MATH 231: Number Theory

BITS Pilani Hyderabad Campus

1st Semester, 2021 - 2022
Lecture 4 - Classwork Problems

1. Prove that 2 and 3 are the only consecutive integers that are prime.

2. Prove that 3, 5, 7 are the only three consecutive odd integers that are prime.

3. If p and p2 + 8 are primes, then prove that p3 + 4 is also a prime.

4. Prove that the sum of two successive odd primes is the product of at least three (not
necessarily distinct) prime factors.

5. If p and p2 + 2 are primes, then prove that p3 + 2 is also a prime.

6. Prove that if n is composite, then 2n − 1 is also composite. What about the converse?

7. Let pk denote the k th prime. Prove that pn+1 ≤ p1 p2 ... pn + 1 when n ≥ 1.

8. Prove that 12 | n(3n4 + 7n2 + 2).

9. Prove that n4 + 4 is composite for n > 1.