Elements of the set {6a + 2b} where a and b....

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The discussion centers on the set representation of linear combinations of integers in the form {6a + 2b} where a and b are integers. Participants confirm that 6ℤ + 2ℤ results in 2ℤ, indicating that all even integers can be expressed in this form. The conversation also explores other combinations, such as 6ℤ + 3ℤ yielding 3ℤ and 6ℤ + 5ℤ resulting in ℤ, demonstrating the relationship between the coefficients and the resulting set of integers. The greatest common divisor (GCD) is identified as the key factor in determining the multiples represented by such combinations.

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Homework Statement
Write each of the following sets by listing their elements between braces.
Relevant Equations
None.
I've boxed around my answer but I don't know if this is the right answer. I also used a substitution with c=3a+b in my work. I don't know if my work is precise or not.
 

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Yes, it's correct. Do you see what ##a\cdot\mathbb{Z} + b\cdot\mathbb{Z}## is in general?
 
fresh_42 said:
Yes, it's correct. Do you see what ##a\cdot\mathbb{Z} + b\cdot\mathbb{Z}## is in general?
It's ℤ(a+b).
 
Math100 said:
It's ℤ(a+b).
Where ℤ represents a set of integers {...-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3...} and I multiplied this set of integers by 2 to get the answer/result.
 
Math100 said:
It's ℤ(a+b).
No. You have shown that ##6\mathbb{Z}+2\mathbb{Z}=2\mathbb{Z}##.

##\mathbb{Z}(a+b)## would have been ##8\mathbb{Z}## which is less. If you gather all multiples of ##a## and add all multiples of ##b##, then you get all multiples of?
 
fresh_42 said:
No. You have shown that ##6\mathbb{Z}+2\mathbb{Z}=2\mathbb{Z}##.

##\mathbb{Z}(a+b)## would have been ##8\mathbb{Z}## which is less. If you gather all multiples of ##a## and add all multiples of ##b##, then you get all multiples of?
8ℤ
 
My question is: which numbers can you build of the form ##\{n=x\cdot a+y\cdot b\,|\,x,y\in \mathbb{Z}\}##?

You had ##a=6## and ##b=2## and found all even numbers as the solution: ##6\mathbb{Z}+2\mathbb{Z}=2\mathbb{Z}.##

If you take ##a=6## and ##b=3##, what do you get? And what for ##a=6## and ##b=5##?
 
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I get multiples of b.
 
Yes, but if you add multiples of ##a## and multiples of ##b##, then you can get more. See
##6\mathbb{Z}+2\mathbb{Z}=2\mathbb{Z}## - your exercise, which was correct.

If we calculate ##6\mathbb{Z}+3\mathbb{Z}## then we get all multiples of three, ##3\mathbb{Z}##, because the multiples of ##6## are already included.

But if we calculate ##6\mathbb{Z}+5\mathbb{Z}## then we have ##1\cdot 6+ (-1)\cdot 5=1## in our set. But all multiples of ##1## are all integers, so ##6\mathbb{Z}+5\mathbb{Z}=1\cdot \mathbb{Z}=\mathbb{Z}.##
 
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  • #10
fresh_42 said:
My question is: which numbers can you build of the form ##\{n=x\cdot a+y\cdot b\,|\,x,y\in \mathbb{Z}\}##?

You had ##a=6## and ##b=2## and found all even numbers as the solution: ##6\mathbb{Z}+2\mathbb{Z}=2\mathbb{Z}.##

If you take ##a=6## and ##b=3##, what do you get? And what for ##a=6## and ##b=5##?
If I take a=6 and b=3, then I get 6ℤ+3ℤ=3ℤ where the set is {...,-9, -6, -3, 0, 3, 6, 9,...}.
If I take a=6 and b=5, then I get 6ℤ+5ℤ=5ℤ where the set is {...,-15, -10, -5, 0, 5, 10, 15,...}.
 
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  • #11
Math100 said:
If I take a=6 and b=3, then I get 6ℤ+3ℤ=3ℤ where the set is {...,-9, -6, -3, 0, 3, 6, 9,...}.
If I take a=6 and b=5, then I get 6ℤ+5ℤ=5ℤ where the set is {...,-15, -10, -5, 0, 5, 10, 15,...}.
This wasn't completely wrong. The first line is correct. Only the second does not have enough numbers in the set.

We always get multiples of ##\mathbb{Z}##, in all cases. The question is: which multiples?
 
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  • #12
fresh_42 said:
Yes, but if you add multiples of ##a## and multiples of ##b##, then you can get more. See
##6\mathbb{Z}+2\mathbb{Z}=2\mathbb{Z}## - your exercise, which was correct.

If we calculate ##6\mathbb{Z}+3\mathbb{Z}## then we get all multiples of three, ##3\mathbb{Z}##, because the multiples of ##6## are already included.

But if we calculate ##6\mathbb{Z}+5\mathbb{Z}## then we have ##1\cdot 6+ (-1)\cdot 5=1## in our set. But all multiples of ##1## are all integers, so ##6\mathbb{Z}+5\mathbb{Z}=1\cdot \mathbb{Z}=\mathbb{Z}.##
I didn't know that if I take a=6 and b=5, I get that result. This is similar to modulo mathematics problems.
 
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  • #13
{5a+2b: a, b ∈ ℤ}
{c=5a+2b ∈ ℤ}
{c ∈ ℤ}
{...-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3,...}
Is the work precise? I took a=5 and b=2 for another practice problem.
 
  • #14
Math100 said:
{5a+2b: a, b ∈ ℤ}
{c=5a+2b ∈ ℤ}
{c ∈ ℤ}
{...-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3,...}
Is the work precise? I took a=5 and b=2 for another practice problem.
Yes, that is true. It is all about which is the smallest number we can build in the set.
 
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  • #15
You know, that some people use q for the substitution instead of c during the work process. I used c=5a+2b. I don't know which is the accurate/precise notation.
 
  • #16
Math100 said:
You know, that some people use q for the substitution instead of c during the work process. I used c=5a+2b. I don't know which is the accurate/precise notation.
That doesn't matter. If it comes to integers, then often ##p,q,r,s,t## are used, where ##p## and ##q## are reserved for primes. But this isn't a rule, just a convention. If physics comes into play, then ##s## (path) and ##t## (time) aren't available. I had a professor who liked to use ## \mathfrak{a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,}## etc.
 
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  • #17
fresh_42 said:
That doesn't matter. If it comes to integers, then often ##p,q,r,s,t## are used, where ##p## and ##q## are reserved for primes. But this isn't a rule, just a convention. If physics comes into play, then ##s## (path) and ##t## (time) aren't available. I had a professor who liked to use ## \mathfrak{a,b,c,d,e,f,g,h,i,j,k,l,m,n,}## etc.
Thank you for the help!
 
  • #18
Math100 said:
Homework Statement:: Write each of the following sets by listing their elements between braces.
Relevant Equations:: None.

I've boxed around my answer but I don't know if this is the right answer. I also used a substitution with c=3a+b in my work. I don't know if my work is precise or not.
If I take your work literally, you got the right answer for the wrong reason.
When you factored out the 2 in the third line, you dropped a very important |a,b ##\in \mathbb {Z}##.
That is not the same as what you have: ##3a+b\in \mathbb {Z}## with nothing said about what values a and b can have.
With |a,b ##\in \mathbb {Z}##, suppose, you have a=0. Then you get the full set of values in the answer just by letting b take on all values in ##\mathbb {Z}##.
 
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  • #19
FactChecker said:
If I take your work literally, you got the right answer for the wrong reason.
When you factored out the 2 in the third line, you dropped a very important |a,b ##\in \mathbb {Z}##.
That is not the same as what you have: ##3a+b\in \mathbb {Z}## with nothing said about what values a and b can have.
With |a,b ##\in \mathbb {Z}##, suppose, you have a=0. Then you get the full set of values in the answer just by letting b take on all values in ##\mathbb {Z}##.
 

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  • #20
How about this time? Is the work right?
 
  • #21
Math100 said:
How about this time? Is the work right?
The point is: Why is ##\{3\cdot a+1\cdot b\,|\,a,b\in \mathbb{Z}\}=\{q\in \mathbb{Z}\}=\mathbb{Z}##? This was what my questions were meant for. We always have ##a\mathbb{Z}+b\mathbb{Z}=d\mathbb{Z}##. But what is ##d## in terms of ##a## and ##b##?

Hint: ##d## is not the minimum! Consider ##a=4## and ##b=6##.
 
  • #22
fresh_42 said:
The point is: Why is ##\{3\cdot a+1\cdot b\,|\,a,b\in \mathbb{Z}\}=\{q\in \mathbb{Z}\}=\mathbb{Z}##? This was what my questions were meant for. We always have ##a\mathbb{Z}+b\mathbb{Z}=d\mathbb{Z}##. But what is ##d## in terms of ##a## and ##b##?

Hint: ##d## is not the minimum! Consider ##a=4## and ##b=6##.
Because q=3a+b.
 
  • #23
Math100 said:
Because q=3a+b.
No. This is just a definition.

We have ##\underbrace{\{\ldots,-6,-3,0,3,6,\ldots\}}_{3a}\, +\,\underbrace{\{\ldots,-2,-1,0,1,2,\ldots\}}_{b}## so by setting ##a=0## we already have all integers via the second term, which means that all integers are included in the sum. The other direction, that the sum is included in the integers is by definition obvious.

What is ##\{4a+6b\,|\,a,b\in \mathbb{Z}\}##?

All those sets can be written as ##d\cdot \{\ldots,-2,-1,0,1,2,\ldots\}= \{\ldots,-2d,-d,0,d,2d,\ldots\}##, and ##d## is a function of ##a## and ##b\; , \;d=f(a,b)##. Which function is ##f##? ##f## is neither the maximum of ##a## and ##b## nor the minimum of ##a## and ##b##, but what is it?
 
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  • #24
fresh_42 said:
No. This is just a definition.

We have ##\underbrace{\{\ldots,-6,-3,0,3,6,\ldots\}}_{3a}\, +\,\underbrace{\{\ldots,-2,-1,0,1,2,\ldots\}}_{b}## so by setting ##a=0## we already have all integers via the second term, which means that all integers are included in the sum. The other direction, that the sum is included in the integers is by definition obvious.

What is ##\{4a+6b\,|\,a,b\in \mathbb{Z}\}##?

All those sets can be written as ##d\cdot \{\ldots,-2,-1,0,1,2,\ldots\}= \{\ldots,-2d,-d,0,d,2d,\ldots\}##, and ##d## is a function of ##a## and ##b\; , \;d=f(a,b)##. Which function is ##f##? ##f## is neither the maximum of ##a## and ##b## nor the minimum of ##a## and ##b##, but what is it?
{4a+6b: a, b ∈ℤ}
{4a+6b \vert a, b ∈ℤ}
=2*{2a+3b \vert a, b∈ℤ}
=2*{q=2a+3b \vert a, b∈ℤ}
=2*{q∈ℤ}
={..., -6, -4, -2, 0, 2, 4, 6, ...}
 
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  • #25
Math100 said:
{4a+6b: a, b ∈ℤ}
{4a+6b \vert a, b ∈ℤ}
=2*{2a+3b \vert a, b∈ℤ}
=2*{q=2a+3b \vert a, b∈ℤ}
=2*{q∈ℤ}
={..., -6, -4, -2, 0, 2, 4, 6, ...}
Yes, correct. ##4\mathbb{Z}+6\mathbb{Z}=2\mathbb{Z}##. And we already know that ##6\mathbb{Z}+2\mathbb{Z}=2\mathbb{Z}## and that ##3\mathbb{Z}+1\mathbb{Z}=1\mathbb{Z}##.

So we always have ##a\mathbb{Z}+b\mathbb{Z}=d\mathbb{Z}##.
Our examples showed: ##d(4,6)=2\, , \,d(3,1)=1\, , \,d(6,2)=2##.
Do you have a guess what ##d## is?
 
  • #26
fresh_42 said:
Yes, correct. ##4\mathbb{Z}+6\mathbb{Z}=2\mathbb{Z}##. And we already know that ##6\mathbb{Z}+2\mathbb{Z}=2\mathbb{Z}## and that ##3\mathbb{Z}+1\mathbb{Z}=1\mathbb{Z}##.

So we always have ##a\mathbb{Z}+b\mathbb{Z}=d\mathbb{Z}##.
Our examples showed: ##d(4,6)=2\, , \,d(3,1)=1\, , \,d(6,2)=2##.
Do you have a guess what ##d## is?
d(a, b)
d=b modulo a
 
  • #27
Math100 said:
d(a, b)
d=b modulo a
This would depend on what is ##a## and what is ##b##. E.g. ##6 \mod 4 = 2 ## and ##4\mod 6 = 4.##

No, it is symmetric in ##a## and ##b##. It has to do with the divisors of the pair.
 
  • #28
fresh_42 said:
This would depend on what is ##a## and what is ##b##. E.g. ##6 \mod 4 = 2 ## and ##4\mod 6 = 4.##

No, it is symmetric in ##a## and ##b##. It has to do with the divisors of the pair.
Where d is the GCF of a and b.
 
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  • #29
Math100 said:
Where d is the GCF of a and b.
Greatest common divisor is the usual term, I think.

If you consider the numbers which are in both sets, i.e. ##a\mathbb{Z}\cap b\mathbb{Z}=m\mathbb{Z}## then ##m## is the least common multiple.
 
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  • #30
fresh_42 said:
Greatest common divisor is the usual term, I think.

If you consider the numbers which are in both sets, i.e. ##a\mathbb{Z}\cap b\mathbb{Z}=m\mathbb{Z}## then ##m## is the least common multiple.
Thank you for the help!
 
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