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Theorem·T26

The rationals form an abelian group under addition

Addition of rationals is associative and commutative, has an identity, and every rational has an additive inverse.

(D065) is a group, and is commutative: it is abelian.
In words
Adding rationals is associative and commutative, has an identity, and every rational has an additive inverse: the rationals, with addition, form an abelian group.
Never needed: F10 · A03 · A04 · A05 · A07 (computed from the citation graph, not asserted).

Proof

  1. 1
    Closure. For , directly by D065.
  2. 2
    Associativity. Let . Two applications of D065 give Both first coordinates expand, via distributivity, commutativity and associativity of , to ; both second coordinates equal . So the two representative pairs are equal outright.
  3. 3
    Commutativity. With as above, and are the same pair, using commutativity of and on .
  4. 4
    Identity. ( from D064) , using zero times anything is zero, the unity and additive-identity laws of T23 and T22; by commutativity, too.
  5. 5
    Inverses. For , let (D066). By D065, . By the sign rule and the inverse law of T22, . So exactly when , i.e. , i.e. (zero times anything is zero applied on both sides), which holds. So by T04. By commutativity, too.
  6. 6
    All clauses of D038 hold for , plus commutativity: an abelian group.

Remarks

Exactly parallel to T22, one level up the tower. Uniqueness of the identity and of inverses follows from L28.

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