Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 4.8 AIME Prove it United States

Problem:

Find all positive prime numbers pp such that p+2p+2 and p+4p+4 are prime as well.

Solution

Solution:

For p=3p=3, p+2=5p+2=5, p+4=7p+4=7 and these are obviously prime.

For p>3p>3, we know that pp is not divisible by 33. The remainder of pp when divided by 33 can be either 11 or 22. If it is 11, then p+2p+2 is divisible by 33; if it is 22, then p+4p+4 is divisible by 33. Hence p=3p=3 is the only solution.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.