Discrete Structures II

Mwangi H. (Ph.D.)

CS Yr 3.1
Department of Computing
J.K.U.A.T.

March 11, 2024

1 Induction
Mathematical Induction
Strong Induction
Well-Ordering Principle
Exercises

2 Recursion
Recursive Functions and Algorithms
Proving Recursive Algorithms
Exercises

3 Computer Program Verification

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 Induction

Recall existence proofs were quite easy. We just find one example
which satisfies the statement.
Proving that a statement holds for every possible choice is much more
challenging.
Mathematical Induction is a mathematical technique to reason about,
and prove, that a statement holds for every choice of natural number.

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 Induction Mathematical Induction

Consider the predicate statement P(n) for some natural number n. If we

know that P(0) is true, P(1) is true, and P(2) is true, then is P(3) true?
Is P(1000)true? This is the job of mathematical induction.

Example 1.1: Principle of Mathematical Induction

We look to prove that P(n) is true for all natural numbers n that are
greater than some natural number n0
1 Basis Step. Show directly that P(n0 ) is true
2 Inductive Step. Show that the implication P(k) → P(k + 1)
is true for all k ∈ N, k ≥ n0
If both 1 and 2 can be shown to be true, then by induction P(n) is
true for all natural numbers greater than or equal to n0

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 Induction Mathematical Induction

In this kind of proof, we prove the inductive step of mathematical

induction by following the inductive hypothesis.
As with proving any implication, we assume the left hand side is true,
and then prove that the right hand side.
In mathematical induction, assuming P(k) is the inductive hypothesis
and we “assume that the inductive hypothesis is true” in order to
show P(k + 1) must also be true.
Formally, mathematical induction gives us the following implication:
(P(n0 ) ∧ ∀k ≥ n0 (P(k) → P(k + 1)) ) → ∀n ≥ n0 P(n)
Both parts of the left hand side must be true in order to imply the
right-hand side. If either the base case does not hold or the inductive
step does not hold, then induction does not apply.
In the inductive step, we do not assume that P(k) is true for all
choices of k. Rather, we show that if P(k) is true, then P(k = 1)
must also be true.

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 Induction Mathematical Induction

Example 1.2: Proof by Induction

Pn n(n+1)
Recall the summation fromula i=1 i = 2
. Prove this formula is correct for all
n≥1

Proof.
P1 1(2)
1 Basic step: i=1 i =1= Therefore, the formula is correct for n = 1
2
k(k+1)
Inductive step. Assume the inductive hypothesis, that ki=1 i =
P
2
2
We must show that
Pk+1 (k+1)(k+2)
i=1 i = 2

k+1
X
i = 1 + 2 + 3 + · · · + k + (k + 1)
i=1
k
X
= i + (k + 1)
i=1

k(k + 1)
= + (k + 1) by inductive hypothesis
2

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 Induction Mathematical Induction

Proof Contd.

k(k + 1) + 2(k + 1)
=
2
k 2 + 3k + 2
=
2
(k + 1)(k + 2)
=
2

Therefore, by induction, ni=1 i = n(n+1)

P
2 for all n ≥ 1

Mathematical induction reasons about statements involving the

natural numbers.
However, recall that we can form a bijection between the natural
numbers and any countably infinite set.
Therefore, mathematical induction can be applied to any countably
infinite set.
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 Induction Mathematical Induction

Example 1.3

Show that the sum of the first n odd positive integers is equal to n2 . That is 1 + 3 +
5 + · · · + (2n − 1) = n2 . e.g.
1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11 is the first 6 odd integers and we have that
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 9 + 11 = 36 = 62

Proof.
We proceed by induction.
The sum of the first 1 positive integers is 12
Assume the inductive hypothesis, that
1 + 3 + 5 + 7 + . . . + (2k − 1) = k 2
Then we have,

1 + 3 + 5 + . . . + (2k − 1) + (2k + 1) = k 2 + (2k + 1) by the inductive hypothesis

= k 2 + 2k + 1
= (k + 1)2

Therefore, by induction the sum of the first n positive odd integers is equal to n2 for all
positive integers n ≥ 1

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 Induction Mathematical Induction

Example 1.4: Proof by Induction with Inequalities

Use mathematical induction to prove that n < 2n for all positive integers n

Proof.
Let P(n) be ”n < 2n ”
For the basic step, P(1) is true since 1 < 21 = 2
For the inductive step; Assume P(k) is true. That is k < 2k , for some positive integer
k.
Show that k + 1 < 2k+1 is also true

k < 2k by inductive hypothesis

k
k +1<2 +1

k + 1 < 2k + 1 ≤ 2k + 2k 1 ≤ 2k since k is positive

k + 1 < 2k + 1 ≤ 2 · 2k

k + 1 < 2k + 1 ≤ 2k+1

k + 1 < 2k+1

Hence, by induction, n < 2n for all n ≥ 1

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 Induction Strong Induction

Strong Induction

“Strong” induction is a variant of mathematical induction which is

sometimes easier to use than the “normal” induction.
Strong induction is also called the second principle of mathematical
induction or complete induction.
It is called strong induction, because it makes a stronger hypothesis
than mathematical induction. Informally, strong induction assumes
that the condition P(k) holds for all value less than or equal to k
Therefore, our inductive hypothesis is now:
P(n0 ) ∧ P(n0 + 1) ∧ · · · ∧ P(k − 1) ∧ P(k) → P(k + 1)

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 Induction Strong Induction

Example 1.5: Existence Proof for the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic

Theorem 1.1

If n > 1 is an integer then n can be write as a product of primes

Proof.
Let P(n) be ”n can be written as a product of primes”
Basis step: P(2) is true since 2 is itself a prime.
Inductive step: Let the inductive hypothesis be that P(i) is true for all i, 2 ≤ i ≤ k.
We show P(k + 1) must be true.
If k + 1 is prime, then it is already written as a product of primes (itself) and thus
P(k + 1) is true. Otherwise k + 1 is a composite number and can be written as the
product of two integers greater than 1 say a and b.
That is k + 1 = ab with 2 ≤ a < k + 1 and 2 ≤ b < k + 1. This is obvious since k is
greater than 2 and thus both a and b must be greater that 2
By the inductive hypothesis, P(a) is true and P(b) is true. Since k + 1 = a · b, then
P(k + 1) is also a product of primes by replacing a and b by their respective product of
primes.
Therefore, by strong induction, P(n) is true for all n ≥ 2

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 Induction Well-Ordering Principle

Recall that the well-ordering principle states that every non-empty

subset of the positive integers has a least element.

This can be proved by induction.

In fact, this property is equivalent to mathematical induction and can be

used to prove statements just like induction.

Definition 1.1

A set is well-ordered if every one of its non-empty subsets has a least

element.

The natural numbers N is well-ordered under the ordering induced by “less

than”.

As another example, the list of words in the English language are

well-ordered under lexicographical ordering (dictionary order).

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 Induction Well-Ordering Principle

Proof by well-ordering
Proposition 1.1: Proof by well-ordering

Euclidean division states that if a is an integer and b is a positive integer,

then there are integers q and r such that a = bq + r and 0 ≤ r < d

Proof.
Let a, b be integers satisfying the hypothesis of Euclidean division. Let S be the
set of non-negative integers of the form a − bq for some integer q. The set is
non-empty because we can choose q arbitrarily.
By the well-ordering principle, S has a least element. Call it r . Since r ∈ S and r
is non-negative. Moreover, r = a − bq0 for some integer q0
It must also be that r < b Proceed by contradiction. Assume that r ≥ b. Then,
another element of S is a − b(q0 + 1) where a − b(q0 + 1) = a − bq0 − b = r − b.
Where r − b ≥ 0 since r ≥ b. But r was the smallest element of S, so it cannot
be that r ≥ b. Hence r < b
By the well-ordering principle integers q, r exist satisfying a = bq + r and
0≤r <b
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 Induction Exercises

Exercises

1 Use mathematical induction to prove that 2n < n! for every integer

n≥4
2 Use mathematical induction to prove that n3 − n is divisible by 3 for
all positive integers n.
3 Use mathematical induction to prove that n2 + n is divisible by 2 for
all integers n ≥ 1
4 Use mathematical induction to prove that 5n − 1 is divisible by 4 for
all integers n ≥ 1

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 Recursion

Recursion is arguably the most powerful tool for a computer scientist.

It is used throughout theory and practice.
Unfortunately, it is one of the more difficult concepts to understand in
computer science.
This section examines recursion in the context of mathematics and
computer science.
We will use the principle of induction to make logical arguments and
proofs involving recursive constructs and structures.

Definition 2.1: Recursive Definition

A recursive definition of a set defines elements of the set in terms

of other elements in the set.

A recursively-defined set is a set with a recursive definition. For

example, the natural numbers are a recursively-defined set.

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 Recursion

Example 2.1: Recursively-defined natural numbers

Let N be the set of numbers defined as follows:

1 0 is in N.
2 If an integer n is in N then n + 1 is in N

Recursive definitions have two crucial parts.

1 The Basis Step or ”Base Case” It explicitly defines one more elements
in the set.
2 The Recursive Step/Production Rule. It defines how to construct new
elements of the set from other elements.
Since relations, functions, sequences are all themselves defined as certain
kinds of sets, a recursive definition also applies to all of those discrete
structures.

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 Recursion

Example 2.2: Recursively-defined sequences

Let a0 = 1 and a1 = 3. Define an = 2an−1 + an−2 . Then, this

sequence is: 1, 3, 7, 17, 41, 99, 239, 577, 1393, . . .

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 Recursion

The Exclusion Rule

Given a recursive definition of a set, it is possible that many different

sets satisfy the definition.
Consider again the recursive definition of the natural numbers in
example 2.1
The set {0, 1, 1.5, 2, 2.5, 3, 3.5 . . .} satisfies the definition
Therefore, to get a unique set the exclusion rule states that the set
contains nothing other than those elements specified in the basis step
and that are generated by applications of the recursive step.
Using the exclusion rule along with the previous recursive definition of
the natural numbers, the natural numbers are uniquely the set:
{0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, . . .}
Always assume the exclusion rule, unless otherwise stated.

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 Recursion

Example 2.3: Recursive Summation

Let (an ) be a sequence

Give a recursive definition for the summation
Pn
i=0 ai

Solution

Basis:
P0
k=0 a0 = a0
Recursive Step/Production Step:
Pn+1 Pn
i=0 ai = i=0 ai + an+1

Recursive definitions can lead to some very abstract, yet very useful definitions.

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 Recursion Recursive Functions and Algorithms

Recursive Functions and Algorithms

In computer science, the most important recursive definition is that of a

recursive algorithm. We have already seen recursive functions several times
in this course. The factorial function Fact(n) can be defined recursively as:

1, n = 0, 1
Fact(n) =
Fact(n − 1) · n, otherwise

We can also define the Fibonacci function as the function which takes n as
argument and returns the nth Fibonacci number:

n, n = 0, 1
Fib(n) =
Fib(n − 1) + Fib(n − 2), otherwise

In eithercase the definition can be converted to recursive algorithms in the

sense of computer science. That is, functions which call themselves.

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 Recursion Recursive Functions and Algorithms

Recursive Exercises

1 Write a java function which recursively computes 7n for some n

2 Rewrite a recursive Euclidean algorithm function in Java. Euclidean

algorithm computes a GCD between two integers by computing a a
sequence of remainders until the remainder is 0.

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 Recursion Proving Recursive Algorithms

Proving Recursive Algorithms

Recursive definitions and mathematical induction are naturally intertwined.
For a recursive algorithm, we have a base case, then, further solutions are
build up modifications of that base case.
This is exactly the intention of induction. We have a basis step that can be
proved directly, then, we rely on the inductive hypothesis to guarantee the
correctness for all n

Proposition 2.1: Recursive Correctness via Induction

Consider the following function which computes x n for some integer

x and some non-negative integer n
d e f power ( x , n ) :
i f ( n = = 0) :
return 1
else :
r e t u r n x ∗ power ( x , n−1)

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 Recursion Proving Recursive Algorithms

Proof.
Proof of 2.1 Here we need to proof the function properly computed x n
Proceed by induction.
For the basis step, power(x,0) clearly returns clearly returns x 0 = 1 from
the first if condition.
For the inductive step, assume that power(x,k) returns the correct result
x k for some k ≥ 0
We will show that power(x,k+1) returns the correct result.
By the definition of power we see that power(x,k+1) returns x * power(x,
k). By the inductive hypothesis, power(x,k)=x k .
Thus we have power(x,k+1) = x · x k = x k+1
Therefore, by mathematical induction, power(x,n) correctly computed x n
for all n ≥ 0

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 Recursion Exercises

Exercises

Give a recursive definition for the following sets.

1 {10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, . . .}
2 {3x | x ∈ Z+ }
3 { 21 , 14 , 18 , 16
1 1
, 32 , . . .}
4 Given Strings as Sequences of characters from an alphabet create
strings.

For some alphabet Σ the set of all possible strings from characters in
Σ is denoted by Σ∗

For example, if Σ = {0, 1} then

Σ∗ = {λ, 0, 1, 00, 01, 10, 11, 000, 001, . . .}

Let Σ = {a, b} Give a recursive definition for the set Σ∗

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 Computer Program Verification

Loop Invariant

Subsection 1 focussed on how to prove recursive algorithms using

induction, an extemely powerful too to reason about he correctness of
algorithms. In this section we discuss the application of induction to
computer science in the form of loop invariants

Definition 3.1: Loop Invariant

A loop invariant is a property of a program that is true before and

after each iteration of a loop.

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 Computer Program Verification

Lets begin with simple example: Consider the following Python program
which computes the maximum element in a list of integers.

Example 3.1

d e f max ( L ) :
m = L[0];
i = 1;
while ( i < len (L)) :
i f ( L [ i ] > m) :
m = L[ i ]
i = i + 1

return m

p r i n t ( max ( [ 4 , 1 2 , 5 , 1 , 5 6 , 1 , 4 , 7 ] ) ) − o u t p u t 56

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 Computer Program Verification

Loop Invariant

A loop invariant for this program would be that m is always the

maximum element of L between the index 0 and i-1, inclusive.
Before the loop m = L[0] and i=1. Hence, m is the maximum
element of the sub-list L[0:i].
After the first iteration of the loop, we have i=2. Does the loop
invariant hold? That is, is m equal to the maximum element in
L[0:2]? Surely so, we check if L[1] > m and, if so, assign m to be
L[1].
To prove the overall correctness of the function max(L) we must
apply induction.

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 Computer Program Verification

Loop Invariant

Proving that a loop invariant holds for every loop in a program is one
step toward proving or verifying that the entire program is correct.
Generally, formal program verification is a very difficult task. For
more information, consider reading the articles Loop Invariant and
Formal Verification.
Later in your studies in computer science, you will see loop invariants
a program verification again. When that time comes, remember
induction!

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