[Math] Prove that an odd integer is always of the form $2m+1$

elementary-number-theoryparity

I have that by definition an integer $n$ is even if $n = 2m$ for some integer $m$. By definition an integer is odd if it is not even. I would like to prove that if $n$ is odd, then $n = 2m + 1$ for some $m$.

I am supposed to show this using at little as possible about the properties of the integers. I don't, for example, know anything about division algorithms like Euclidean division.

I can show that all numbers of the form $2m + 1$ are odd, but how can I show that all integers that are odd are indeed of this form?

Best Answer

Let $n$ be odd, i.e. an integer that is not even. Let $k$ be the largest even integer less than or equal to $n$. Since $k$ is even there is some integer $m$ with $k=2m$. Consider $n-k$, an integer (because it is the difference of two integers). It is nonnegative, because $k\le n$. It is not zero, since otherwise $k=n$ and then $n$ would be even. If $n-k\ge 2$, then $n\ge k+2$ and hence $k+2$ would be larger than $k$, less than or equal to $n$, and even. [Proof: $k+2=2m+2=2(m+1)$.] This contradicts the choice of $k$, so is impossible.

The only integer that is greater than zero and less than two is one. Hence $n-k=1$, so $n=k+1=2m+1$ for some integer $m$, as desired.