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I'm trying to prove the following equation by induction, but my base case isn't working. enter image description here

for all n>2.

For my base case I did n=3, and on the LHS I got 8/9 and the RHS I got 2/3.

Helppp.

ematth7
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1 Answers1

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The left hand side is

$$\left(1-\frac{1}{2^2}\right)\left(1-\frac{1}{3^2}\right)=\frac{3}{4}\frac{8}{9} = \frac23$$

and so is the right hand side:

$$\frac{3 + 1}{2\cdot 3} = \frac46=\frac23$$

5xum
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  • And then quick question. To prove using induction, would I multiply (n+1) to both sides of the equation or add (n+1)? – ematth7 Sep 03 '15 at 13:34
  • @ematth7 You would change all values of $n$ to $n+1$. So, on the left, you would get one more factor in the multiplication, and on the right, you would get $$\frac{(n+1) + 1}{2\cdot (n+1)}$$ – 5xum Sep 03 '15 at 14:40