MHB Proving the integer that p is even and its square is even as well

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To prove that an integer p is even if and only if its square p^2 is even, two implications must be demonstrated. First, if p is even (p = 2m), then squaring it results in p^2 = 4m^2, which is even. Conversely, if p^2 is even, assuming p is odd (p = 2n + 1) leads to p^2 = 4n^2 + 4n + 1, which is odd, creating a contradiction. Therefore, both implications confirm that p is even if and only if p^2 is even. The proof is validated as correct.
cbarker1
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Dear Everyone,I would like some help to get start with a proof. A problem states, "if p is an integer, show that p is even iff p^2 is even."I know that p is the an integer.

Let p be an integer.

$p=2m$, where m is an integer.Thank you for your help

CBarker
 
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To show that the integer $p$ is even iff $p^2$ is even, we have to show the following two implications:
  1. Let $p \in \mathbb{Z}$. If $p$ is even, then $p^2$ is even.
  2. Let $p \in \mathbb{Z}$. If $p^2$ is even, then $p$ is even.

To show the first one we do the following:

$p$ is an even integer, so $p=2m$, for some $m \in \mathbb{Z}$.
Squaring both sides we get $p^2=(2m)^2=4m^2=2(2m^2)$.
Since $m$ is an integer, we have that $2m^2$ is also an integer.
So, $p^2=2n$, with $n=2m^2 \in \mathbb{Z}$.
So, $p^2$ is even. Can you continue and show the second implication?
 
P is not even. If p is not even, then it is odd; therefore there exists an integer n such that
$p=2n+1$
${p}^{2}={\left(2n+1\right)}^{2}\implies p^2=4n^2+4n+1$
$p^2=2\left(2n^2+2n\right)+1$
$p^2=2k+1$, where $k=2n^2+2n$ is some integer.
${p}^{2}$ is odd, contrary to the hypothesis. Since p is not even, it leads to a contradiction. p is even. QED

Is it correct?
 
Last edited:
It is correct! (Yes)
 
Here is a little puzzle from the book 100 Geometric Games by Pierre Berloquin. The side of a small square is one meter long and the side of a larger square one and a half meters long. One vertex of the large square is at the center of the small square. The side of the large square cuts two sides of the small square into one- third parts and two-thirds parts. What is the area where the squares overlap?

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