Prove that the square of an odd number is always 1 more than a multiple of 4.

Recap, what is 'squaring a number'? Multiplying a number by itself, for example, 3 x 3 = 9. The question hasn't given us a specific number, hence that value can be any number, it is said to be a 'variable'. Normally we assign variables with a letter, it can be any number. Let that number be called 'n'. Any odd number is 1 number greater than an even number. An even number is any number that can be divided by 2 to get a whole number. Therefore, in algebra, let an even number be 2n, so an odd number will be 2n + 1.
If we substitute 'n' for any number into the formula, for instance, 3, 2(3) + 1 = 7, if 7 is squared, we get 49, 1 number greater than 48 (which is a multiple of 4). If we substitute 5 for 'n', we get 2(5) + 1 = 11, 11 squared is 121, which is 1 number greater than 120 (which is a multiple of 4). Hence, we have proved that the square of an odd number is always 1 more than a multiple of 4.

Answered by Florence O. Maths tutor

2670 Views

See similar Maths GCSE tutors

Related Maths GCSE answers

All answers ▸

200 pupils are taking a school trip. Some are flying, some are taking the bus. There are three times as many boys going as girls. One third of the boys going are flying. How many boys are getting the bus?


Adam buys 4kg of sweets and pays £10 for them. Adam puts all of the sweers into bags with 250g in each bag. He sells the bags for 70p each. All the bags of sweets are sold, what is the percentage profit?


James is 7 years older than Kate. Sam is twice as old as James. The sum of their ages is 77. Find the ratio of Kate's age to James' age to Sam's age.


ForA=2x^2 –18x+80 (i) find dA/dx , (ii) find the value of x for which A is a minimum


We're here to help

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