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The document outlines Problem Set 1 for Math 261, focusing on number theory, with exercises due on September 8, 2023. It includes tasks on prime factorization, GCD calculations, properties of prime numbers, Euclidean division, and the least common multiple. Each exercise is designed to enhance understanding of key concepts in number theory through proofs and examples.

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3 views

261F23hw1

The document outlines Problem Set 1 for Math 261, focusing on number theory, with exercises due on September 8, 2023. It includes tasks on prime factorization, GCD calculations, properties of prime numbers, Euclidean division, and the least common multiple. Each exercise is designed to enhance understanding of key concepts in number theory through proofs and examples.

Uploaded by

farg11233
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Math 261 — Fall 2023

Number Theory
https://sites.aub.edu.lb/kmakdisi/
Problem set 1, due Friday, September 8 at the beginning of class

Exercise 1.1: a) Find the prime factorizations of 896, 1001, 2947, 3997, 10001, and 14017860.
Feel free to use a calculator in this and in subsequent exercises.
b) Use the prime factorization to find the following GCDs (we will redo these later using the
Euclidean algorithm):

(896, 14017860), (2947, 3997), (10001, 100001).

Exercise 1.2: Let a, k ≥ 2.


a) If ak − 1 is a prime, conclude that a = 2 and that k is prime. Show that the converse is not
true (i.e., give a counterexample where k is prime but 2k − 1 is not prime).
b) If ak + 1 is a prime, conclude that k is a power of 2. Show that the converse is not true.
Hint for (a) and (b): xn − 1 = (x − 1)(xn−1 + xn−2 + · · · + x + 1). Similarly, if n is odd, then
xn + 1 has a factor of x + 1.

Exercise 1.3: (A proof of Euclidean division with remainder.) Given a, b ∈ Z with b ̸= 0. Our
goal is to show the existence of q, r with a = bq + r and 0 ≤ r < |b| using the well-ordering principle.
We will do this by considering the set

U = {x ∈ Z | ∃q ∈ Z s.t. x = a − bq}.

Informally, U = {a − bq | q ∈ Z}.
a) Show that U ∩ N0 ̸= ∅. (Hint: choose a q with the opposite sign to b, and which is “large”
compared to a. Try to write an explicit formula for q in terms of a and b.)
b) Let r be the smallest element of U ∩ N0 . Show that 0 ≤ r < |b|. This concludes our proof,
because this r is of the form a − bq for some q. (Hint: what would happen if the smallest element
r satisfied r ≥ |b|? Show that one would be able to produce an even smaller element of U ∩ N0 in
that case.)
c) Since we got this far, show also that the quotient q and remainder r that we obtain from
division with remainder are both unique. This means that if a = bq+r = bq ′ +r′ with 0 ≤ r, r′ < |b|,
show that r = r′ and q = q ′ .

Exercise 1.4: a) Let a, b, n ≥ 1. Give two different proofs of the identity

gcd(na, nb) = n gcd(a, b),

the first using prime factorization, and the second using the fact that gcd(a, b) is the smallest
element of I ∩ N, where I = {r ∈ Z | ∃x, y ∈ Z s.t. r = ax + by} is the ideal of “Z-linear
combinations” of a and b.
b) Let a, b ∈ Z be relatively prime, which means that gcd(a, b) = 1. Show that gcd(a + b, a − b)
is either 1 or 2. (Hint: find a connection with gcd(2a, 2b).)

Exercise 1.5: The least common multiple (LCM). Given a, b ∈ N, we define the least common
multiple lcm(a, b) = [a, b] to be the smallest positive number that is simultaneously a multiple of a
and of b. For example, the LCM of 15 and 6 is [15, 6] = 30.
a) Express [a, b] in terms of the prime factorizations of a and of b.
b) Use part (a) to conclude that if n is any common multiple of a and of b, then n is a multiple
of [a, b].
c) Show that [a, b] gcd(a, b) = ab. In other words, show that the product of the GCD and the
LCM of two (positive) numbers is equal to the product of those two numbers.
d) Give a different proof of part (b) by first showing that the set of common multiples of a
and b is an ideal in Z. (A good approach is to show, directly from the definition of an ideal, that
the intersection of two ideals is again an ideal.)

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