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The following are example proofs by contradiction that particular values are not part of particular sets.
Assume that . That means ; i.e., . By the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, each number has a unique prime factorization, which means that both and must have the same prime factors. But is a factor of and not a factor of , which is a contradiction.
Because assume that led to a contradiction, it must be the case that .
Assume that . That means where and are relatively prime. Rearranging, we have . By the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, each number has a unique prime factorization, which means that both and must have the same prime factors.
Because and are relatively prime, at most one of and can have 2 in its prime factorization; we thus proceed by cases:
Because both cases led to a contradiction, assuming leads to a contradiction in general, which means it must be the case that .
Assume that . That means where and are relatively prime. Rearranging, we have , or . By the fundamental theorem of arithmetic, each number has a unique prime factorization, which means that both and must have the same prime factors. But all of ’s prime factors are 2s and none of ’s are, which is a contradiction.
Because assuming leads to a contradiction it must be the case that .