Number Theory

Chapter 4

With Question/Answer Animations

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Chapter Motivation
Number theory is the part of mathematics devoted to the study of the
integers and their properties.
Key ideas in number theory include divisibility and the primality of
integers.
Representations of integers, including binary and hexadecimal
representations, are part of number theory.
Number theory has long been studied because of the beauty of its
ideas, its accessibility, and its wealth of open questions.
We’ll use many ideas developed in Chapter 1 about proof methods and
proof strategy in our exploration of number theory.
Mathematicians have long considered number theory to be pure
mathematics, but it has important applications to computer science
and cryptography studied in Sections 4.5 and 4.6.
Chapter Summary
Divisibility and Modular Arithmetic
Integer Representations and Algorithms
Primes and Greatest Common Divisors
Divisibility and Modular
Arithmetic
Section 4.1
Section Summary
Division
Division Algorithm
Modular Arithmetic
Division
Definition: If a and b are integers with a ≠ 0, then
a divides b if there exists an integer c such that b = ac.
When a divides b we say that a is a factor or divisor of b
and that b is a multiple of a.
The notation a | b denotes that a divides b.
If a | b, then b/a is an integer.
If a does not divide b, we write a ∤ b.
Example: Determine whether 3 | 7 and whether
3 | 12.
Properties of Divisibility
Theorem 1: Let a, b, and c be integers, where a ≠0.
i. If a | b and a | c, then a | (b + c);
ii. If a | b, then a | bc for all integers c;
iii. If a | b and b | c, then a | c.
Proof: (i) Suppose a | b and a | c, then it follows that there are
integers s and t with b = as and c = at. Hence,
b + c = as + at = a(s + t). Hence, a | (b + c)
(Exercises 3 and 4 ask for proofs of parts (ii) and (iii).)

Corollary: If a, b, and c be integers, where a ≠0, such that a |

b and a | c, then a | mb + nc whenever m and n are integers.
Division Algorithm
When an integer is divided by a positive integer, there is a quotient and a
remainder. This is traditionally called the “Division Algorithm,” but is really a
theorem.
Division Algorithm: If a is an integer and d a positive integer, then there are
unique integers q and r, with 0 ≤ r < d, such that a = dq + r (proved in Section 5.2).
 d is called the divisor. Definitions of Functions
 a is called the dividend. div and mod
 q is called the quotient.
 r is called the remainder.
q = a div d
Examples: r = a mod d
 What are the quotient and remainder when 101 is divided by 11?
Solution: The quotient when 101 is divided by 11 is 9 = 101 div 11, and the remainder is 2 =
101 mod 11.
 What are the quotient and remainder when −11 is divided by 3?

Solution: The quotient when −11 is divided by 3 is −4 = −11 div 3, and the remainder is 1 =
−11 mod 3.
Congruence Relation
Definition: If a and b are integers and m is a positive integer, then a is
congruent to b modulo m if m divides a – b.
The notation a ≡ b (mod m) says that a is congruent to b modulo m.
We say that a ≡ b (mod m) is a congruence and that m is its modulus.
Two integers are congruent mod m if and only if they have the same remainder
when divided by m.
If a is not congruent to b modulo m, we write
a ≢ b (mod m)
Example: Determine whether 17 is congruent to 5 modulo 6 and whether
24 and 14 are congruent modulo 6.

Solution:
 17 ≡ 5 (mod 6) because 6 divides 17 − 5 = 12.
 24 ≢ 14 (mod 6) since 24 − 14 = 10 is not divisible by 6.
More on Congruences
Theorem 4: Let m be a positive integer. The integers a
and b are congruent modulo m if and only if there is
an integer k such that a = b + km.
Proof:
If a ≡ b (mod m), then (by the definition of
congruence) m | a – b. Hence, there is an integer k such
that a – b = km and equivalently a = b + km.
Conversely, if there is an integer k such that a = b + km,
then km = a – b. Hence, m | a – b and a ≡ b (mod m).
The Relationship between (mod m) and
mod m Notations
 The use of “mod” in a ≡ b (mod m) and a mod m = b
are different.
a ≡ b (mod m) is a relation on the set of integers.
In a mod m = b, the notation mod denotes a function.
The relationship between these notations is made
clear in this theorem.
Theorem 3: Let a and b be integers, and let m be a
positive integer. Then a ≡ b (mod m) if and only if
a mod m = b mod m. (Proof in the exercises)
Congruence of Sums and Products
Theorem 5: Let m be a positive integer. If a ≡ b
(mod m) and c ≡ d (mod m), then
a + c ≡ b + d (mod m) and ac ≡ bd (mod m)
Example: Because 7 ≡ 2 (mod 5) and 11 ≡ 1 (mod 5)
, it follows from Theorem 5 that
18 = 7 + 11 ≡ 2 + 1 = 3 (mod 5)
77 = 7 ∙ 11 ≡ 2 ∙ 1 = 2 (mod 5)
Algebraic Manipulation of Congruence
Multiplying both sides of a valid congruence by an integer preserves
validity.
If a ≡ b (mod m) holds then c∙a ≡ c∙b (mod m), where c is any integer,
holds by Theorem 5 with d = c.
Adding an integer to both sides of a valid congruence preserves validity.
If a ≡ b (mod m) holds then c + a ≡ c + b (mod m), where c is any
integer, holds by Theorem 5 with d = c.
Dividing a congruence by an integer does not always produce a valid
congruence.
Example: The congruence 14≡ 8 (mod 6) holds. But dividing both
sides by 2 does not produce a valid congruence since 14/2 = 7 and
8/2 = 4, but 7≢4 (mod 6).
See Section 4.3 for conditions when division is ok.
Arithmetic Modulo m
Definitions: Let Zm be the set of nonnegative integers less than
m: {0,1, …., m−1}
The operation +m is defined as a +m b = (a + b) mod m. This is
addition modulo m.
The operation ∙m is defined as a ∙m b = (a ∙ b) mod m. This is
multiplication modulo m.
Using these operations is said to be doing arithmetic modulo m.
Example: Find 7 +11 9 and 7 ∙11 9.
Solution: Using the definitions above:
7 +11 9 = (7 + 9) mod 11 = 16 mod 11 = 5
7 ∙11 9 = (7 ∙ 9) mod 11 = 63 mod 11 = 8
Integer Representations
and Algorithms
Section 4.2
Section Summary
Integer Representations
 Base b Expansions
 Binary Expansions
 Octal Expansions
Hexadecimal Expansions
Base Conversion Algorithm
Algorithms for Integer Operations
Representations of Integers
In the modern world, we use decimal, or base 10,
notation to represent integers. For example when we
write 965, we mean 9∙102 + 6∙101 + 5∙100 .
We can represent numbers using any base b, where b
is a positive integer greater than 1.
The bases b = 2 (binary), b = 8 (octal) , and b= 16
(hexadecimal) are important for computing and
communications
The ancient Mayans used base 20 and the ancient
Babylonians used base 60.
Base b Representations
We can use positive integer b greater than 1 as a base, because of this
theorem:
Theorem 1: Let b be a positive integer greater than 1. Then if n is a
positive integer, it can be expressed uniquely in the form:
n = akbk + ak-1bk-1 + …. + a1b + a0
where k is a nonnegative integer, a0,a1,…. ak are nonnegative integers less
than b, and ak≠ 0. The aj, j = 0,…,k are called the base-b digits of the
representation.
(We will prove this using mathematical induction in Section 5.1.)
The representation of n given in Theorem 1 is called the base b expansion
of n and is denoted by (akak-1….a1a0)b.
 We usually omit the subscript 10 for base 10 expansions.
Binary Expansions
Most computers represent integers and do arithmetic with
binary (base 2) expansions of integers. In these expansions,
the only digits used are 0 and 1.
Example: What is the decimal expansion of the integer that
has (1 0101 1111)2 as its binary expansion?
Solution:
(1 0101 1111)2 = 1∙28 + 0∙27 + 1∙26 + 0∙25 + 1∙24 + 1∙23 +
1∙22 + 1∙21 + 1∙20 =351.
Example: What is the decimal expansion of the integer that
has (11011)2 as its binary expansion?
Solution: (11011)2 = 1 ∙24 + 1∙23 + 0∙22 + 1∙21 + 1∙20 =27.
Octal Expansions
The octal expansion (base 8) uses the digits
{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7}.
Example: What is the decimal expansion of the
number with octal expansion (7016)8 ?
Solution: 7∙83 + 0∙82 + 1∙81 + 6∙80 =3598
Example: What is the decimal expansion of the
number with octal expansion (111)8 ?
Solution: 1∙82 + 1∙81 + 1∙80 = 64 + 8 + 1 = 73
Hexadecimal Expansions
The hexadecimal expansion needs 16 digits, but our decimal
system provides only 10. So letters are used for the additional
symbols. The hexadecimal system uses the digits
{0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,A,B,C,D,E,F}. The letters A through F represent
the decimal numbers 10 through 15.
Example: What is the decimal expansion of the number with
hexadecimal expansion (2AE0B)16 ?
Solution:
2∙164 + 10∙163 + 14∙162 + 0∙161 + 11∙160 =175627
Example: What is the decimal expansion of the number with
hexadecimal expansion (E5)16 ?
Solution: 14∙161 + 5∙160 = 224 + 5 = 229
Base Conversion
To construct the base b expansion of an integer n:
Divide n by b to obtain a quotient and remainder.
n = bq0 + a0 0 ≤ a0 ≤ b
The remainder, a0 , is the rightmost digit in the base b
expansion of n. Next, divide q0 by b.
q0 = bq1 + a1 0 ≤ a1 ≤ b
The remainder, a1, is the second digit from the right in the
base b expansion of n.
Continue by successively dividing the quotients by b,
obtaining the additional base b digits as the remainder.
The process terminates when the quotient is 0.
continued →
Base Conversion
Example: Find the octal expansion of (12345)10
Solution: Successively dividing by 8 gives:
 12345 = 8 ∙ 1543 + 1
 1543 = 8 ∙ 192 + 7
 192 = 8 ∙ 24 + 0
 24 = 8 ∙ 3 + 0
 3 =8∙0+3
The remainders are the digits from right to left
yielding (30071)8.
Comparison of Hexadecimal, Octal, and
Binary Representations

Initial 0s are not shown

Each octal digit corresponds to a block of 3 binary digits.

Each hexadecimal digit corresponds to a block of 4 binary digits.
So, conversion between binary, octal, and hexadecimal is easy.
Primes and Greatest
Common Divisors
Section 4.3
Section Summary
Prime Numbers and their Properties
Conjectures and Open Problems About Primes
Greatest Common Divisors and Least Common
Multiples
The Euclidian Algorithm
gcds as Linear Combinations
Primes
Definition: A positive integer p greater than 1 is called
prime if the only positive factors of p are 1 and p. A
positive integer that is greater than 1 and is not prime
is called composite.

Example: The integer 7 is prime because its only

positive factors are 1 and 7, but 9 is composite
because it is divisible by 3.
The Fundamental Theorem of
Arithmetic
Theorem: Every positive integer greater than 1 can be
written uniquely as a prime or as the product of two or
more primes where the prime factors are written in
order of nondecreasing size.
Examples:
100 = 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 5 ∙ 5 = 22 ∙ 52
641 = 641
999 = 3 ∙ 3 ∙ 3 ∙ 37 = 33 ∙ 37
1024 = 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 ∙ 2 = 210
Greatest Common Divisor
Definition: Let a and b be integers, not both zero. The largest
integer d such that d | a and also d | b is called the greatest
common divisor of a and b. The greatest common divisor of a
and b is denoted by gcd(a,b).

One can find greatest common divisors of small numbers by

inspection.
Example:What is the greatest common divisor of 24 and 36?
Solution: gcd(24, 36) = 12
Example:What is the greatest common divisor of 17 and 22?
Solution: gcd(17,22) = 1
Greatest Common Divisor
Definition: The integers a and b are relatively prime if their greatest
common divisor is 1.
Example: 17 and 22
Definition: The integers a1, a2, …, an are pairwise relatively prime if
gcd(ai, aj)= 1 whenever 1 ≤ i<j ≤n.
Example: Determine whether the integers 10, 17 and 21 are pairwise
relatively prime.
Solution: Because gcd(10,17) = 1, gcd(10,21) = 1, and gcd(17,21) = 1,
10, 17, and 21 are pairwise relatively prime.
Example: Determine whether the integers 10, 19, and 24 are pairwise
relatively prime.
Solution: Because gcd(10,24) = 2, 10, 19, and 24 are not pairwise
relatively prime.
Greatest Common Divisor
Definition: The integers a and b are relatively prime if their greatest
common divisor is 1.
Example: 17 and 22
Definition: The integers a1, a2, …, an are pairwise relatively prime if
gcd(ai, aj)= 1 whenever 1 ≤ i<j ≤n.
Example: Determine whether the integers 10, 17 and 21 are pairwise
relatively prime.
Solution: Because gcd(10,17) = 1, gcd(10,21) = 1, and gcd(17,21) = 1,
10, 17, and 21 are pairwise relatively prime.
Example: Determine whether the integers 10, 19, and 24 are pairwise
relatively prime.
Solution: Because gcd(10,24) = 2, 10, 19, and 24 are not pairwise
relatively prime.
Least Common Multiple
Definition: The least common multiple of the positive integers a and b is the smallest
positive integer that is divisible by both a and b. It is denoted by lcm(a,b).

The least common multiple can also be computed from the prime factorizations.

This number is divided by both a and b and no smaller number is divided by a and b.
Example: lcm(233572, 2433) = 2max(3,4) 3max(5,3) 7max(2,0) = 24 35 72

The greatest common divisor and the least common multiple of two integers are related by:
Theorem 5: Let a and b be positive integers. Then
ab = gcd(a,b) ∙lcm(a,b)
(proof is Exercise 31)