Is Every Rational Number Always a Ratio of Two Integers?

In summary: It would be better to say "if P is given the question, then P will always answer it correctly."In summary, there is a program that always gives the correct answer to every question that is posed to it.
  • #1
kuahji
394
2
Rewrite the following statement formally. Use variables and include both quantifiers [tex]\forall[/tex] and [tex]\exists[/tex] in your answer.

Statement: Every rational number can be written as a ratio of some two integers.

If I didn't have to use [tex]\exists[/tex] I'd write it as follows

[tex]\forall[/tex]rational numbers x, x is a ratio of two integers.

But I can't think of a way or any reason why I'd want to include the quantifier [tex]\exists[/tex].
 
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  • #2
kuahji said:
Rewrite the following statement formally. Use variables and include both quantifiers [tex]\forall[/tex] and [tex]\exists[/tex] in your answer.

Statement: Every rational number can be written as a ratio of some two integers.

If I didn't have to use [tex]\exists[/tex] I'd write it as follows

[tex]\forall[/tex]rational numbers x, x is a ratio of two integers.

But I can't think of a way or any reason why I'd want to include the quantifier [tex]\exists[/tex].

You must use variables in your answer.
 
  • #3
What does "x is a ratio of two integers" mean? That's where you need [itex]\exists[/itex].
 
  • #4
Ok thanks, I rewrote it as
[tex]\forall[/tex] rational numbers x, [tex]\exists[/tex] a rational number y and a rational number z such that x=y/z.

One more question if anyone has time to help me with.

Rewrite the statement formally.
Statement: There is a program that gives the correct answer to every question that is posed to it.

So I rewrote it as
[tex]\exists[/tex] a program p such that [tex]\forall[/tex]questions q, p always answers q correctly.
Is this incorrectly because I have "correctly" as the final word?
The book shows the answer as
[tex]\exists[/tex] a program P such that [tex]\forall[/tex] questions Q posed to P, P gives the correct answer to Q.

I didn't know if these was some technicality that would make my answer incorrect as apposed to the book's answer.
 
  • #5
It's mostly right except the original statement is that any rational number can be written as a ratio of 2 integers.

For the second one, the only real problem I see is that "always" is redundant.
 

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