Science:Math Exam Resources/Courses/MATH312/December 2009/Question 02 (b)

MATH312 December 2009

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Question 02 (b)
Determine whether 2821 is a Carmichael number. Explain your answer.

Make sure you understand the problem fully: What is the question asking you to do? Are there specific conditions or constraints that you should take note of? How will you know if your answer is correct from your work only? Can you rephrase the question in your own words in a way that makes sense to you?

If you are stuck, check the hints below. Read the first one and consider it for a while. Does it give you a new idea on how to approach the problem? If so, try it! If after a while you are still stuck, go for the next hint.

Hint 1
A Carmichael number is a composite number n which satisfies $\displaystyle b^{n-1}\equiv 1\mod {n}$ for all integers with $\displaystyle \gcd(b,n)=1$.

Hint 2
Recall Korselt's criterion which states that a positive composite integer n is a Carmichael number if and only if n is square free and for all prime divisors p of n, it is true that $\displaystyle (p-1)\mid (n-1)$

Checking a solution serves two purposes: helping you if, after having used all the hints, you still are stuck on the problem; or if you have solved the problem and would like to check your work. If you are stuck on a problem: Read the solution slowly and as soon as you feel you could finish the problem on your own, hide it and work on the problem. Come back later to the solution if you are stuck or if you want to check your work. If you want to check your work: Don't only focus on the answer, problems are mostly marked for the work you do, make sure you understand all the steps that were required to complete the problem and see if you made mistakes or forgot some aspects. Your goal is to check that your mental process was correct, not only the result.

Solution

Found a typo? Is this solution unclear? Let us know here. Please rate my easiness! It's quick and helps everyone guide their studies. We follow the hints above (especially hint 2) which suggests we should use Korselt's Criterion. We first factor the number as $\displaystyle 2821=7\cdot 403=7\cdot 13\cdot 31$ We check that $\displaystyle (p-1)\mid (n-1)$ for each prime factor. Notice that $\displaystyle {\begin{aligned}(7-1)=6&\mid 2820\\(13-1)=12&\mid 2820\\(31-1)=30&\mid 2820\end{aligned}}$ We can see these are true by factoring $\displaystyle 2820=10\cdot 282=2\cdot 5\cdot 2\cdot 141=2^{2}\cdot 5\cdot 3\cdot 47=2^{2}\cdot 3\cdot 5\cdot 47$. Hence 2821 is a Carmichael number.

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