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The Theory of Congruences: A B (Mod M) M - (A - B) or (A - B) Is Divisible by M. A B + MK, K Z

The document discusses the theory of congruences, which defines equivalence classes of integers modulo a positive integer m. It states that integers a and b are congruent modulo m if m divides their difference, written as a ≡ b (mod m). Congruence is an equivalence relation, meaning it is reflexive, symmetric, and transitive. The properties of congruences allow arithmetic operations like addition and multiplication to be performed modulo m. Congruences have applications in computing remainders of large numbers, determining days of the week, and tracking elapsed time.

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120 views2 pages

The Theory of Congruences: A B (Mod M) M - (A - B) or (A - B) Is Divisible by M. A B + MK, K Z

The document discusses the theory of congruences, which defines equivalence classes of integers modulo a positive integer m. It states that integers a and b are congruent modulo m if m divides their difference, written as a ≡ b (mod m). Congruence is an equivalence relation, meaning it is reflexive, symmetric, and transitive. The properties of congruences allow arithmetic operations like addition and multiplication to be performed modulo m. Congruences have applications in computing remainders of large numbers, determining days of the week, and tracking elapsed time.

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KikoTV
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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The Theory of Congruences

If a and b are integers, m is a positive integer and m | ( a – b ), we say that "a is


congruent to b modulo m".  In symbols, we write this as a ≡ b (mod m). 
Congruence was introduced by Karl Friedrich Gauss at the beginning of the 19th
century and is a convenient statement about divisibility.
The following are equivalent and may be used interchangeably.

1. a ≡ b (mod m)
2. m | ( a – b ) or ( a – b ) is divisible by m.
3. a = b + mk , k ∈ Z.
Examples:
 8 ≡ 1 (mod 7) is true since 7 divides (8 – 1).
 5 ≡ -1 (mod 6) is true since 6 divides (5 – (-1)).
  It is not true that 12 ≡ 5 (mod 8) because 8 does not divide (12 – 5).

Let mbe a positive integer.  A collection of m integers  is called


a complete residue system modulo m if every integer b modulo m is congruent to
one of the elements in the collection.
For example, the set {0, 1, 2, 3} forms a complete residue system modulo 4. 
Properties of Congruences
Congruence is an equivalence relation in the set of integers, i.e. congruence
is reflexive, symmetric and transitive with respect to integers.

1. a ≡ a (mod m) (Reflexive)
2. a ≡ b (mod m) ⇔ b ≡ a (mod m) (Symmetric)
3. If a ≡ b (mod m) and b ≡ c (mod m), then  a ≡ c (mod m) (Transitive)
 Examples:

1. 5 ≡ 5 (mod 6)
2. 1 ≡ 4 (mod 3), then 4 ≡ 1 (mod 6)
3. If 2 ≡ -1 (mod 3) and -1 ≡ 5 (mod 3), then  2 ≡ 5 (mod 3)
Other properties of congruences:
Given any integers a, b, c, d and any positive integer m and n:
 If a ≡ b (mod m) and c ≡ d (mod m), then
o a + c ≡ b + d (mod m)
o a – c ≡ b – d (mod m)
o ac ≡ bd (mod m)
 If a ≡ b (mod m), then If an ≡ bn (mod m)
 If a ≡ b (mod m), then If ac ≡ bc (mod m)
 If ac ≡ bc (mod m), then a ≡ b (mod m/d ), where d = ( c, m )
Examples:
A. Find the least nonnegative residue of the following:
a. 25 (mod 5)
b. -11 (mod 6)
Answers:
a. 0
b. 1
B. Evaluate.
a. 24 + 39 (mod 11)
b. 32(14) (mod 14)
Answers: 
a. 8
b. 4
Some applications of congruences:
a. Finding the remainder when a very large number is divided by another number.
b. Finding the day of the week given a certain date.
c. Finding the actual time after a certain number of hours.

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