E is the set of all even integers (integral multiples of 2) and T is the set of all integral multiples
of 3, what can be said about E ∪ T?
5. If S is the set of all integral multiples of 6 and T is the set of all integral multiples of 10, what can
be said about S ∩ T? With the result of this and Problem 4, can you state a generalization?
6. List the prime numbers between 1 and 100.
7. In the ninth book of his Elements, Euclid (3rd century B.C.) proved that the set {p | p is a prime
number) is an infinite set. Is this set closed under: (a) addition, (b) multiplication?
8. Many primes occur in pairs separated by one integer. Such pairs are 3 and 5, 5 and 7, 11 and 13,
17 and 19. In fact, it has been conjectured, but never proved, that there is an infinite number of
such pairs. List all such pairs less than 100.
9. Many mathematicians have unsuccessfully tried to discover an expression which will always
result in a prime number. Consider the expression p - w^2 + 41. (a) What is the value of p for n =
1, 2, 3, 4, 5? (b) What is its value for n = 9, 10, 11? (c) Are the values of p in (a) and (b) prime
numbers? (d) What is the value of p when n = 41? Is this a prime number?
10. Recall that any even integer n can be expressed n = 2k for some integer k. Use this definition to
show that the set E = {x | x is an even integer} is closed under: (a) addition, (b) multiplication.
11. Show that the set O = {x | x is an odd integer} is closed under multiplication.
12. Show that the square of an even integer is even and that of an odd integer is odd. *13. Show that
if the square of any integer is even, the integer itself is even. (Recall that any integer is even or
odd, and use Problem 12.) 14. Show that if an integer is a multiple of the integer a, its square is
also a multiple of a.
 1-5 Rational and irrational numbers:
The classification of numbers as rational involves the formation of the quotient of an integer by an
integer. If a is an integer and b is an integer different from zero, then a/b may be defined as the number c
which, when multiplied by b, gives a. That is, a/b represents n times n.
Definition 1-12: Any number that can be expressed as the quotient or ratio of two integers (excluding
division by zero) is called a rational number. The entire set of all such numbers is called the set of rational
numbers, denoted by Q. The numbers f, -^, and 1.414 are rational numbers. Any integer n, say 3, is a
rational number, since n = (n/1). Consequently, Z ⊂ Q. The number 1.414, which is an approximation for
√2, is a rational number, since 1.411 - 1214/1000.
Any rational number may be written as a decimal. For example, 1 = 1.75, or 1^ = 0.1818 .... The decimal
1.75 is said to terminate, while the decimal 0.1818 ... is called a periodic or repeating decimal, since the
two digits 18 repeat themselves. Indeed, a rational number may be identified by the fact that its decimal
expansion either terminates or, if unending, is periodic. Numbers that are nonperiodic and unending when
expressed as decimals are not rational. For example, the numbers √2, π (the ratio of the circumference of
any circle to its diameter), and e (the base for logarithms used in calculus), which cannot be expressed as
the quotient of two integers, cannot be written as terminating or unending periodic decimals.
The proofs that π and e are not rational are quite difficult and involve considerably more mathematics
than we have at our disposal. However, a comparatively simple proof that √2 is not rational is possible.
Our method of proof will be to assume that the statement of the theorem we wish to prove is false. On this
assumption, we shall work logically with what we know and thus arrive at a contradiction. Because of this
contradiction, we realize our assumption was incorrect, and consequently the statement of the theorem
must be true. Such an argument is frequently called the method of indirect proof or reductio ad absurdum.
Theorem 1-1: The number √2 is not a rational number.
Proof: Since we wish to prove that no integers p and q exist such that p/q = √2, we shall assume two such
integers exist. Moreover, if two such integers exist, we may reduce the fraction p/q to lowest terms by
dividing out any common multiple. We, therefore, have √2 = p/q (1-1), where p and q are relatively prime.
If we multiply each member of this equation by q and square, we get p^2 = 2q^2 (1-2). Because of the
closure property of Z, p^2 and q^2 are integers, and in fact, p^2 is an even integer. Because of the result
of Problem 13, p is an even integer, and we set it equal to 2r, where r is an integer. Thus, p = 2r. If this
value of p is substituted into Eq. (1-2), we have 4r^2 = 2q^2, or 2r^2 = q^2, and therefore q^2 is an even
integer. It follows that q is an even integer. We have now arrived at a contradiction, namely, that the two
relatively prime integers, p and q, both have 2 as a factor. Our original assumption is thus impossible, and
there do not exist any integers p and q where p/q = √2; that is, √2 is not rational.
It is not difficult to prove that Q is closed under the operations of addition or multiplication, provided we
know the method of adding or multiplying fractions discussed in Articles 3-7 and 3-8. In fact, Q is closed
under all four of the elementary operations, including subtraction and division (except by zero), so that Q
is much more useful than Z. It is not, however, a system that is completely satisfactory, for it does not
permit numbers that, when written as decimals, may continue indefinitely without any period. For
example, the number 0.1010010001 ... is not permitted. The entire set of numbers expressible as decimals
(terminating or not) is called the set of real numbers, and those in this set that are not rational form the set
of irrational numbers. If we let R denote the set of all real numbers, we have Z ⊂ Q ⊂ R. Moreover, with
R as the universal set, Q', the complement of Q, can denote the set of all irrational numbers.
Unfortunately, Q' is not closed under addition, since, for example, the sum of √2 and -√2 (a number that is
easily proved irrational, see Problem 10) is 0, a rational number. Neither is Q' closed under multiplication,
for √2 • -√2 = 2. However, any irrational number can be approximated by a rational number. For example,
the rational number that approximates √2, correct to three decimal places, is 1.414. The rational number π
is a common approximation for π, while a more accurate one is 3.1416. The set of all real numbers may
be classified as follows:
If a statement or theorem is proved, it must be proved for all possible cases. If, on the other hand, we are
required to disprove a statement, one example for which the statement is false will suffice.
We shall deal primarily with real numbers in this book, but other types of numbers will arise from
generalizations or extensions of real numbers. In Chapter 16, for example, we shall discuss the set of
complex numbers, which includes imaginary numbers as well as real numbers. However, unless otherwise
stated, all numbers will be regarded as belonging to the set of real numbers, and R will be our universal
set.
Problems:
1. Show that the following numbers are rational by Definition 1-12. (a) 0.6 (b) 4f (c) -14.73 (d) -3.
2. Show that the following are rational numbers. (a) -6 + √2 (b) (2/3)(5/2) (c) (2 + √5) + (7 - √5)
3. Show that the following numbers can be expressed as terminating or periodic decimals and are
therefore rational. (a) √3 (b) √5 (c) √2 (d) √7
4. In expressing π as a decimal, (a) what is the periodic repeating block of numbers? (b) How many
digits are there in this block of numbers? (c) What are the remainders at each stage of the division
process used to obtain this block? (d) Explain why the division of p and q, where the integer p is
less than the integer q, will always result in a terminating or periodic decimal. This explanation
outlines proof of what theorem?
5. Show that the following numbers can be expressed as the quotient of two integers. (a) 3.242424
[If we let x = 3.242424, 100x = 324.242424 If we subtract the corresponding members of these
two equations, we obtain 99x = 321, or x = 107/33.] (b) 6.272727 ... (c) 5.818181 ... (d) 0.555 ...
(e) 0.142857142857 ...
(a) Outline a method that will always result in a solution for Problem 5. (b) Such a method
outlines a proof of what theorem?
6. Prove that the set Q' is closed under: (a) addition [Hint: If a = (p/q) and b = (r/s), can a + b be
expressed as the quotient of two integers?], (b) multiplication, (c) subtraction, (d) division.
7. Construct a Venn diagram with R for the universe indicating the subsets Q, Q', and Z.
8. If we assume √5 is not rational, prove that 5 + √3 is not rational.
9. Prove that -√2 is not rational.
10. Prove that (a + b√2)/c, where a, b, and c are integers and c is not 0, is not rational.
11. Prove that no rational number exists whose cube is 2.
 1-6 Equality:
We recall the definition concerning the equality of two sets. The equality relation in general, we shall
assume, is reflexive, symmetric, and transitive (see Problem 14, Article 1-2). Specifically, for all elements
a, b, and c of R:
Axiom E1. Reflexive property for equality: a = a.
Axiom E2. Symmetric property for equality: If a = b, then b = a.
Axiom E3. Transitive property for equality: If a = b and b = c, then a = c.
In addition, we shall assume the addition and multiplication properties.
Axiom E4. Addition property for equality: If a = b and c = d, then a + c = b + d.
Axiom E5. Multiplication property for equality: If a = b, and c ≠ d, then ac = bd.
Finally, we shall assume that any quantity may be substituted in any expression for an equal quantity.
We do not intend to belabor what is basic to the idea of equality but rather wish to point out precisely
what assumptions we do make, and we shall ordinarily use them henceforth without specific comment.
There are two main types of equations in mathematics: the identity and the conditional equation. These
two have many of the same properties but differ in meaning. Let us distinguish between them.
Definition 1-13: An identity is a statement of equality that holds true for all permissible values of the
letters involved. Each such identity will be denoted by the symbol =, in order to emphasize its nature. The
following simple examples will help to clarify the concept.

Definition 1-14: The conditional equation is a statement of equality that holds true for some, but not all,
permissible values of the letters involved. One is usually required to solve such an equation, that is, to
find all possible values (the solution) for which the equation is true.
Later we shall discuss the solving of equations, but now let us consider the following examples.