M7 class 5 notes

Number Theory

1. The Real Number System

The real number system evolved over time by expanding the notion of what we mean by the word
“number.” At first, “number” meant something you could count, like how many sheep a farmer owns.
These are called the natural numbers, or sometimes the counting numbers.

1) Natural Numbers or “Counting Numbers”

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, . . .
The use of three dots at the end of the list is a common mathematical notation to indicate that the list
keeps going forever.
At some point, the idea of “zero” came to be considered as a number. If the farmer does not have any
sheep, then the number of sheep that the farmer owns is zero. We call the set of natural numbers plus the
number zero the whole numbers.

2) Whole Numbers

Natural Numbers together with “zero”

0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, . . .

3) Integers

Whole numbers plus negatives

. . . –4, –3, –2, –1, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, . . .
About Negative Numbers
How can you have less than zero? Well, do you have a checking account? Having less than zero
means that you have to add some to it just to get it up to zero. And if you take more out of it, it
will be even further less than zero, meaning that you will have to add even more just to get it up
to zero.
The strict mathematical definition goes something like this:
For every real number n, there exists its opposite, denoted – n, such that the sum of n and
– n is zero, or
n + (– n) = 0
Note that the negative sign in front of a number is part of the symbol for that number: The
symbol “–3” is one object — it stands for “negative three,” the name of the number that is three
units less than zero.
The number zero is its own opposite, and zero is considered to be neither negative nor positive.
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The next generalization that we can make is to include the idea of fractions. While it is unlikely that a
farmer owns a fractional number of sheep, many other things in real life are measured in fractions, like a
half-cup of sugar. If we add fractions to the set of integers, we get the set of rational numbers.

4) Rational Numbers

All numbers of the form , where a and b are integers (but b cannot be zero)
Rational numbers include what we usually call fractions
• Notice that the word “rational” contains the word “ratio,” which should remind you of fractions.

The bottom of the fraction is called the denominator. Think of it as the denomination—it tells you what
size fraction we are talking about: fourths, fifths, etc.

The top of the fraction is called the numerator. It tells you how many fourths, fifths, or whatever.

• RESTRICTION: The denominator cannot be zero! (But the numerator can)

If the numerator is zero, then the whole fraction is just equal to zero. If I have zero thirds or zero

fourths, than I don’t have anything. However, it makes no sense at all to talk about a fraction

measured in “zeroths.”

• Fractions can be numbers smaller than 1, like 1/2 or 3/4 (called proper fractions), or they can be
numbers bigger than 1 (called improper fractions), like two-and-a-half, which we could also
write as 5/2

All integers can also be thought of as rational numbers, with a denominator of 1:

This means that all the previous sets of numbers (natural numbers, whole numbers, and integers) are
subsets of the rational numbers.
Now it might seem as though the set of rational numbers would cover every possible case, but that is not
so. There are numbers that cannot be expressed as a fraction, and these numbers are
called irrational because they are not rational.

5) Irrational Numbers

• Cannot be expressed as a ratio of integers.

• As decimals they never repeat or terminate (rationals always do one or the other)

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Examples:

Rational (terminates)

Rational (repeats)

Rational (repeats)

Rational (repeats)

Irrational (never repeats or terminates)

Irrational (never repeats or terminates)

More on Irrational Numbers

It might seem that the rational numbers would cover any possible number. After all, if I measure
a length with a ruler, it is going to come out to some fraction—maybe 2 and 3/4 inches. Suppose
I then measure it with more precision. I will get something like 2 and 5/8 inches, or maybe 2 and
23/32 inches. It seems that however close I look it is going to be some fraction. However, this is
not always the case.

Imagine a line segment exactly

one unit long:

Now draw another line one

unit long, perpendicular to the
first one, like this:

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Now draw the diagonal

connecting the two ends:

Congratulations! You have just drawn a length that cannot be measured by any rational number.
According to the Pythagorean Theorem, the length of this diagonal is the square root of 2; that is,
the number which when multiplied by itself gives 2.

According to my calculator,
But my calculator only stops at eleven decimal places because it can hold no more. This number
actually goes on forever past the decimal point, without the pattern ever terminating or repeating.

This is because if the pattern ever stopped or repeated, you could write the number as a
fraction—and it can be proven that the square root of 2 can never be written as

for any choice of integers for a and b.

6) The Real Numbers

• Rationals + Irrationals
• All points on the number line
• Or all possible distances on the number line
When we put the irrational numbers together with the rational numbers, we finally have the complete set
of real numbers. Any number that represents an amount of something, such as a weight, a volume, or the
distance between two points, will always be a real number. The following diagram illustrates the
relationships of the sets that make up the real numbers.

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2. Factors

A whole number that divides exactly into another whole number is called a factor of that number.
In any multiplication the numbers that are multiplied are called factors and the result is called a product.
factor factor product
7 × 6 = 42
From this multiplication fact we can make two division facts:
42 ÷ 6 = 7 and 42 ÷ 7 = 6.

Therefore, 42 is divisible by both 6 and 7 and 6 and 7 are divisors of 42.

3. Divisibility Rules

The Divisibility Rules:

Divisibility Tests Example

2 A number is divisible by 2 if the last digit is 0, 2, 4, 168 is divisible by 2 since the last digit is 8.
6 or 8.
3 A number is divisible by 3 if the sum of the digits is 168 is divisible by 3 since the sum of the digits
divisible by 3. is 15 (1+6+8=15), and 15 is divisible by 3.
4 A number is divisible by 4 if the number formed by 316 is divisible by 4 since 16 is divisible by 4.
the last two digits is divisible by 4.
5 A number is divisible by 5 if the last digit is either 0 195 is divisible by 5 since the last digit is 5.
or 5.
6 A number is divisible by 6 if it is divisible by 2 168 is divisible by 6 since it is divisible by 2
AND it is divisible by 3. AND it is divisible by 3.

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8 A number is divisible by 8 if the number formed by 7,120 is divisible by 8 since 120 is divisible by
the last three digits is divisible by 8. 8.
9 A number is divisible by 9 if the sum of the digits is 549 is divisible by 9 since the sum of the digits
divisible by 9. is 18 (5+4+9=18), and 18 is divisible by 9.
10 A number is divisible by 10 if the last digit is 0. 1,470 is divisible by 10 since the last digit is 0.

There are lots more! Not only are there divisibility tests for larger numbers, but there are more tests for
the numbers we have shown.

Example 1: Determine whether 150 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10.

150 is divisible by 2 since the last digit is 0.

150 is divisible by 3 since the sum of the digits is 6 (1+5+0 = 6), and 6 is divisible by 3.
150 is not divisible by 4 since 50 is not divisible by 4.
150 is divisible by 5 since the last digit is 0.
150 is divisible by 6 since it is divisible by 2 AND by 3.
150 is not divisible by 9 since the sum of the digits is 6, and 6 is not divisible by 9.
150 is divisible by 10 since the last digit is 0.

Solution: 150 is divisible by 2, 3, 5, 6, and 10.

4. Prime Numbers and Composite Numbers

Any whole number greater than 1 is either prime or composite:

A Prime Number can be divided evenly only by 1, or itself.

Example 1: 7 cannot be divided evenly any other way except into 7 ones:

You cannot divide it evenly into 2 (you would get 3 and 3, with one left over)
Nor can you divide it evenly by 3 (you would get 3 lots of 2, with one left over)
Nor can you divide it evenly by 4 or 5 or 6.
But you could have one group of 7, or seven groups of 1.

So 7 can only be divided evenly by 1 or itself (7):

7=1×7
So 7 is a Prime Number

A Composite Number can be divided evenly by numbers other than 1 or itself.

Example 2: 6 can be divided evenly by 2, or by 3 (as well as by 1 or 6):

6 = 1 × 6; 6 = 2 × 3
Like this:

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divided into 2 groups divided into 3 groups

So 6 is a Composite Number.

Sometimes a number can be divided evenly lots of ways.

Example 3: Express 90 as a product of prime numbers.

Solution:

Alternatively, we can use a factor tree to express 90 as a product of prime numbers as illustrated below.

5. Exponents

1) Exponential Notation

Exponential notation is an easier way to write a number as a product of many factors.

BaseExponent: The exponent tells us how many times the base is used as a factor

For example, to write 2 as a factor one million times, the base is 2, and the exponent is 1,000,000. We
write this number in exponential form as follows:

21,000,000 read as two raised to the millionth power

Example 1: Write 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 using exponents, then read your answer aloud.

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Solution:
2 x 2 x 2 x 2 x 2 = 25 2 raised to the fifth power

Example 2: Write 3 x 3 x 3 x 3 using exponents, then read your answer aloud.

Solution:
3 x 3 x 3 x 3 = 34 . 3 raised to the fourth power

Example 3: Write 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 using exponents, then read your answer aloud.

Solution:
6 x 6 x 6 x 6 x 6 = 65. 6 raised to the fifth power

Example 4: Write 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 using exponents.

Solution:
8 x 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 x 8 = 87. 8 raised to the seventh power.

2) Exponential Rules

Exponents product rules

Product rule with same base
an · am = an+m
Example: 23 · 24 = 23+4 = 27 = 2·2·2·2·2·2·2 = 128

Product rule with same exponent

an · bn = (a · b)n
Example: 32 · 42 = (3·4)2 = 122 = 12·12 = 144

Exponents quotient rules

Quotient rule with same base
an / am = an-m
Example: 25 / 23 = 25-3 = 22 = 2·2 = 4

Quotient rule with same exponent

an / bn = (a / b)n
Example: 43 / 23 = (4/2)3 = 23 = 2·2·2 = 8

Exponents power rules

(an) m = a n·m
Example: (23)2 = 23·2 = 26 = 2·2·2·2·2·2 = 64

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6. Square Numbers

A square number or perfect square is an integer that is the square of an integer; in other words, it is
the product of some integer with itself. For example, 9 is a square number, since it can be written as 3
× 3.

7. Order of Operations

Rule 1: First perform any calculations inside parentheses.

Rule 2: Next perform all multiplications and divisions, working from left to right.
Rule 3: Lastly, perform all additions and subtractions, working from left to right.

The above problem was solved correctly by Student 2 since she followed Rules 2 and 3. Let's look at
some examples of solving arithmetic expressions using these rules.

Example 1: Evaluate 150 ÷ (6 + 3 x 8) - 5 using the order of operations.

Solution: Step 1: 150 ÷ (6 + 3 x 8) - 5 = 150 ÷ (6 + 24) - 5 Multiplication inside Parentheses

Step 2: 150 ÷ (6 + 24) - 5 = 150 ÷ 30 - 5 Addition inside Parentheses
Step 3: 150 ÷ 30 - 5 = 5-5 Division
Step 4: 5 - 5 = 0 Subtraction

Example 2: Evaluate the arithmetic expression below:

Solution: This problem includes a fraction bar (also called a vinculum), which means we must

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divide the numerator by the denominator. However, we must first perform all
calculations above and below the fraction bar BEFORE dividing.

Thus

Evaluating this expression, we get:

Example 3: Mr. Smith charged Jill $32 for parts and $15 per hour for labor to repair her bicycle. If
he spent 3 hours repairing her bike, how much does Jill owe him?
Solution: 32 + 3 x 15 = 32 + 3 x 15 = 32 + 45 = 77

Jill owes Mr. Smith $77.

Summary: When evaluating arithmetic expressions, the order of operations is:

Simplify all operations inside parentheses.
Perform all multiplications and divisions, working from left to right.
Perform all additions and subtractions, working from left to right.
If a problem includes a fraction bar, perform all calculations above and below the fraction bar before
dividing the numerator by the denominator.

6. Greatest Common Factor

The largest common factor of two or more numbers is called the greatest common factor (GCF).

Example: Find the GCF for 56, 70, and 98.

Step 1: Find the prime factors for

56: 2 x 2 x 2 x 7
70: 2 x 5 x 7
98: 2 x 7 x 7

Step 2: Multiply each factor that has a match in all 3 numbers

GCF = 2 x 7 = 14

7. Lowest Common Multiple

The smallest common multiple of two or more numbers is called the lowest common multiple (LCM).

E.g. Multiples of 8 are 8, 16, 24, 32, …

Multiples of 3 are 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, …

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In general: To find the lowest common multiple (LCM) of two or more numbers, list the multiples of
the larger number and stop when you find a multiple of the other number. This is the LCM.

Example 1: Find the LCM for 15, 25, and 8.

Step 1: Find the prime factors for

6=2x3
15 = 3 x 5
25 = 5 x 5
Step 2: Multiply each prime factor the greatest number of times it appears in any one factorization. The
most number of times 2 appears in either factorization is once. The most number of times 3 appears in
either factorization is once. The most number of times 5 appears in either factorization is twice. Thus,

LCM = 2 x 3 x 5 x 5 = 150

Easier way: Ladder Method

Example 2: Find the GCF and LCM of 8 and 12.

When finding LCM for more than 2 numbers using the ladder method, we have to first divide it by a
factor that is common to all numbers. Then we have to divide it by a factor that is common to at least 2
of the numbers.

Example 3: Find the GCF and LCM of 60, 75, and 100.

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All 3 number are ALL divisible by 5 only,

therefore, GCF = 5

Then you can start to check if any 2 of

the numbers have common factors.

Therefore, LCM = 5 x 4 x 5 x 3 = 300

Application: Adding Fractions with Unlike Denominators

Example: Add 5/12 and 7/36

The denominators are not the same. So, find the LCM, also referred to as the least common denominator
(LCD). The LCD is 36.

The equivalent fraction for 5/12 using 36 as the denominator is 15/36.

7/36 stays the same.
Therefore 15/36 + 7/36 = 22/36.

Reduce or simplify 22/36 to its lowest terms. Use the greatest common factor (GCF).
The GCF for 22 and 36 is 2.

Divide both 22 and 36 by 2.

22/36 = 11/18

Summary: 5/12 + 7/36 = 15/36 + 7/36 = 22/36 = 11/18

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Questions in class:

1. Which of the following numbers has the largest prime factor?

(A) 39 (B) 51 (C) 77 (D) 91 (E) 121

2. The year 2002 is a palindrome (a number that reads the same from left to right as it does from right to
left), What is the product of the digits of the next year after 2002 that is a palindrome?

3. In the product shown, B is a digit. What is the value of B?

4. I'm thinking of two whole numbers. Their product is 24 and their sum is 11. What is the larger
number?

5. There are many two-digit multiples of 7, but only two of the multiples have a digit sum of 10. What is
the sum of these two multiples of 7?

6. In the number 74982 1035 the value of the place occupied by the digit 9 is how many times as great
as the value of the place occupied by the digit 3?

7. Find the number of two-digit positive integers whose digits total 7.

8. For how many three-digit whole numbers does the sum of the digits equal 25?

9. Which of the following could not be the unit's digit [one's digit] of the square of a whole number?
A) 1 B) 4 C) 5 D) 6 E) 8

10. In this addition problem, each letter stands for a different digit.
TWO
+TWO
FOUR
If T = 7 and the letter O represents an even number, what is the only possible value for W?

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