Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.

1 Numbers

Calculus and Numerical Methods

Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series
1.1 Numbers

Departamento de Matemáticas
Escuela Superior de Ingenierı́a Informática
UCLM, Albacete

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers

Index

1 Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction
The principle of mathematical induction

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers

Objectives

Understand why we use different types of numbers, from

natural numbers to real numbers: N, Z, Q, R.
The basic properties of real numbers.
Mathematical induction.

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers

Notation and terminology

Some sets of numbers:
Natural numbers:
N = {1, 2, 3, . . .}
Integer numbers:
Z = {. . . , −2, −1, 0, 1, 2, . . .}
Rational numbers (fractions):
 
p
Q= : p, q ∈ Z, q ̸= 0
q
Real numbers: R
Complex numbers:
C = {a + bi : a, b ∈ R} (i 2 = −1)
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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers

Notation
Symbol ∈ : a ∈ B means that a is an element of B (a belongs to B):

1
7 ∈ N, ̸∈ Z
2

Symbol ⊂ : A ⊂ B means that all the elements of the set A are also
elements of B
N ⊂ Z ⊂ Q ⊂ R ⊂ C, Z ̸⊂ N

Symbol ⇒ : p ⇒ q means that the property p implies the property q (if

the property p is true then the property q is also true)

x = −4 ⇒ x 2 = 16

Symbol ⇔ : p ⇔ q means that the implications p ⇒ q and q ⇒ p are

true (the property p is true if and only if the property q is true)

x <2⇔x +7<9

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers

Notation

Symbol ∀ : ∀ means “for all”:

∀n ∈ N, n2 > 0

Symbol ∃ : ∃ means “exists”

∃x ∈ R such that x2 = 5

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction

Natural numbers

The set of natural numbers:

N = {1, 2, 3, . . .}

In N we have the usual addition (+) and multiplication (·).

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction

Natural numbers

(N, +) verifies the commutative and associative properties,

but there is no identity for addition, and what’s worse no
inverses for addition.
This is important: we cannot subtract in N: a − b = a + (−b).
(N, ·) verifies the commutative, associative, existence of a
multiplication identity (1), but there are no multiplicative
inverses.
a
This is important: we cannot divide in N: = a · b −1 .
b
Distributive law

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction

Natural numbers. Mathematical induction

The following formula

n(n + 1)
1 + 2 + 3 + ··· + n = ∀n ∈ N
2
lets us compute the addition of the first n natural numbers for
each n ∈ N. How can we prove it?

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction

Natural numbers. Induction

Mathematical induction (axiom of induction)

Let P(n), with n ∈ N, a property that depends on the natural
numbers. If:
(i) P(1) is true.
(ii) If P(n) is true for n, then P(n + 1) is also true.

Then P(n) is true for all natural numbers.

Another way to express this principle is: if we know that

some statement is true for n = 1; and
if we asume that the statement is true for n, then we can
assure that the statement is true for n + 1,
the conclusion is that the statement is true for all n ∈ N.
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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction

Natural numbers. Induction

The following formula gives an expression for the sum of all natural
numbers from 1 to n:

Example
The formula
n(n + 1)
1 + 2 + 3 + ··· + n =
2
is true for all n ∈ N.

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction

Natural numbers. Induction

Let’s call P(n) the equality
n(n + 1)
1 + 2 + 3 + ··· + n =
2
We have to prove:
(i) P(1) is true:
1·2
1=
2

(ii) If P(n) is true (induction hypothesis), then P(n + 1) is also true.

That is, from
n(n + 1)
1 + 2 + 3 + ··· + n =
2
we have to get
(n + 1)(n + 2)
1 + 2 + 3 + · · · + n + (n + 1) =
2

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction

Natural numbers. Induction

To do this, we add n + 1 to both sides of the equation P(n) and

obtain:

n(n + 1)
1 + 2 + 3 + · · · + n + (n + 1) = + (n + 1) =
2
n(n + 1) + 2(n + 1) (n + 1) · (n + 2)
= =
2 2
So, we have P(n + 1) from P(n).
From (i) and (ii), the induction principle let us assure that P(n) is true
for all natural numbers, which is exactly what we wanted to prove.

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction

Natural numbers. Induction

Prove by induction the following formulas (∀n ∈ N)

n(n + 1)(2n + 1)
1 12 + 22 + · · · + n2 =
6
2 1 + 3 + 5 + · · · + (2n − 1) = n2
3n+1 − 1
3 1 + 3 + 32 + · · · + 3n =
2
1 − r n+1
4 1 + r + r2 + r3 + · · · + rn = if r ∈ R, with r ̸= 1.
1−r
5 Take care with this one: it’s a formula for the sum of all natural
numbers from 1 to 2n:
1 + 2 + 3 + · · · + (2n) = 2n2 + n

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction
P
The summation symbol . Examples
n
X n
X
k = 1 + 2 + ··· + n (same equality for j)
k=1 j=1
n
X
k 2 = 12 + 22 + · · · + n 2
k=1
n−1
X
2k + 1 = (2 · 5 + 1) + (2 · 6 + 1) + · · · + (2(n − 1) + 1)
k=5
n
X
rk = 1 + r + r2 + · · · + rn (r ̸= 0)
k=0
n
X
In general, p(k) = p(j) + p(j + 1) + · · · + p(n)
k=j
Here, we assume that j ≤ n. If j = n there’s no addition because we have
only one term.

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction

An exercise using the summatory notation

n
X n(n + 1)
Prove by induction that k= , ∀n ∈ N.
2
k=1
1
X 1·(1+1)
(i) For n = 1: k = 1 and 2
= 1, so both members are equal.
k=1
n n+1
X n(n + 1) X (n + 1)(n + 2)
(ii) k= ⇒ k= . For this, we try to
2 2
k=1 k=1
substitute the first summatory in the second one:
n+1 n
!
X X
k= k + (n + 1) =
k=1 k=1
n(n + 1) n(n + 1) + 2(n + 1) n(n + 1)
= + (n + 1) = =
2 2 2
After (i) and (ii), the principle of induction tells us that our formula is
true for all natural numbers n.

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Calculus and Numerical Methods Unit 1: Numbers, sequences and series 1.1 Numbers
Numbers
Natural numbers. Mathematical induction

Towers of Hanoi

[Link]

It can be proved (by induction) that the minimum number of

moves for n disks is: 2n − 1.
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