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Exercise: Divisibility Proofs · Q13

Q.Prove by induction that 32n−13^{2n} - 1 is divisible by 88 for every natural number nn.

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Let P(n)P(n) be the statement that 32n−13^{2n}-1 is divisible by 8. Base case: n=1n=1: 32−1=9−1=83^2-1=9-1=8, divisible by 8, so P(1)P(1) holds. Inductive step: assume P(k)P(k): 32k−1=8m3^{2k}-1=8m for some integer mm. Then 32(k+1)−1=32k+2−1=9⋅32k−1=9(32k−1)+9−1=9(8m)+8=8(9m+1)3^{2(k+1)}-1=3^{2k+2}-1=9\cdot3^{2k}-1=9(3^{2k}-1)+9-1=9(8m)+8=8(9m+1). Since 9m+19m+1 is an integer, 32(k+1)−13^{2(k+1)}-1 is a mult …

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