Tuesday, 14 October 2025

Exercise (1.1).13

(a) Find the possible values of the integer $a$ such that $a \mid 0$.

(b) Find the possible values of the integer $a$ such that $a \mid 2$.


(a)

$a \mid b$ means there exists an integer $k$ such that $b = ak$. 

So $a \mid 0$ means there exists an integer $k$ such that $0 = ak$.

In this case $a$ can be any integer, because $k=0$ satisfies $0=ak$.


(b)

$a \mid 2$ means there exists an integer $k$ such that $2 = ak$.

In this case, there are only four options for $a$

  • $a=1$, where $k=2$
  • $a=-1$, where $k=-2$
  • $a=2$, where $k=1$
  • $a=-2$, where $k=-1$