To prove that a mathematical statement is false is it enough to find a counterexample?

Solution 1:

When considering a statement that claims that something is always true or true for all values of whatever its "objects" or "inputs" are: yes, to show that it's false, providing a counterexample is sufficient, because such a counterexample would demonstrate that the statement it not true for all possible values. On the other hand, to show that such a statement is true, an example wouldn't be sufficient, but it has to be proven in some general way (unless there's a finite and small enough number of possibilities so that we can actually check all of them one after another).

So logically speaking, for these two specific examples, you're right — each one can be demonstrated to be false with an appropriate counterexample. And both your counterexamples do work, but make sure that the math supporting your claim is right: in the first example you computed $|a+b|$ incorrectly.

By the way, the reference to the triangle inequality is a good touch, but it doesn't prove anything. Rather, it's a very strong hint that suggests that there have got to be examples when the inequality rather than equality holds.

Solution 2:

If a statement ${\cal S}$ is of the form "all $x\in A$ have the property $P$" then a single $x_0\in A$ not having the property $P$ proves that the statement ${\cal S}$ is wrong.

But not all statements are of this form. For example the statement ${\cal S}\!:\>$"$\pi$ is rational" cannot be disproved by some "easy" counterexample, but only by means of hard work.