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Exercise 1285Logic, sets and proofs › Quantifiers and negationL1Added 4 Nov 2026

Three numbers with signs

#sign analysis#implications#logic puzzle

Statement

Three numbers a,b,ca,b,c — one positive, one negative, one zero — satisfy:
a=0  ⟹  b>0,a>0  ⟹  b<0,b≠0  ⟹  c>0.a=0\implies b>0,\qquad a>0\implies b<0,\qquad b\ne0\implies c>0.
Determine the sign of each.

Hint

Test each possible sign of aa; use the implications and the "one of each sign" constraint.

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Solution

Test a=0a=0. Then b>0b>0, and b≠0b\ne0 gives c>0c>0. We would have two positive numbers b,cb,c, contradicting the hypothesis. So a≠0a\ne0.

Test a>0a>0. Then b<0b<0, and b≠0b\ne0 gives c>0c>0. Again two positives (a,ca,c), contradiction. So a≯0a\not>0; hence a<0a<0.

Test b>0b>0. Then b≠0b\ne0 gives c>0c>0, another positive besides bb, contradiction. So b≤0b\le0; since a<0a<0 is the negative number and one number must be zero, b=0b=0.

Remaining. c>0c>0 is the positive number.

Conclusion. a<0a<0, b=0b=0, c>0c>0.