A Readable Introduction to Real Mathematics

Author(s) Rosenthal, Daniel; Rosenthal, David; Rosenthal,

Peter

Imprint Springer International Publishing, 2018

ISBN 9783030006327, 9783030006310

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Chapter 1
Introduction to the Natural Numbers

We assume basic knowledge about the numbers that we count with; that is, the
numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and so on. These are called the natural numbers, and
the collection of all of them is usually denoted by N. They do seem to be very
natural, in the sense that they arose very early on in virtually all societies. There
are many other names for these numbers, such as the positive integers and the
positive whole numbers. Although the natural numbers are very familiar, we will
see that they have many interesting properties beyond the obvious ones. Moreover,
there are many questions about the natural numbers to which nobody knows the
answer. Some of these questions can be stated very simply, as we shall see, although
their solutions have eluded the thousands of mathematicians who have attempted to
solve them.
We assume familiarity with the two basic operations on the natural numbers,
addition and multiplication. The sum of two numbers will be indicated using the
plus sign “+”. Multiplication will be indicated by putting a dot in the middle of the
line between the numbers, or by simply writing the symbols for the numbers next to
each other, or sometimes by enclosing them in parentheses. For example, the product
of 3 and 2 could be denoted 3 · 2 or (3)(2). The product of the natural numbers
represented by the symbols m and n could be denoted mn, or m · n, or (m)(n).
We also, of course, need the number 0. Moreover, we require the negative whole
numbers as well. For each natural number n there is a corresponding negative num-
ber −n such that n + (−n) = 0. Altogether, the collection of positive and negative
whole numbers and 0 is called the integers. It is often denoted by Z.
We assume that you know how to add two negative integers and also how to
add a negative integer to a positive integer. Multiplication appears to be a bit
more mysterious. Most people feel comfortable with the fact that, for m and n
natural numbers, the product of m and (−n) is −mn. What some people find more
mysterious is the fact that (−m)(−n) = mn for natural numbers m and n; that is,
the product of two negative integers is a positive integer. There are various possible
explanations that can be provided for this, one of which is the following. Using the

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D. Rosenthal et al., A Readable Introduction to Real Mathematics,
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2 1 Introduction to the Natural Numbers

usual rules of arithmetic:

0 = (−m)(0) = (−m)(−n + n) = (−m)(−n) + (−m)(n)

Adding mn to both sides of this equation gives

0 + mn = (−m)(−n) + (−m)(n) + mn

or
 
mn = (−m)(−n) + (−m) + m · n

Thus,

mn = (−m)(−n) + 0 · n

so

mn = (−m)(−n)

Therefore, the fact that (−m)(−n) = mn is implied by the other standard rules of
arithmetic.

1.1 Prime Numbers

One of the important concepts we will study is divisibility. For example, 12 is

divisible by 3, which means that there is a natural number (in this case, 4) such
that the product of 3 and that natural number is 12. That is, 12 = 3 · 4. In general,
we say:
Definition 1.1.1. The integer m is divisible by the integer n if there exists an integer
q such that m = nq.
There are many other terms that are used to describe such a relationship. For
example, if m = nq, we may say that n and q are divisors of m and that each of n
and q divides m. Note that every integer divides 0, since 0 = n · 0 for every integer
n. The terminology “q is the quotient when m is divided by n” is also used when
n is different from 0. In this situation, n and q are also sometimes called factors of
m; the process of writing an integer as a product of two or more integers is called
factoring the integer.
The number 1 is a divisor of every natural number since, for each natural number
m, m = 1 · m. Also, every natural number m is a divisor of itself, since m = m · 1.
1.1 Prime Numbers 3

The number 1 is the only natural number that has only one natural number
divisor, namely itself. Every other natural number has at least two divisors, itself
and 1.
Definition 1.1.2. A prime number is a natural number greater than 1 whose only
natural number divisors are 1 and the number itself.
The first prime number is 2. The primes continue: 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29,
31, and so on.
And so on? Is there a largest prime? Or does the sequence of primes continue
without end? There is, of course, no largest natural number. For if n is any natural
number, then n + 1 is a natural number and n + 1 is bigger than n. It is not so easy
to determine if there is a largest prime number or not. If p is a prime, then p + 1 is
almost never a prime. If p = 2, then p + 1 = 3 and p and p + 1 are both primes.
However, 2 is the only prime number p for which p +1 is prime. This can be proven
as follows. First note that, since every even number is divisible by 2, 2 itself is the
only even prime number. Therefore, if p is a prime other than 2, then p is odd and
p + 1 is an even number larger than 2 and is thus not prime.
Is it nonetheless true that, given any prime number p, there is a prime number
larger than p? Although we cannot get a larger prime by simply adding 1 to a given
prime, there may be some other way of establishing that there is a prime number
larger than any given one. We will answer this question after learning a little more
about primes.
A natural number, other than 1, that is not prime is said to be composite.
(The number 1 is special and is neither prime nor composite.) For example, 4, 68,
129, and 2010 are composites. Thus, a composite number is a natural number that
has a divisor in addition to itself and 1.
To determine if a number is prime, what potential factors must be checked
to eliminate the possibility that there are factors other than the number and 1?
Fortunately, to check whether or not a natural number m is prime, you need not
check whether every natural number less than m divides m.
Theorem 1.1.3. Let m be a natural number other than 1. If m does not have a
natural number divisor that is greater than 1 and no larger than the square root of
m, then it is prime.
Proof. If m = n · q, it is not possible that n and q are both larger than the square
root of m, for if two natural numbers are both larger than the square root of m, then
their product is larger than m. It follows that a natural number greater than 1 that is
not prime has at least one divisor that is larger than 1 and is no larger than the square
root of that natural number. 

For example, we can conclude that 101 is prime since none of the numbers 2, 3,
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 are divisors of 101.
Using sophisticated techniques and computers, many very large numbers have
been shown to be prime. For example, 100,000,561 is prime, as is 22,801,763,489.
4 1 Introduction to the Natural Numbers

The fact that very large natural numbers have been shown to be prime does not
answer the question of whether there is a largest prime. The theorem that there is
always a prime larger than p for every prime number p cannot be established by
computing any number of specific primes, no matter how large.
Over the centuries, mathematicians have discovered many proofs that there is
no largest prime. We shall present one of the simplest and most beautiful proofs,
discovered by the Ancient Greeks.
We begin by establishing a preliminary fact that is required for the proof.
A statement that is proven for the purpose of being used to prove something else
is called a “lemma.” We need a lemma. The lemma that we require states that every
composite number has a divisor that is a prime number. (The proof that we present
of the lemma is quite convincing, but we shall subsequently present a more precise
proof; see Lemma 2.2.3.)
Lemma 1.1.4. Every natural number greater than 1 has a prime divisor.
Proof. If the given natural number is prime, then it is a prime divisor of itself. If the
number, say m, is composite, then m has at least one factorization m = n · q where
neither n nor q is m or 1. If either of n or q is a prime number, then the lemma is
established for m. If n is not prime, then it has a factorization n = s · t, where s
and t are natural numbers other than 1 and n. It is clear that s and t are also divisors
of m. Thus, if either of s and t is a prime number, the lemma is established. If s is
not prime, then it can be factored into a product where neither factor is s or 1, and
so on. Continued factoring must get down to a factor that cannot itself be factored;
i.e., to a factor that is prime. That prime number is a divisor of m, so the lemma is
established. 

The following is the ingenious proof of the infinitude of the primes discovered
by the Ancient Greeks.
Theorem 1.1.5. There is no largest prime number.
Proof. Let p be any prime number. We must prove that there is some prime larger
than p. To do this, we will construct a number that we will show is either a prime
larger than p or has a prime divisor larger than p. In both cases, we will conclude
that there is a prime number larger than p.
Here is how we construct the large number. Let M be the number obtained by
taking the product of all the prime numbers up to and including the given prime p
and then adding 1 to that product. That is,

M = (2 · 3 · 5 · 7 · 11 · 13 · 17 · 19 · · · p) + 1

It is possible that M is a prime number. If that is so, then there is a prime number
larger than p, since M is obviously larger than p. If M is not prime, then it is
composite. We must show that there is a prime larger than p in this case as well.
1.2 Unanswered Questions 5

Suppose, then, that M is composite. By Lemma 1.1.4, it follows that M has a

prime divisor. Let q be any prime divisor of M. We will show that q is larger than
p and thus that there is a prime larger than p in this case as well.
Consider possible values of q, a prime divisor of M. Surely q is not 2, for

2 · 3 · 5 · 7 · 11 · 13 · 17 · 19 · · · p

is an even number, and thus adding 1 to that number to get M produces an odd
number. That is, M is odd and is therefore not divisible by 2. Since q does divide
M, q cannot be equal to 2.
Similar reasoning shows that q cannot be 3. For

2 · 3 · 5 · 7 · 11 · 13 · 17 · 19 · · · p

is a multiple of 3, so the number obtained by adding 1, namely M, leaves a

remainder of 1 when it is divided by 3. That is, 3 is not a divisor of M. Since q
is a divisor of M, q is not 3.
Exactly the same proof shows that q is not 5, since 5 is a divisor of

2 · 3 · 5 · 7 · 11 · 13 · 17 · 19 · · · p

and thus cannot be a divisor of M. In fact, the same proof establishes that q cannot
be any of the factors 2, 3, 5, . . . , p of the product

2 · 3 · 5 · 7 · 11 · 13 · 17 · 19 · · · p

Since every prime number up to and including p is a factor of that product, q cannot
be any of those prime numbers. Therefore q is a prime number that is not any of the
prime numbers up to and including p. It follows that q is a prime number larger than
p, and we have proven that there is a prime number larger than p in the case where
M is composite. Therefore, in both cases, the case where M is prime and the case
where M is composite, we have shown that there is a prime number larger than p.
This proves the theorem. 

Every mathematician would agree that the above proof is “elegant.” If you find
the proof interesting, then you are likely to appreciate many of the other ideas that
we will discuss (and much mathematics that we do not cover as well).

1.2 Unanswered Questions

There are many questions concerning prime numbers that no one has been able
to answer. One famous question concerns what are called twin primes. Since 2
is the only even prime number, the only consecutive integers that are prime are
2 and 3. There are, however, many pairs of primes that are two apart, such as
6 1 Introduction to the Natural Numbers

{3, 5}, {29, 31}, {101, 103}, {1931, 1933}, and {104471, 104473}. Such pairs are
called twin primes. One question that remains unanswered, in spite of the efforts
of thousands of mathematicians over hundreds of years, is the question of whether
there is a largest pair of twin primes. Some very large pairs are known (e.g.,
{1000000007, 1000000009} and many pairs that are even much bigger), but no one
knows if there is a largest such.
Another very famous unsolved problem is whether or not the Goldbach Con-
jecture is true. Several hundred years ago, Goldbach conjectured (that is, said
that he thought that it was probably true) that every even natural number larger
than 2 is the sum of two prime numbers (e.g., 6 = 3 + 3, 20 = 7 + 13, and
22,901,764,050 = 22,801,763,489 + 100,000,561). Goldbach’s Conjecture is
known to be true for many very large even natural numbers, but no one has been
able to prove it in general (or to show that there is an even number that cannot be
written as the sum of two primes).
If you are able to solve the twin primes problem or determine the truth or falsity
of Goldbach’s Conjecture, you will immediately become famous throughout the
world and your name will remain famous as long as civilization endures. On the
other hand, it will almost undoubtedly prove to be extremely difficult to answer
either of those questions. On the other “other hand,” there is a very slight possibility
that one or both of those questions have a fairly simple answer that has been
overlooked by the many great and not-so-great mathematicians who have thought
about them. In spite of the very small possibility of success, you might find it
interesting to think about these problems.

1.3 Problems

Basic Exercises

1. Show that the following are composite numbers:

(a) 68
(b) 129
(c) 20,101,116
2. Which of the following are prime numbers?
(a) 79
(b) 153
(c) 537
(d) 851,486
3. Write each of the following numbers as a sum of two primes:
(a) 100
(b) 112
1.3 Problems 7

Interesting Problems

4. Verify that the Goldbach Conjecture holds for all even numbers between 4 and
50.
5. Find a pair of twin primes such that each prime is greater than 200.

Challenging Problems

6. Find a prime number p such that the number (2 · 3 · 5 · 7 · · · p) + 1 is not prime.

7. Suppose that p, p + 2, and p + 4 are prime numbers. Prove that p = 3.
[Hint: Why can’t p be 5 or 7?]
8. Prove that, for every natural number n greater than 2, there is a prime number
between n and n!. (Recall that, for every natural number n, n!, which is read “n
factorial”, denotes the product of all the natural numbers from 1 up to n.)
[Hint: There is a prime number that divides n! − 1.]
Note that this gives an alternate proof that there are infinitely many prime
numbers.
9. Prove that, for every natural number n, there are n consecutive composite
numbers.
[Hint: (n + 1)! + 2 is a composite number.]
10. Show that a natural number has an odd number of different factors if and only
if it is a perfect square (i.e., it is the square of another natural number).