For any positive integer n, prove that n3-n is divisible by 6?
N^3 - n = n(n^2-1) = n(n -1)(n + 1) is divided by 3 then possible reminder is 0, 1 and 2 [ ∵ if P = ab + r , then 0 ≤ r < a by Euclid lemma ]
∴ Let n = 3r , 3r +1 , 3r + 2 , where r is an integer
Case 1 :- when n = 3r
Then, n^3 - n is divisible by 3 [∵n^3 - n = n(n-1)(n+1) = 3r(3r-1)(3r+1) , clearly shown it is divisible by 3 ]
Case2 :- when n = 3r + 1
e.g., n - 1 = 3r +1 - 1 = 3r
Then, n^3 - n = (3r + 1)(3r)(3r + 2) , it is divisible by 3
Case 3:- when n = 3r - 1
e.g., n + 1 = 3r - 1 + 1 = 3r
Then, n^3 - n = (3r -1)(3r -2)(3r) , it is divisible by 3
From above explanation we observed n^3 - n is divisible by 3 , where n is any positive integers
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For any positive integer n, prove that n3-n is divisible by 6?
For any positive integer n, prove that n3-n is divisible by 6?
Proof:
To prove that n^3 - n is divisible by 6 for any positive integer n, we can use mathematical induction.
Base case:
Let's start with n = 1:
1^3 - 1 = 1 - 1 = 0
Since 0 is divisible by 6, the base case holds true.
Inductive step:
Assume that for some positive integer k, k^3 - k is divisible by 6. We need to prove that (k+1)^3 - (k+1) is also divisible by 6.
Expanding (k+1)^3 - (k+1):
(k+1)^3 - (k+1) = k^3 + 3k^2 + 3k + 1 - k - 1
= k^3 - k + 3k^2 + 3k
Using the assumption that k^3 - k is divisible by 6, we can write it as:
6m + 3k^2 + 3k (where m is an integer)
Factoring out 3:
3(2m + k^2 + k)
Now we need to show that (2m + k^2 + k) is divisible by 2. We can consider two cases:
Case 1: k is even
If k is even, then k^2 is also even. Let's say k = 2p, where p is an integer. Therefore, k^2 = (2p)^2 = 4p^2, which is divisible by 2. So, (2m + k^2 + k) is divisible by 2.
Case 2: k is odd
If k is odd, then k^2 is odd as well. Let's say k = 2p + 1, where p is an integer. Therefore, k^2 = (2p + 1)^2 = 4p^2 + 4p + 1 = 2(2p^2 + 2p) + 1, which is also divisible by 2. So, (2m + k^2 + k) is divisible by 2.
Since in both cases (2m + k^2 + k) is divisible by 2 and we already established that k^3 - k is divisible by 6, we can conclude that (k+1)^3 - (k+1) is divisible by 6.
Conclusion:
By proving the base case and the inductive step, we have shown that n^3 - n is divisible by 6 for any positive integer n.