Introductory Mathematics, MAT100a,d, Fall 2020

September 10

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 Divisibility of Integer Numbers and Prime Numbers
In general, for any natural a, b > 0, there exist unique an q and r, 0 ≤ r < b
such that
a = qb + r
q is the quotient and r is the remainder upon dividing a by b.
a|b, read a divides b, if there exists a natural q such that b = qa, i.e., if the
reminder of dividing b by a is 0 (there is no remainder).
Representing natural numbers as the products of (smaller) natural numbers is
called factoring:
30 = 5 × 6 = 5 × 3 × 2,
3
120 = 12 × 10 = 3 × 4 × 2 × 5 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 5 = 2
|{z} ×3 × 5.
3 copies of factor 2

With factors greater than 1, factoring leads to properly smaller numbers.

Therefore the process eventually terminates for any given natural number.

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 Prime Numbers
Numbers p, which cannot be factored except in the trivial way p = 1.p are
called prime. Non-prime number are called compound as they can be regarded
as ”built” from their prime factors.
There are infinitely many prime numbers:
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, . . .
To realize this, assume the contrary. Then, if p1 , . . . , pN are all the primes,
p1 × . . . × pN + 1, their product plus 1, would have to be a compound number,
but none of p1 , . . . , pN divides it!

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 Sieve of Erathostenes
The only prime which is also even is 2 as greater multiples of 2 are obviously
compound. Multiples of 3, except 3 itself, are compound too, etc. This gives
rise to a procedure of generating the prime numbers known as the sieve of
Erathostenes: indentifying each consecutive prime number implies sieving away
all of its greater multiples:
2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, . . .

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 Divisibility of Integer Numbers
Every number can be factored into a product of prime ones:
E.g., 30 = 21 .31 .51 , 24 = 23 .3, 1024 = 210 , 1000 = 23 .53 .
Finding greatest common denominators is done by factoring:
a b a b 22 a 5b 4a + 5b
+ = + 2 = 2 + 2 =
30 24 2.3.5 2 .2.3 2 .2.3.5 2 .2.3.5 120
Here 2.3 is the greatest common divisor of the two given denominators. It
appears ”twice” in the product 30 × 24 = 2.3.5.23 .3 of the two given
denominators. This divisor needs to appear only once in the common
denominator for that denominator to be a multiple of both given denominators.

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 The Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic
Q: Is it possible to factor the same compound number in substantially different
ways?
Let p1 , p2 , . . . be the (infinite) sequence of all the prime numbers. Then Every
natural number n 6= 0 can be represented in the form

n = pd11 . . . pdkk

so that dk 6= 0 in a unique way: the exponents d1 , . . . , dk are determined from

n unambiguously.
One can easily realise that, if n = pa1 1 . . . pakk and m = pb11 . . . pbkl , then n|m iff
k ≤ l and as ≤ bs for s = 1, . . . , k.
E.g. 250|1000 because 250 = 2.53 and 1000 = 23 .53

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 Divisibility of Integer Numbers: Exercises
1. Factor the following numbers into prime factors; 81, 512, 365, 196, 420.
5k 11n
2. Write − as a single proper fraction.
72 30
7a 1 2c
3. Write − + as a single proper fraction.
144 30 48

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 Radicals
√
n
b - the nth root of b. b is called the radicand; n is the index.
√
a = n b, if an = b; For even n this is possible only if b ≥ 0.
√
3 3
√
E.g., 125 = 5, because 5 = 125, 3 −8 = −2, because
(−2)3 = (−2)(−2)(−2) = −8.
If n is even, n = 2k, then, since (−a)2 = (−a).(−a) = a2 ,
µ ¶k µ
(−a)n = (−a)2k = (−a)2 = a2 )k = a2k = an

Hence, for even n, there are two real candidate as satisfying an = b, for b ≥ 0.
√
4 4 2
E.g., (−5) = 5 = 625. b2 = |b|, which is the negative of b for b ≤ 0.
√
By convention, the expression n b stands for the non-negative one; it is called
the principal nth root.
√4
p
Hence 625 = 5, 2 16/25 = 4/5, both of these are the positive as satisfying
a4 = 625, resp. a2 = 16/25.

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 √
n
√
n
For even n, b is defined for b ≥ 0 only. For odd n b is defined for all n.
√
Square root means 2nd root, written b, with the index omitted.

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 Exercise
When factoring numbers into prime factors, small factors such as 2, 3, 5 are
usually quickly identified. In general, in any proper factoring a × b of a
√ √
compound n, either a ≤ n or b ≤ n. This helps limit the search for n
which do not have small prime factors.
Factor the following numbers into prime factors:
513, 512, 511, 1025, 1024, 1023.

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 Simplifying Radicals by Factoring the Radicand
√ √
Factoring the radicand a in a can help simplify n a. E.g.,
n
√ √ √ √ √
1000 = 2 5 = 2 5 = 2.5 = 10, because n amn = am for positive a.
3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3

In general, after factoring into prime factors, the exponents which are multiple
of the radical’s index can be simplified:
p p p √5
√
2 5 10
5 6 5 5 5
320/243 = (2 5)/3 = (2.2 5)/3 = (2/3) 2.5 = 3
5 5

Exercise
√ √ √
4
Simplify 128, 3
−432, 486.

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 √
An Exercise in Divisibility: 2 is not Rational
√ a
Assume that 2 = for some integer a and b, a rational number.
b
Let a = pd11 . . . pdkk , b = pe11 . . . pekk . Some of the exponent can be zeros, in
case a and b do not have the same prime factors.
Then

1a2 (pd11 . . . pdkk )2 p12d1 . . . p2d

k
k
2(d1 −e1 ) 2(dk −ek )
2 = 2 = 2 = e1 = = p . . . p
b (p1 . . . pekk )2 p2e
1
1
. . . p 2ek
k
1 k

Some of 2(d1 − e1 ), . . . , 2(dk − ek ) may be negative, but they are all even,
and 21 has an odd exponent for 2!

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 Fractional Exponents and Radicals with Fractional Index
Let a > 0 for the sake of simplicity.
√ mn
m
amn = an = a m
µ ¶mn
√ n mn
Similarly, m
a =a =am .
p
What about a for any integers p and q 6= 0?
q

µ ¶p
p √
a =
q ˆ qa
µ ¶q
√
p √
q a=
ˆ p
a (p and q are now exchanged).

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 Properties of Radicals
m, n need not be integers! We assume a > 0.
√ 1
m
a = a , this entails that
m

√ 1 1 1 √ m √
m
ab = (ab) m = a m b m = a b, which is analogous to (ab)n = an bn
m

p √
m a
³ a ´n a n
a
b = m b , which follows similarly from = n.
m √
b b
p√ √
m n
a= mn
a, which follows similarly from (an )m = amn
am
What is the ”radical” form of am an = am+n and n = am × a−n = am−n ?
a
√ √ 1 1 m+n
m
a a = a a = a mn .
n m n

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 √
Simplifying Expressions Built using ×, /, ax and
a −1 √ 1 √
(1) Eliminate / and .: → ab , m
a→a m
b
p √
−3
5 −7 51 2
E.g., x y → (x y ) , 2 x6 → (x6 )− 3 .
5 5 −7

(2) Distribute exponentiation ’inwards’:

(ab)n → an bn
1 1 1
5 −7 5 −7
E.g., (x y ) → (x ) (y
5 5 ) 5

(3) Combine repeated exponentiations: (an )m → amn

6 − 23 −4 5 1
−7 1
− 75
E.g., (x ) →x , (x ) (y 5 ) → xy
5

(4) Combine products and fractions of exponents with the same base:
ax ay → ax+y
1 2 1
E.g., x−4 x2 → x−2 , z − 2 z 3 → z 6 .
(5) revert to non-negative exponents, possibly re-introducing division, e.g.
5
5
−3 − 12 y2
x y z
2 → 1 .
x3 z 2
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 x √
Simplifying Expressions Built using ×, /, a and
Example 1:
à r !−1 µ ¶−1
5 6
3 x y 5 6 −2 13 −1 5 6 −2 − 13
z 2
= z(x y z ) = z (x y z )
z
5 2 5 1 1
= z −1 x− 3 y −2 z 3 = x− 3 y −2 z − 3 = 5 1
x 3 y2 z 3
Example 2:
s à ! 21
√ 6 µ ¶ 6
2 x−3 4 y 2 −3 1
2 − 32 34 21 1 3 1
x = x x y 4 z = x x y z = x 2y4z2
z −1

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The End

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