Prove/Disprove: c Divides (a+b) But Not a, Then c Does Not Divide b

AI Thread Summary
The discussion revolves around proving or disproving the statement that if c divides (a+b) but does not divide a, then c does not divide b. Participants suggest using proof by contradiction, proposing that if c divides b, then it leads to a contradiction regarding the divisibility of a. The key argument is that if c divides both (a+b) and b, it implies c must also divide a, contradicting the initial condition. The conclusion drawn is that the contrapositive of the original statement holds true, confirming the statement's validity. The discussion emphasizes the importance of understanding divisibility relationships in algebraic expressions.
Orikon
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I'm having trouble with this question, I need to prove or disprove this statement: If c divides (a+b), but c does not divide a, then c does not divide b.

what i have so far is ck = (a+b) where k is some integer. Next I have a=ck-b and b=ck-a. I tried doing things like a = ck-(ck-a) but that got me nowhere. Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
 
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If c divides b, try writing b in terms of c, then go back to a=ck-b
 
Try proof by contradiction: Suppose c does divide b. Then b= cn for some n so c= a+ cn. What does a equal? Why is that a contradiction?
 
HallsofIvy said:
Try proof by contradiction: Suppose c does divide b. Then b= cn for some n so c= a+ cn. What does a equal? Why is that a contradiction?

Thanks for the help. I think there's a problem though, shouldn't C = (a+b)n for some integer n? Instead of c= a + cn, it should be c divides a + cn.

I tried the following c = (a +cn)k where k is another integer, so
a = (c/k) - cn but I can't figure out where to go from there. Thanks
 
Orikon, there's a small typo in Halls' post.

c divides b => nc = b
c divides a+b => kc = a+b = a+nc {not the other way round}

So what can you say about a?
 
Gokul43201 said:
Orikon, there's a small typo in Halls' post.

c divides b => nc = b
c divides a+b => kc = a+b = a+nc {not the other way round}

So what can you say about a?

so,
kc = a + nc
a = kc - nc
a = c(k-n)

which means c must also be divisible by a when c is divisible by b. That's the contrapositive of the original statement, so it must be true, right? :biggrin: Thank you so much!
 
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