Question

second to last question guys please help!!!

Stephanie is doing an indirect proof with three given statements and one conclusion. How many of these statements could be false based on her assumption to contradict the assumption and prove the original conclusion?
Answer

One

Two

Three

One, two or three

Answer 1

any example??

Answer 2

no =/

Answer 3

so does that mean the answer would be one, two, or three if the assumption is first?

Answer 4

This example of an indirect proof has more than 3 steps but it illustrates the difficulty I have with this question which I think is poorly worded.

In the example, do we count statement 1 as false although we know it is the contradiction of what we are attempting the prove (and really is true although we are not supposed to know it)?

And, do we count statement 6 as a false statement?

Answer 5

i didnt see a 6th statement... im kinda confused... i agree the wording is poor... this is a hard module...

Answer 6

The topic of indirect proofs may be confusing at times but the questions about them do not have to be vague.

I was looking at the question --> Stephanie is doing an indirect proof with three given statements and one conclusion.

Steph was given 3 assumptions and one conclusion.

I'm thinking of that as p^q^r --> t with p, q, r being the assumptions and t the conclusion. In an indirect proof, you would assume the negation of the conclusion.

So, we have:

p^q^r --> t
~t
=====
Therefore, ~ (p^q^r) which is equivalent to ~p or ~q or ~r.
So, based on that, I would write--> One, two or three
as the answer. Only one HAS to be false but all three could be false. That is what the question appears to be asking.

How many of these statements *could* be false

After you find out the "intended" corrrect answer, please come back and post so that we'll know. This "exact same question" comes up at least once a day on this site. I'd like to know what the intended answer is. Thanks.

Answer 7

hey the answer was ' one, two or three.' thank-you =)