• Question: what is so weird about prime numbers?

    Asked by anon-193415 to Morwenna, Jamal, iainstaniland, Heidi, Emma, Carl on 10 Nov 2018. This question was also asked by anon-193422.
    • Photo: Heidi Gardner

      Heidi Gardner answered on 10 Nov 2018:

      Hmm, prime numbers are weird – but also really useful!
      You might already know that prime numbers are number that are divisible only by itself and 1. They’re really important numbers in computing so when you use your phone you are actually relying on technology that’s based on prime numbers.

    • Photo: Emma Crawford

      Emma Crawford answered on 11 Nov 2018:

      Prime numbers are the mavericks of maths. They are not evenly divisible by any other number. They start 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61… and go on forever. Their distribution among more humdrum multiples seems random, but patterns and peculiarities do emerge.
      Primes are known as the “atoms” of maths because every number has a unique collection of primes which multiply together to produce it.

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