heavyc said:
I was just wondering if there are any composite numbers in this equation
for every number from k = 1 - 100
k * k - 79 * k + 1601
all the numbers that I have come across seem to be prime but I could be wrong so if some one could check my work Please it would be helpful
Why doesn't this work? There has to be some nonsense in here, but so far I cannot find it.
f(x)=x^2-79x+1601
Assume f(x) has integer factors for some integer values of x. Let one factor be x + a where a is some integer, and divide the quadratic by x + a to get the other factor
f(x)=x^2-79x+1601 = (x+a)(x-a-79) =x^2-79x-a^2-79a
This has a solution only if
-a^2 - 79a =1601
a^2 + 79a + 1601 = 0
a = -\frac{79}{2}\pm\sqrt{\left[\frac{79}{2}\right]^2-1601}
a = -\frac{79}{2}\pm\sqrt{-40.75}
This has no real solutions. It's bad enough that it has no solutions, but even if it did it would be independent of x, which seems unlikely. Where did I go wrong?
From empirical evidence we know that
53*61 = 3233 = 96^2 - 79*96 + 1601
If I set the first factor to x + a, I get
a = 53 - 96 = -43
x + a = 53
x - a - 79 = 96 + 43 - 79 = 60
If I set the seond factor to x + a, I get
a = 61 - 96 = -35
x + a = 61
x - a - 79 = 96 + 35 - 79 = 52
Of course, I don't expct the second number to be correct because I found no solution for a in the first place.