Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 2.0 Junior Prove it Canada

A prime number is a positive integer greater than 11 whose only positive divisors are 11 and itself. For example, 22 is a prime number since it is greater than 11 and its only positive divisors are 11 and 22.Figure 0 What is the product of the three smallest prime numbers?Figure 1 There are two integers cc with 1c201\leq c\leq 20 for which c34\dfrac{c-3}{4} is a prime number. What are these two possible values of the integer cc?Figure 2 Determine all integers dd with 1d101\leq d\leq 10 for which 21d7721d-77
is a prime number.

Solution

The three smallest prime numbers are 22, 33 and 55. Their product is 2×3×5=302\times3\times5=30. Each prime number is a positive integer, and so c34\dfrac{c-3}{4} cannot be a prime number unless c>3c>3. The value of c34\dfrac{c-3}{4} is an integer exactly when c3c-3 is divisible by 44. The values of cc for which 4c204\leq c\leq 20 and c3c-3 is divisible by 44 are 77, 1111, 1515, and 1919. When cc is equal to 77 and 1919, the values of c34\dfrac{c-3}{4} are 11 and 44, respectively. Each of these is not a prime number. When c=11c=11, the value of expression is 1134=2\dfrac{11-3}{4}=2, which is a prime number. When c=15c=15, the value of expression is 1534=3\dfrac{15-3}{4}=3, which is a prime number. Thus, the two possible values of the integer cc are 1111 and 1515. Factoring the given expression, we get 21d77=7(3d11)21d-77=7(3d-11). For all integers dd, the value of 3d113d-11 is equal to an integer, and so 7(3d11)7(3d-11) is the product of two integers, 77 and 3d113d-11. A prime number is positive and cannot be written as a product of two integers both greater than 11, so 3d11=13d-11=1. If 3d11=13d-11=1, then 3d=123d=12, and so d=4d=4. The only integer dd with 1d101\leq d \leq10 for which 21d7721d-77 is a prime number is d=4d=4, and the prime number is 21(4)77=721(4)-77=7. We can confirm that if d<4d<4, 3d113d-11 is negative and so 7(3d11)7(3d-11) is not prime. Further, if d>4d>4, 3d113(5)11=43d-11\geq3(5)-11=4 and so 7(3d11)7(3d-11) is the product of two integers, both greater than 11, and thus is
also not prime.

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