Prove algebraically that the square of any odd number is always also an odd number.

Firstly, an algebraic expression of an odd number should be identified, such as 2n+1 or 2n-1. Doing this would also indicate the knowledge that 2n is always an even number, which will be important further on. This should then be written out as (2n+1)(2n+1). Multiplying these two expressions together gives us 4n2 +2n + 2n +1, or 4n2 +4n +1.In order to prove this is odd, we can simply take a factor of 2 out of the first 2 terms to leave us with 2(2n2 +2n) +1. If we now refer to 2n2 +2n as x, we can rewrite this equation as 2x +1, which is the same algebraic expression we used to identify a number as odd. We can thus deduce that the square of any odd number is also always odd.

Answered by Matthew H. Maths tutor

18505 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Expand and simplify fully (x+3)(x-1)


In an office there are twice as many females as males. 1/4 of females wear glasses. 3/8 of males wear glasses. 84 people in the office wear glasses. What is the total number of people in the office?


Yesterday it took 5 cleaners 4 and ½ hours to clean all the rooms in a hotel. There are only 3 cleaners to clean all the rooms in the hotel today. How much time will it take them?


Liv and Laura win a lottery of £350,000 and decide to split their winnings according to the ratio 3:4. Work out how much each person receives.


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2025

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences