Item 3.

Suppose that \(ab\) is even but \(a\) and \(b\) are both odd. Namely, \(ab = 2n\text{,}\) \(a=2k+1\) and \(b=2j+1\) for some integers \(n\text{,}\) \(k\text{,}\) and \(j\text{.}\) Then

\begin{align*} 2n \amp =(2k+1)(2j+1)\\ 2n \amp =4kj+2k+2j+1\\ n \amp = 2kj+k+j+\frac{1}{2}\text{.} \end{align*}

But since \(2kj+k+j\) is an integer, this says that the integer \(n\) is equal to a non-integer, which is impossible.

in-context