September 24, 2009
No CommentsHow to Solve Proofs by Contraposition
Description
A detailed tutorial on how to solve proofs by contraposition. Step by step tutorial including several example problems of solving proofs by contraposition for reference.
Overview
The method of writing proofs is not entirely a set process – every mathematician brings their own style to their proof, just like an author will bring their own style to their books. However, there are several different basic techniques for writing proofs. One of these is writing proofs by contraposition. A proof by contraposition is by using negation with the antecedent and consequent. You will state that the consequent is false if declared true, and true if declared false. You will then prove that the antecedent is true if it was declared false, or false if it was declared true. If you can prove the contraposition of the statement, then you can also consider that to be the proof of the statement.
