Chapter 5

Number theory

Divisibility is a key concept in number theory that concerns itself with studying the
multiplicative and additive structure of the natural numbers, the integer numbers,
or the rational numbers.

5.1 Divisibility

Definition 5.1 Let m and n be integers with n  0 , a number m is divisible by a number

n if and only if there exists an integer k such that m  nk .

The notation n m means that “ n divides m ” and k is a multiple of n ,

in the other hand, the notation n m means “ n can’t divide m ”.

Example 5.1

1. 3 24 , because there exists the number k 8 such that 24  3(8) .

2. 13 65 , because there exists the number k 5 such that 65  13(5) .
3. 12 4 , because there does not exist any integer k such that 4  12k.

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Theorem 5.1 Let a, b and c be integers with a, b,  0 , if a b and b c then a c.
Proof

Theorem 5.2 Let a and b be integers with b,  0 , if a b and ab.

Proof

Theorem 5.3 Let a and b be integers with b,  0 , if a b then b a , then a  b .

Proof

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Theorem 5.4 If a b and c is any integer, then a bc .
Proof

Theorem 5.5 If a b and a c and x, y are integers, then a (bx  cy) .

Proof

Example 5.2 Prove that If a b and c d , then ac bd .

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Example 5.3 Prove that If a (2x  3y) and a (x  2y) , then a y .

Exercise 5.1
1. If a, b and c are integers, determine whether the following statements true or not, if the
statement is true, prove it, and if the statement is false, just give counter example.

1.1 If a b and b c , then a b c .

1.2 If a bc then a b and a c.

1.3 If a b and a c then a2 b c .

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1.4 If a (b  c) , then a b or a c.

1.5 If a (b  c) , then a (b  c) .

1.6 If a b and b c , then a (c  b) .

1.7 If a b c , then a (b  c) .

1.8 If a b
2
, then a b.

1.9 If a (b  c) , then a b c .

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1.10 If a b , then a b
2
.

2. Given a (4x  3y) and a (3x  2y) , prove that if a z , then a (x  2y  3z)

3. Given a (2x  4y  5z) and a (x  2y  3z) , prove that a z.

5.2 Prime and composite numbers

Definition 5.2 Let p be an integer with p  0, p is a prime number if and only if

p  1, p   1 and there are only four numbers 1,  1, p,  p that are divisor of p .

For example 2,  2, 3,  3, 5,  5, ...

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Definition 5.3 Let p be an integer with p  0, p is a composite number if and only if
p  1, p   1 and p is not a prime number.

For example 4,  4, 6,  6, 8,  8, ...

Theorem 5.6 Let k be a positive integer and k 1 , the number k can be written as
k  p1n1 pn2 2 p3n3 ... pnr r
where n1 , n 2 , n 3 ,..., n r are positive integers and p1  p2  p3  ...  pr are positive primes.

Example 5.4
360  6  6 10
 2  3 2  3 2  5
 23  32  5

Definition 5.4 A integer a is an even number if and only if a  2m , where m is an

integer. A integer a is an odd number if and only if a  2m  1 , where m is an
integer.

5.3 Division Algorithm

Let a and b be integers with b0 , then there exists integers q and r such that
a  bq  r, 0r b
where the numbers q is called the quotient and r is called remainder, so
r  a  bq,

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Example 5.5 1. Let a  4461 and b  16, find q and r

2. Let a   262 and b  3, find q and r

Definition 5.5 Let integers a and b where a 2  b2  0 , a positive integer d is called the
greatest common divisor, denoted by d   a, b  , if and only if
1. d a and d b
2. If c is an integer such that c a and c b ,then c d is the largest integer which
divides of two integers a and b .

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Example 5.6 Compute  75,100

5.4 Euclidean Algorithm

Let a and b be integers with a0 and ab by division algorithm
b  a(q1 )  r1
q1  r1 (q 2 )  r2
r1  r2 (q3 )  r3
r2  r3 (q 4 )  r4

rn 1  rn (q n 1 )  0

Then rn   a, b 

Example 5.7 Find the greatest common divisor of 144 and 296

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Example 5.8 Find the greatest common divisor of 616 and 288

Definition 5.6 Let integers a and b where a, b  0 , a positive integer c is called the least
common multiple, denoted by lcm  a, b  or  a, b , if and only if
1. a c and b c.
2. If k is an integer such that a k and b k , then c k .

For example Compute 12,16

Theorem 5.7 If d   a, b  and c   a, b , then d  c  a  b .

Example 5.8 An integer x and 4,725 have  x, 4725  45 and  x, 4725  37,800 ,
evaluate the value of the integer x .

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 Exercise 5.2

1. Classify the following numbers which one is a prime number or composite number
1.1 103 1.2 151

1.3 211 1.4 383

1.5 427

2. Find the greatest common divisor and the least common multiple of the given numbers
a and b .

2.1 a  288, b  616 2.2 a   942, b  480

2.3 a   3184, b   6282 2.4 a  2889, b   1971

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2.5 a  294, b  7546 2.4 a  3054, b  24,756

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