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What is the mathematical proof to show that the number of prime numbers is infinite?
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
The proof is by contradiction: assume there is a finite number of prime numbers and get a contradiction by requiring a prime that is not one of the finite number of primes.
Suppose there are only a finite number of prime numbers.
Then there are n of them.; and
they can all be listed as: p1, p2, ..., pn in order with there being no possible primes between p(r) and p(r+1) for all 0 < r < n.
Consider the number m = p1 × p2 × ... × pn + 1
It is not divisible by any prime p1, p2, ..., pn as there is a remainder of 1.
Thus either m is a Prime number itself or there is some other prime p (greater than pn) which divides into m.
Thus there is a prime which is not in the list p1, p2, ..., pn.
But the list p1, p2, ..., pn is supposed to contain all the prime numbers.
Thus the assumption that there is a finite number of primes is false;
ie there are an infinite number of primes.
QED.
Wiki User
∙ 8y ago
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That depends what you mean with a "young prime number". I believe that is not a common mathematical term.That depends what you mean with a "young prime number". I believe that is not a common mathematical term.That depends what you mean with a "young prime number". I believe that is not a common mathematical term.That depends what you mean with a "young prime number". I believe that is not a common mathematical term.
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That's a theoretically infinite list. I can't write down an infinite list.
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What is a number that only has one prime factor called?
The definition of a prime number is a number which has only two factors: 1 and itself. All prime numbers have only two factors: one and themselves. So, asking "What is a prime number that has only 2 factors one and itself" is like asking "What is a type of cocker spaniel that is a dog?"
What number has five different prime factors?
Since there are an infinite number of prime numbers, there are infinite numbers with any given number of prime factors.
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No, there are an infinite amount of non-prime numbers just as there are an infinite number of prime numbers.
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What is the number of prime numbers?
It is impossible to know the number of prime numbers because there is an infinite number of them.
What is the largest prime number in 9 bit register?
Well, there is an infinite number of numbers, so technically, there is an infinite amount of prime numbers.
What are the 25 prime numbers?
There are more than 25 prime numbers; there are an infinite number of prime numbers.
Is there an infinite amount of prime and composite numbers?
Yes, there is an infinite amount of prime numbers. This has been proven by the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid. As for composite numbers, since there are infinitely many natural numbers, there must also be an infinite amount of composite numbers, as they are all the natural numbers that are not prime.
Is there infinite number of prime numbers?
Yes.
How man prime number exist in mathematics?
There are an infinite number of prime numbers.
What are all the prime numbers 500 and up?
There is an infinite number of prime numbers after 500!
Did Euclid make prime numbers?
No, prime numbers already existed. Euclid simply made some important mathematical contributions related to prime numbers. Among others, he discovered a surprisingly simple proof that the set of prime numbers is infinite; and he discovered that the prime factorization of any natural number is unique.
Are there any prime numbers over 100100?
Yes - there are an infinite number of prime numbers. The first prime number after 100100 is 100103.
