Mimamsa Number Theroy

Prameya

April 17, 2025

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 CONTENTS

1 Functions 2
1.1 Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
1.2 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

2 Induction 3
2.1 Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
2.2 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

3 Division Algorithm 4
3.1 Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
3.2 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4

4 Divisibility 5
4.1 Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
4.2 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5

5 GCD 6
5.1 Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
5.2 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6

6 LCM 7
6.1 Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
6.2 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

7 Linear Diophantine Equation 8

7.1 Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
7.2 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

8 Primes and Composites 9

8.1 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

9 Modular Arithmetic 11
9.1 Reading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
9.2 Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
9.3 Additional Problems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

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 CHAPTER 1
FUNCTIONS

1.1 READING
• Sets and Functions to be done from Prameya-Vismaya.

1.2 PROBLEMS
Problem 1.1. Show that there is a bijection f : N → N such that

f (S) ̸= S (1.2.1)

for any proper non-empty subset S of N.

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 CHAPTER 2
INDUCTION

2.1 READING
Following is the requisite reading.
• Read §1.1 from Burton’s Elementary Number Theory (7th Edition).
• Why is mathematical induction a valid proof technique?
• Difference between strong and weak induction?

2.2 PROBLEMS
Problem 2.1. Prove that n! > n2 for every integer n ≥ 4, whereas n! > n3 for every integer n ≥ 6.
Problem 2.2. Use mathematical induction to derive the following formula for all n ≥ 1:
1(1!) + 2(2!) + 3(3!) + · · · + n(n!) = (n + 1)! − 1
Problem 2.3. a) Verify that for all n ≥ 1,
(2n)!
2 · 6 · 10 · 14 · · · · · · (4n − 2) =
n!
b) Use part (a) to obtain the inequality 2n (n!)2 ≤ (2n) ! for all n ≥ 1.
Problem 2.4. Establish the Bernoulli inequality: If 1 + a > 0, then
(1 + a)n ≥ 1 + na
for all n ≥ 1.
Problem 2.5. For all n ≥ 1, prove the following by mathematical induction:
1 1 1 1 1
a) 2 + 2 + 2 + · · · + 2 ≤ 2 − .
1 2 3 n n
1 2 3 n n+2
b) + 2 + 3 + · · · + n = 2 − n .
2 2 2 2 2
Problem 2.6. Show that the expression (2n)!/2n n! is an integer for all n ≥ 0.
Problem 2.7. Suppose that the numbers an are defined inductively by a1 = 1, a2 = 2, a3 = 3, and an = an−1 + an−2 +
an−3 for all n ≥ 4. Show that an < 2n for every positive integer n.
Problem 2.8. If the numbers an are defined by a1 = 11, a2 = 21, and an = 3an−1 − 2an−2 for n ≥ 3, prove that
an = 5 · 2n + 1, n≥1

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 CHAPTER 3
DIVISION ALGORITHM

3.1 READING
• Read §2.2 from Burton’s Elementary Number Theory (7th Edition).

3.2 PROBLEMS
Problem 3.1. Prove that if a and b are integers, with b > 0, then there exist unique integers q and r satisfying a = qb+r,
where 2b ≤ r < 3b.
Problem 3.2. Show that any integer of the form 6k + 5 is also of the form 3j + 2, but not conversely.

Problem 3.3. Use the Division Algorithm to establish the following:

a) The square of any integer is either of the form 3k or 3k + 1.
b) The cube of any integer has one of the forms: 9k, 9k + 1, or 9k + 8.
c) The fourth power of any integer is either of the form 5k or 5k + 1.
Problem 3.4. Prove that 3a2 − 1 is never a perfect square.
Problem 3.5. For n ≥ 1, prove that n(n + 1)(2n + 1)/6 is an integer.

Problem 3.6. Show that the cube of any integer is of the form 7k or 7k ± 1.
Problem 3.7. Prove that no integer in the following sequence is a perfect square:

11, 111, 1111, 11111, . . .

Problem 3.8. Verify that if an integer is simultaneously a square and a cube (as is the case with 64 = 82 = 43 ), then
it must be either of the form 7k or 7k + 1.

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 CHAPTER 4
DIVISIBILITY

4.1 READING
• Read §2.3, up until Theorem 2.2, from Burton’s Elementary Number Theory (7th Edition)

4.2 PROBLEMS
Problem 4.1. If a | b, show that (−a)|b, a|(−b), and (−a) | (−b).

Problem 4.2. Given integers a, b, c, d, verify the following:

a) If a | b, then a | bc.
b) If a | b and a | c, then a2 | bc.
c) a | b if and only if ac | bc, where c ̸= 0.
d) If a | b and c | d, then ac | bd.
Problem 4.3. Prove or disprove: If a | (b + c), then either a | b or a | c.
Problem 4.4. For n ≥ 1, establish each of the following divisibility statements:

a) 8 | 52n + 7.
b) 15 | 24n − 1.
c) 24 | 2 · 7n + 3 · 5n − 5.

Problem 4.5. Prove that for any integer a, one of the integers a, a + 2, a + 4 is divisible by 3.
Problem 4.6. For an arbitrary integer a, verify the following:
a) 2 | a(a + 1), and 3 | a(a + 1)(a + 2).
( )
b) 3 | a 2a2 + 7 .
( )( )
c) If a is odd, then 32 | a2 + 3 a2 + 7 .
Problem 4.7. Prove that the sum of the squares of two odd integers cannot be a perfect square.
Problem 4.8. Prove that the expression (3n)!/(3!)n is an integer for all n ≥ 0.
Problem 4.9. Prove: The product of any three consecutive integers is divisible by 6 ; the product of any four consecutive
integers is divisible by 24 ; the product of any five consecutive integers is divisible by 120 .

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 CHAPTER 5
GCD

5.1 READING
• Read §2.3, from Definition 2.2 till the end, from Burton’s Elementary Number Theory (7th Edition). Theorem 2.3 is
one of the most important theorems for the remainder of the discussions.

5.2 PROBLEMS
Problem 5.1. Prove that, for a positive integer n and any integer a, gcd(a, a + n) divides n; hence, gcd(a, a + 1) = 1.
Problem 5.2. Let a, b, r be integers, not all 0, such that a = bq + r. Then show that gcd(a, b) = gcd(b, r).
Problem 5.3. Given integers a and b, prove the following:
a) There exist integers x and y for which c = ax + by if and only if gcd(a, b) | c.
b) If there exist integers x and y for which ax + by = gcd(a, b), then gcd(x, y) = 1.
Problem 5.4. For any integer a, show the following:
a) gcd(2a + 1, 9a + 4) = 1.
b) gcd(5a + 2, 7a + 3) = 1.
c) If a is odd, then gcd(3a, 3a + 2) = 1.
21n + 4
d) [IMO 1959] For every integer n prove that the fraction cannot be reduced any further.
14n + 3
Problem 5.5. If a and b are integers, not both of which are zero, prove that gcd(2a − 3b, 4a − 5b) divides b; hence,
gcd(2a + 3, 4a + 5) = 1.
Problem 5.6. Confirm the following properties of the greatest common divisor:
a) If gcd(a, b) = 1, and gcd(a, c) = 1, then gcd(a, bc) = 1.
b) If gcd(a, b) = 1, and c | a, then gcd(b, c) = 1.
c) If gcd(a, b) = 1, then gcd(ac, b) = gcd(c, b).
d) If gcd(a, b) = 1, and c | a + b, then gcd(a, c) = gcd(b, c) = 1.
e) If gcd(a, b) = 1, d | ac, and d | bc, then d | c.
f) If gcd(a, b) = 1, then gcd (an , bn ) = 1 for all n ≥ 1.
Problem 5.7. Prove that if d | n, then 2d − 1 | 2n − 1.

Problem 5.8. If a | bc, show that a | gcd(a, b) gcd(a, c).

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 CHAPTER 6
LCM

6.1 READING
• Read §2.4 from Definition 2.4 till the end, from Burton’s Elementary Number Theory (7th Edition).

6.2 PROBLEMS
The following involve more problems based on the concept of the greatest common divisor and some feature the notion of
the least common multiple.
Problem 6.1. Using the fact that gcd(a, b) = gcd(b, r) whenever a = bq + r, find gcd(143, 227), gcd(306, 657), and
gcd(272, 1479).
Problem 6.2. Assuming that gcd(a, b) = 1, prove the following:
a) gcd(a + b, a − b) = 1 or 2.
b) gcd(2a + b, a + 2b) = 1 or 3.
c) gcd(a + b, a2 + b2 ) = 1 or 2.
d) gcd(a + b, a2 − ab + b2 ) = 1 or 3 .
Problem 6.3. Let n be a positive integer and a, b be integers such that an |bn . Show that a|b.

Problem 6.4. Find lcm(143, 227), lcm(306, 657) and lcm(272, 1479).
Problem 6.5. Prove that the greatest common divisor of two positive integers divides their least common multiple.
Problem 6.6. Given nonzero integers a and b, establish the following facts concerning lcm(a, b) :
a) gcd(a, b) = lcm(a, b) if and only if a = ±b.
b) If k > 0, then lcm(ka, kb) = k lcm(a, b).
c) If m is any common multiple of a and b, then lcm(a, b) | m.

Problem 6.7. Let a, b, c be integers, no two of which are zero, and d = gcd(a, b, c). Show that

d = gcd(gcd(a, b), c) = gcd(a, gcd(b, c)) = gcd(gcd(a, c), b)

Problem 6.8. Find integers x, y, z satisfying

gcd(198, 288, 512) = 198x + 288y + 512z

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 CHAPTER 7
LINEAR DIOPHANTINE EQUATION

7.1 READING
• Read §2.4 from Definition 2.4 till the end, from Burton’s Elementary Number Theory (7th Edition).
• Read the the Wikipedia article on the Frobenius coin problem.

7.2 PROBLEMS
Problem 7.1. Which of the following Diophantine equations cannot be solved?
a) 6x + 51y = 22
b) 33x + 14y = 115
c) 14x + 35y = 93
Problem 7.2. Determine all solutions in the integers of the following Diophantine equations:

a) 56x + 72y = 40
b) 24x + 138y = 18
c) 221x + 35y = 11
Problem 7.3. Determine all solutions in the positive integers of the following Diophantine equations:
a) 18x + 5y = 48
b) 54x + 21y = 906
c) 123x + 360y = 99
d) 158x − 57y = 7
Problem 7.4. If a and b are relatively prime positive integers, prove that the Diophantine equation ax − by = c has
infinitely many solutions in the positive integers.

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 CHAPTER 8
PRIMES AND COMPOSITES

• Read §3.1 from Burton’s Elementary Number Theory (7th Edition).

• Be especially mindful of Theorem 3.1.

8.1 PROBLEMS
Problem 8.1. Prove each of the assertions below:
a) Any prime of the form 3n + 1 is also of the form 6m + 1.
b) Each integer of the form 3n + 2 has a prime factor of this form.
c) The only prime of the form n3 − 1 is 7.
d) The only prime p for which 3p + 1 is a perfect square is p = 5.
e) The only prime of the form n2 − 4 is 5.

Problem 8.2. If p ≥ 5 is a prime number, show that p2 + 2 is composite.

Problem 8.3. Given that p is a prime and p | an , prove that pn | an .
Problem 8.4. Establish each of the following statements:
a) Every integer of the form n4 + 4, with n > 1, is composite.1
b) If n > 4 is composite, then n divides (n − 1)!.
c) Any integer of the form 8n + 1, where n ≥ 1, is composite, 2

d) Each integer n > 11 can be written as the sum of two composite numbers.

Problem 8.5. If p ≥ q ≥ 5 and p and q are both primes, prove that 24 | p2 − q 2 .

Problem 8.6. If p ̸= 5 is an odd prime, prove that either p2 − 1 or p2 + 1 is divisible by 10 .
Problem 8.7. Find the prime factorization of the integers 1234,10140 , and 36000 .
Problem 8.8. If n > 1 is an integer not of the form 6k + 3, prove that n2 + 2n is composite.3

Problem 8.9. Prove that a positive integer a > 1 is a square if and only if in the canonical form of a all the exponents
of the primes are even integers.
1 Hint: Write n4 + 4 as a product of two quadratic factors.
2 Hint: 2n + 1 | 23n + 1.
3 Hint: Show that either 2 or 3 divides n2 + 2n .

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 Problem 8.10. An integer is said to be square-free if it is not divisible by the square of any integer greater than 1 .
Prove the following:

a) An integer n > 1 is square-free if and only if n can be factored into a product of distinct primes.
b) Every integer n > 1 is the product of a square-free integer and a perfect square.
Problem 8.11. Show that any integer n can be expressed as n = 2k m, where k ≥ 0 and m is an odd integer.
Problem 8.12. A positive integer n is called square-full, or powerful, if p2 | n for every prime factor p of n (there are
992 square-full numbers less than 250,000 ). If n is square-full, show that it can be written in the form n = a2 b3 , with a
and b positive integers.

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 CHAPTER 9
MODULAR ARITHMETIC

9.1 READING
Read §4.2 from Burton’s Elementary Number Theory (7th Edition).

9.2 PROBLEMS
Problem 9.1. Prove each of the following assertions:
1. If a ≡ b(modn) and m | n, then a ≡ b(modm).
2. If a ≡ b(modn) and c > 0, then ca ≡ cb(modcn).
3. If a ≡ b(modn) and the integers a, b, n are all divisible by d > 0, then a/d ≡ b/d(modn/d).
Problem 9.2. Give an example to show that a2 ≡ b2 (modn) need not imply that a ≡ b (modn).

Problem 9.3. If a ≡ b(modn), prove that gcd(a, n) = gcd(b, n).

Problem 9.4. a) Find the remainders when 250 and 4165 are divided by 7.
b) What is the remainder when the following sum is divided by 4?

15 + 25 + 35 + · · · + 995 + 1005

Problem 9.5. Prove that the integer 53103 + 10353 is divisible by 39, and that 111333 + 333111 is divisible by 7.
Problem 9.6. For n ≥ 1, use congruence theory to establish each of the following divisibility statements:
a) 7 | 52n + 3 · 25n−2 .
b) 13 | 3n+2 + 42n+1 .
c) 27 | 25n+1 + 5n+2 .
d) 43 | 6n+2 + 72n+1 .
Problem 9.7. For n ≥ 1, show that

(−13)n+1 ≡ (−13)n + (−13)n−1 (mod181)

Problem 9.8. Prove the assertions below:

a) If a is an odd integer, then a2 ≡ 1(mod8).
b) For any integer a, a3 ≡ 0, 1, or 6(mod7).

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 c) For any integer a, a4 ≡ 0 or 1(mod5).
d) If the integer a is not divisible by 2 or 3, then a2 ≡ 1(mod24).
Problem 9.9. If p is a prime satisfying n < p < 2n, show that
( )
2n
≡ 0 (mod p)
n

Problem 9.10. If a1 , a2 , . . . , an is a complete set of residues modulo n and gcd(a, n) = 1, prove that aa1 , aa2 , . . . , aan
is also a complete set of residues modulo n.
Problem 9.11. Verify that 0, 1, 2, 22 , 23 , . . . , 29 form a complete set of residues modulo 11, but that 0, 12 , 22 , 32 , . . . , 102
do not.
Problem 9.12. Prove the following statements:
a) If gcd(a, n) = 1, then the integers

c, c + a, c + 2a, c + 3a, . . . , c + (n − 1)a

form a complete set of residues modulo n for any c.

b) Any n consecutive integers form a complete set of residues modulo n.
c) The product of any set of n consecutive integers is divisible by n.
Problem 9.13. Verify that if a ≡ b (modn1 ) and a ≡ b (modn2 ), then a ≡ b( mod n), where the integer n = lcm (n1 , n2 ).
Hence, whenever n1 and n2 are relatively prime, a ≡ b (modn1 n2 ).

Problem 9.14. Give an example to show that ak ≡ bk (modn) and k ≡ j(modn) need not imply that aj ≡ bj (modn).
Problem 9.15. Establish that if a is an odd integer, then for any n ≥ 1
n ( )
a2 ≡ 1 mod2n+2

Problem 9.16. Use the theory of congruences to verify that

89 | 244 − 1 and 97 | 248 − 1

Problem 9.17. Prove that whenever ab ≡ cd(modn) and b ≡ d(modn), with gcd(b, n) = 1, then a ≡ c(modn).

Problem 9.18. If a ≡ b (modn1 ) and a ≡ c (modn2 ), prove that b ≡ c(modn), where the integer n = gcd (n1 , n2 ).

9.3 ADDITIONAL PROBLEMS

§ Definition 9.3.1 For each integer n we define

nZ = {nk : k ∈ Z}

More generally, for a, n ∈ Z, we define

a + nZ = {a + nk : k ∈ Z} (9.3.1)

Problem 9.19. Let n be a natural number. Define a relation ∼ on Z as follows: For a, b ∈ Z, write a ∼ b if and only if
n|(b − a).
a) Show that ∼ is an equivalence relation.
b) Show that a and b are in the same equivalence class if and only if a ≡ b (mod n).
c) Show that the equivalence class of a is a + nZ.

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 § Definition 9.3.2 Let n be a positive integer and ∼ be the relation defined in the problem above. Let Z/nZ
denote the set of all the equivalence classes. In other words

Z/nZ = {a + nZ : a ∈ Z} (9.3.2)

Note that
Z/nZ = {a + nZ : 0 ≤ a < n} (9.3.3)

§ Definition 9.3.3 Let n be a positive integer. Let G = Z/nZ. Define A : G × G → G and M : G × G → G as

follows. For g, h ∈ G, choose a, b ∈ Z such that g = a + nZ and h = b + nZ. Define A(g, h) = (a + b) + nZ and
M (g, h) = ab + nZ.

Problem 9.20. Show that A and M are well-defined.

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 BIBLIOGRAPHY

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