Is the Dividing Problem Involving Primes Solvable?

  • Context:
  • Thread starter Thread starter Poirot1
  • Start date Start date
Join the discussion
Registration is free. Ask a follow-up in this thread, or start your own.
1 reply · 2K views
Poirot1
Messages
243
Reaction score
0
I can't see why the following is true:
Let $p_{1}<p_{2}<...<p_{k}$ be primes such that

$7(p_{1}-1)...(p_{k}-1)=3p_{1}...p_{k}$.

Since 7 divides the LHS, $p_{k}>or =7$
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
Re: dividing problem

Poirot said:
I can't see why the following is true:
Let $p_{1}<p_{2}<...<p_{k}$ be primes such that

$7(p_{1}-1)...(p_{k}-1)=3p_{1}...p_{k}$.

Since 7 divides the LHS, $p_{k}>or =7$

If $p_{1} \ne 2$ then the term $(p_{1}-1)\ ...\ (p_{k}-1)$ is even and the term $p_{1}\ ...\ p_{k}$ is odd ... that's impossible so that it must be $p_{1}=2$. In this case the term $(p_{1}-1)\ ...\ (p_{k}-1)$ contains as factor $2^{k-1}$ and the term $p_{1}\ ...\ p_{k}$ contains as factor 2, so that it must be k=2. In this case it is... $\displaystyle 7\ (p_{2}-1)= 3\ 2\ p_{2} \implies p_{2}=7$ (2)Kind regards$\chi$ $\sigma$