Assume for contradiction: Assume, for the sake of contradiction, that 2 is rational. This means it can be expressed as a fractionba, where a and b are integers with no common factors other than 1 (i.e., the fraction is in its simplest form).
Express as coprime integers: Express 2 as ba, where a and b are coprime integers (their greatest common divisor is 1).2=ba
Square both sides: Square both sides of the equation to eliminate the square root.(2)2=(ba)22=b2a2
Multiply by b2: Multiply both sides of the equation by b2 to clear the denominator.2b2=a2
Imply a is even: This implies that a2 is an even number since it is equal to 2 times another number (b2).
Represent a as 2k: If a2 is even, then a must also be even (because the square of an odd number is odd). Let's represent a as 2k, where k is an integer.a=2k
Substitute a with 2k: Substitute a with 2k in the equation 2b2=a2. 2b2=(2k)2 2b2=4k2
Divide by 2: Divide both sides of the equation by 2 to simplify. b2=2k2
Imply b2 is even: This implies that b2 is also an even number since it is equal to 2 times another number (k2).
Imply b is even: If b2 is even, then b must also be even (because the square of an odd number is odd).
Contradiction in common factor: However, if both a and b are even, then they have a common factor of 2, which contradicts our initial assumption that a and b are coprime (have no common factors other than 1).
Conclusion of irrationality: Since our assumption that 2 is rational leads to a contradiction, we must conclude that our assumption is false. Therefore, 2 cannot be expressed as a fraction of two integers and is irrational.
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