NUMBER THEORY ASSIGNMENT 1

NUMBER THOERY - 1
1. The product of any two of the positive integers 30, 72 and N is divisible by the third. What is the
smallest possible value of N?
2. Given a prime number P, find the number of natural numbers which are
(a) Less than P and relatively prime to it
(b) Less than P2 and relatively prime to it.
3. Given natural numbers a, b, and c such that a +b+ c is divisible by 6, prove that a3 + b3+ c3 is also
divisible by 6.
4. Prove that n3 + 2 is not divisible by 9 for any integer n
5. Prove that n5 + 4n is divisible by 5 for any integer n.
6. (a) Given that p, p + 10, and p + 14 are prime numbers,find p
(b) Given that p, 2p + 1, and 4p + 1 are prime numbers, find p.
7. Given the pair of prime numbers p and p2 + 2, prove that p3 + 2 is also a prime number.
8. Prove that the sum of the squares of five consecutive natural numbers cannot be a perfect square.
 n   n + 1
9. [UGA 2019] The number of integers n ≥ 10 such that the product   .   is a perfect square is
10   10 
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 2 (d) 3
10. The sum of two numbers is 84 and their HCF is 12. Total number of such pairs of number is
(a) 1 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 5
NUMBER THEORY 2

Answers Key
1. 60 2. P-1, P2 – 1 6. 3; 3 9. a 10. 3

Solutions
1. The product of any two of the positive integers 30, 72 and N is divisible by the third. What is the
smallest possible value of N?
Sol. 30 → 21  31  51
7 2 → 23  32
N → 51  31  22 = 60
2. Given a prime number P, find the number of natural numbers which are
(a) Less than P and relatively prime to it
(b) Less than P2 and relatively prime to it.
Sol. (a) P–1
P2
(b) No. of divisors up to P 2 = =P
P
Required No.s = P2 – P
3. Given natural numbers a, b, and c such that a +b+ c is divisible by 6, prove that a3 + b3+ c3 is also
divisible by 6.
Sol. M1. a3 + b3 + c3 = 3abc + (a + b + c) (a2 + b2 + c2 – ab –bc –ca)
a + b + c is divisible by 6
 a + b + c is even no
 atleast one is even
 abc is multiple of 2
 3abc is multiple of 6
M2.
n3 ≡ n(mod6)
a3 + b3 + c3 ≡ a + b + c (mod6)
4. Prove that n3 + 2 is not divisible by 9 for any integer n
Sol. n3 + 2
(i) n =3k
n3 + 2 = 27k3 + 2
NUMBER THEORY 3

=9m + 2
(ii) n =3k + 1
n3 + 2 = 27k3 + 9k(3k+1) + 3
= 9m + 3
(iii) n = 3k + 2
n3 + 2 = 27k + 18k (3k + 2) + 10
= 9m + 1
Not divisible by 9
5. Prove that n5 + 4n is divisible by 5 for any integer n.
Sol. n5 – n + 5n
n(n2 –1) (n2 + 1) + 5n
(n–1)n (n+1) (n2 + 1) + 5n
(n–1) n (n+1) (n2 + 1) must be divisible by 5.
(n–1) (n) (n+1) (n2 –4 +5)
(n–2) (n–1) (n) (n+1) (n+2) + 5k
always divisible by 5
6. (a) Given that p, p + 10, and p + 14 are prime numbers,find p
(b) Given that p, 2p + 1, and 4p + 1 are prime numbers, find p.
Sol. (a) (i) If p = 2
P+10=12 not prime
(ii) If p = 3
P+10=13, p + 14 = 17 all prime
For p > 3, p can be 3k+1 or 3k+2
(iii) If p = 3k + 1
P+14= 3k+15 = 3m not prime
(iv) If p = 3k + 2
P+10= 3k+12 = 3m not prime
only for p=3, p+ 10 & p + 14 are prime.
(b) ) (i) If p = 2
2p + 1=5, 4p + 1=9 not prime
(ii) If p = 3
NUMBER THEORY 4

2p + 1=7, 4p + 1=13all prime

For p > 3, p can be 3k+1 or 3k+2
(iii) If p = 3k + 1
2P+1= 6k+3 = 3m not prime
(iv) If p = 3k + 2
4P+1= 12k+9 = 3m not prime
only for p=3, 2p+ 1 & 4p + 1 are prime.
7. Given the pair of prime numbers p and p2 + 2, prove that p3 + 2 is also a prime number.
Sol. (i) If p = 2
p2 + 2=6 not prime
(ii) If p = 3
3,11,29 all prime
For p > 3, p can be 3k+1 or 3k+2
(iii) If p = 3k + 1
p2 + 2 = (3k + 1)2 + 2 = 9k2 + 6k + 3 = 3m not prime
(iv) If p = 3k + 2
p2 + 2 = (3k + 2)2 + 2 = 9k2 + 12k + 6 = 3m not prime
only for p=3, p2 + 2 & p3 + 2 are prime.
8. Prove that the sum of the squares of five consecutive natural numbers cannot be a perfect square.
Sol. n2 + (n + 1)2 + (n + 2)2 + (n + 3)2 + (n+4)2
square of even no of type 4k
square of odd no of type 4k + 1
Case : 1 If n odd 4(u +v + w + x +y) + 3 = 4P + 3 not square
Case : 2 If n even 4(u +v + w + x +y) + 2 = 4P + 2 not square
 n   n + 1
9. [UGA 2019] The number of integers n ≥ 10 such that the product   .   is a perfect square is
10   10 
(a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 2 (d) 3

Sol: ( )( ) = nn −+ 19 ( )
n
10
n +1
10
n 2
10

So we go checking until it becomes less than 2

So we check with n = 10 on wards and get
NUMBER THEORY 5

n +1 10
= 1+
n −9 n −9
10
Therefore, n can be 10, 14, 19, but for these values 1 + not a perfect square.
n −9
10. The sum of two numbers is 84 and their HCF is 12. Total number of such pairs of number is
(a) 1 (b) 3 (c) 4 (d) 5
Sol. (b)
HCF = 12
 Numbers = 12x and 12y where x and y are prime to each other
84
 12x + 12y = 84  12(x + y) = 84  x + y = =7
12
 Possible pairs of numbers satisfying this condition = (1,6), (2,5) and (3,4).
 ASSIGNMENT 1

GCD LCM
Level - A
1. The greatest number that divides 22176 and 22396 without leaving any remainder is.
(a) 48 (b) 42 (c) 38 (d) 52 (e) None of these
2. Find the least Multiple of 7 which leaves a remainder of 4 when divided by 6, 9 15 and 18 ?
3. Find hcf of n + 3 and 2n + 7.
n 2 + 3n + 3
4. Find number of Positive integer values of n such that n+2 is an integer.
5. The product of two positive integers is 9984 and the greatest common factor of those integers equals
that difference between them. What are the two integers?
6. Find the greatest number which divides 1535 and 1222 leaving the remainders 5 and 7 respectively.
(a) 45 (b) 35 (c) 55 (d) 90
7. How many pairs of integers (x, y) exist such that the product of x, y and HCF (x, y) = 1080?
(a) 8 (b) 7 (c) 9 (d) 18
8. Find the smallest number that leaves a remainder of 4 on division by 5, 5 on division by 6, 6 on
division by 7, 7 on division by 8 and 8 on division by 9?
(a) 2519 (b) 5039 (c) 1079 (d) 979
9. How many pairs of positive integers x, y exist such that HCF of x, y = 35 and sum of x and y =
1085?
(a) 12 (b) 8 (c) 15 (d) 30
10. Sum of two numbers x, y = 1050. What is the maximum value of the HCF between x and y?
(a) 350 (b) 700 (c) 1050 (d) 525

Level - B
11. How many pairs of positive integers x, y exist such that HCF (x, y) + LCM (x, y) = 91?
(a) 10 (b) 16 (c) 6 (d) 7
12. There are 2 numbers such that a > b, HCF (a, b) = h and LCM (a, b) = l. What is the LCM of a – b
and b?
(a) I (b) (a - b) b (c) (a - b) b / h (d) h (a - b)
13. 6 different sweet varieties of count 32, 216, 136, 88, 184, 120 were ordered for a particular occasion.
They need to be packed in such a way that each box has the same variety of sweet and the number of
sweets in each box is also the same. What is the minimum number of boxes required to pack?
(a) 129 (b) 64 (c) 48 (d) 97
2 2
14. If n is positive even integer find the hcf of n + 1 and n + 4n + 5
For all positive integers n, let Tn = 22 + 1 . Show that if m  n , then Tm and Tn are relatively prime.
n
15.
 2

Answers Key
1. e 2. 364 3. 1 4. 0 5. 104, 96
6. (a) 7. (d) 8. (a) 9. (d) 10. (d) 11. (b)
12. (c) 13. (d) 14. 1

Solutions
Level - A
1. The greatest number that divides 22176 and 22396 without leaving any remainder is.
(a) 48 (b) 42 (c) 38 (d) 52 (e) None of these
Sol. HCF(22176, 22396) = HCF(22176, 22396 - 22176) = (22176, 220) = 44(504, 5) = 44

2. Find the least Multiple of 7 which leaves a remainder of 4 when divided by 6, 9 15 and 18 ?
Sol: It can be find like above example
i.e LCM of 6 , 9 , 15 and 18 = 180.
Now find the series of LCM with remainder having 4
i. e 184, 364, ….. (Here 7 is divisor of 364)
So our answer is 364.

3. Find hcf of n + 3 and 2n + 7.

Sol: (n + 3, 2n + 7) = (n + 3, 1) = 1
n 2 + 3n + 3
4. Find number of Positive integer values of n such that n+2 is an integer.
2
Sol: (n + 3n + 3, n + 2) = (1, n + 2) = 1. As the numerator and denominator are coprime therefore the
given expression can not be an integer.

5. The product of two positive integers is 9984 and the greatest common factor of those integers equals
that difference between them. What are the two integers?
Sol. Let the no.s x & y & g.c.d = m
x = mx1 & y = my1
xy = m2x1y1 = 9984 = 28 × 31 × 131
x – y = m  x1 –y1 = 1⇒ one of them is odd and other is even.
m2 x1y1 =2831131
(i) m = 1
x1y1 = 28 31 131
x1 – y1= 1
No pair possible
(ii) m = 2
x1y1 = 26 × 31 × 131
 3

No pair possible
(iii) m = 22
x1y1 = 24× 31 × 131
No pair possible
(iv) m = 23
x1y1 = 22× 31 × 131
x1 = 13,y1 = 12
(v) m = 24
x1y1 = 31 × 131
No pair possible
Answer is 104, 96

6. Find the greatest number which divides 1535 and 1222 leaving the remainders 5 and 7 respectively.
(a) 45 (b) 35 (c) 55 (d) 90
Ans: (a)
Sol: Required number = HCF (1535 − 5), (1222 − 7)
= HCF (1530,1215)

 HCF  (1530,1215) = 45
 option (a) is correct

7. How many pairs of integers (x, y) exist such that the product of x, y and HCF (x, y) = 1080?
(a) 8 (b) 7 (c) 9 (d) 18
Ans: (d)
Sol: We need to find ordered pairs (x, y) such that xy * HCF(x, y) = 1080.
Let x = ha and y = hb where h = HCF(x, y) => HCF(a, b) = 1.
So h3(ab) = 1080 = (23)(33)(5).
We need to write 1080 as a product of a perfect cube and another number.
Four cases:
1. h = 1, ab = 1080 and b are co-prime. We gave 4 pairs of 8 ordered pairs (1, 1080), (8, 135), (27,
40) and (5, 216). (Essentially we are finding co-prime a,b such that a*b = 1080).
 4

2. h = 2, We need to find number of ways of writing (33) * (5) as a product of two co-prime numbers.
This can be done in two ways - 1 and (33) * (5) , (33) and (5)
number of pairs = 2, number of ordered pairs = 4

3. h = 3, number of pairs = 2, number of ordered pairs = 4

4. h = 6, number of pairs = 1, number of ordered pairs = 2

Hence total pairs of (x, y) = 9, total number of ordered pairs = 18.

The pairs are (1, 1080), (8, 135), (27, 40), (5, 216), (2, 270), (10, 54), (3, 120), (24, 15) and (6, 30).

8. Find the smallest number that leaves a remainder of 4 on division by 5, 5 on division by 6, 6 on

division by 7, 7 on division by 8 and 8 on division by 9?
(a) 2519 (b) 5039 (c) 1079 (d) 979
Ans: (a)
Sol: Note: When a number is divided by 8, a remainder of 7 can be thought of as a remainder of -1. This
idea is very useful in a bunch of questions. So, N = 5a - 1 or N + 1 = 5a
N = 6b - 1 or N + 1 = 6b
N = 7c - 1 or N + 1 = 7c
N = 8d - 1 or N + 1 = 8d
N = 9e - 1 or N + 1 = 9e
N + 1 can be expressed as a multiple of (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)

N + 1 = 5a*6b*7c*8d*9e
Or N = (5a*6b*7c*8d*9e) - 1
Smallest value of N will be when we find the smallest common multiple of (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
or LCM of (5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
N = LCM (5, 6, 7, 8, 9) - 1 = 2520 - 1 = 2519.

9. How many pairs of positive integers x, y exist such that HCF of x, y = 35 and sum of x and y =
1085?
(a) 12 (b) 8 (c) 15 (d) 30
Ans (d)
Sol: Let HCF of (x, y) be h. Then we can write x = h * a and y = h * b. Furthermore, note that HCF (a, b)
= 1. This is a very important property. One that seems obvious when it is mentioned but a property a
number of people overlook.
So, we can write x = 35a; y = 35b
x + y = 1085 => 35(a + b) = 1085. => (a + b) = 31. We need to find pairs of co-prime integers that
add up to 31. (Another way of looking at it is to find out integers less than 31 those are co-prime with
it or phi(31) as had mentioned. More on this wonderful function in another post).
 5

Since 31 is prime. All pairs of integers that add up to 31 will be co-prime to each other. Or, there are
totally 15 pairs that satisfy this condition.

10. Sum of two numbers x, y = 1050. What is the maximum value of the HCF between x and y?
(a) 350 (b) 700 (c) 1050 (d) 525
Ans: (d)
Sol: x = 525 and y = 525 works best.
If the question states x, y have to be distinct, then the best solution would be x = 350, y = 700, HCF
= 350.
So the HCF is 525.

Level - B

11. How many pairs of positive integers x, y exist such that HCF (x, y) + LCM (x, y) = 91?
(a) 10 (b) 16 (c) 6 (d) 7
Ans: (b)
Sol: Let us x = h * a; y = h * b
a and b are co-prime. So, LCM of (x, y) = h * a * b

So, in essence h + h * a * b = 91. Or h(ab + 1) = 91

Now, 91 can be written as 1 * 91 or 7 * 13
Or, we can have HCF as 1, LCM as 90 -
There are 4 pairs of numbers like this (2, 45), (9, 10), (1, 90) and (5, 18)

We can have HCF as 7, ab + 1 = 13 => ab = 12 => 1 * 12 or 4 * 3

Or, the pairs of numbers are (7, 84) or (21, 28)

The third option is when HCF = 13, ab + 1 = 7 => ab = 6

Or (a, b) can be either (1, 6) or (2, 3)
The pairs possible are (13, 78) and (26, 39)
There are totally 8 options possible - (2, 45), (9, 10), (1, 90), (5, 18), (7, 84), (21, 28), (13, 78) and
(26, 39).
Number of ordered pairs = 16
12. There are 2 numbers such that a > b, HCF (a, b) = h and LCM (a, b) = l. What is the LCM of a – b
and b?
(a) I (b) (a - b) b (c) (a - b) b / h (d) h (a - b)
Ans: (c)
Sol: Given a > b, HCF = h, LCM = l
From the above we can say, HCF of (a – b, b) = h
 6

LCM x HCF = Product of 2 numbers

(a – b)b = h x LCM
LCM = (a - b) b / h

13. 6 different sweet varieties of count 32, 216, 136, 88, 184, 120 were ordered for a particular occasion.
They need to be packed in such a way that each box has the same variety of sweet and the number of
sweets in each box is also the same. What is the minimum number of boxes required to pack?
(a) 129 (b) 64 (c) 48 (d) 97
Ans: (d)
Sol: All sweets need to packed and each box has the same variety.
This implies the number of sweets in each box should be HCF of different count of sweets
HCF of 32, 216, 136, 88, 184, 120 = 23 = 8
Minimum number of boxes = (32 + 216 + 136 + 88 + 184 + 120) / 8 = 97

14. If n is positive even integer find the hcf of n2 + 1 and n2 + 4n + 5

Sol: (n2 + 1, n2 + 4n + 5) = (n2 + 1, 4n + 4)
= (n2 + 1, n + 1) (as 4 is coprime to n2 + 1)
= (2, n + 1)
=1

For all positive integers n, let Tn = 22 + 1 . Show that if m  n , then Tm and Tn are relatively prime.
n
15.
Sol: We have that