Suppose n is an integer. Using the definitions of even and odd, prove that n is odd if and only if 3n+1 is even.

lwfrgin

lwfrgin

Answered question

2021-02-09

Suppose n is an integer. Using the definitions of even and odd, prove that n is odd if and only if 3n+1 is even.

Answer & Explanation

Mitchel Aguirre

Mitchel Aguirre

Skilled2021-02-10Added 94 answers

Suppose that n is odd. Then n=2k+1, where k is some integer. Furthermore, 3n+1=3(2k+1)+1=6k+4=2(3k+2)
Since 3k+2 is an integer, we conclude that 3n+1 is even.
Suppose that 3n+1 is even. Then 3n+1=2l,
for some integer l. This also means that
3n=2l1=2(l1)+1
Since l1 is an integer, we conclude that 3n is odd. Now, if n was even then clearly 3n would also be even, so we get a contradiction. Therefore, n must be odd.

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