1.

Use contradiction method to prove that :“p: √3 is irrational” is a true statement.

Answer»

Contradiction statement: √3 is a rational number.

Proof:

If √3 is a rational number, then √3 = p/q where (p, q) co-prime.

or q = p/√3

or q2 = p2/3 ….(1)

Thus, p2 must be divisible by 3. Hence p will also be divisible by 3.

We can write p = 3k, where k is a constant.

⇒ p2 = 9c2

(1)⇒

q2 = 9c2/3 = 3c2

or c2 = q2/3

Thus, q2 must be divisible by 3, which implies that q will also be divisible by 3.

Thus, both p and q are divisible by 3.

Which is a contradiction, as we assume that p and q are co-prime.

Thus, √3 is irrational.

Hence, the statement p is true.



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