AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

1. BASIC KNOWLEDGE

1. 1. TERMS

Prime number: A prime number is a positive integer greater than 1 and only
divisible by 1 and itself. Another way of saying this is that a prime number is a
positive integer with exactly two factors (1 and itself).

The smallest prime number: 2, which is an even number and the only even
prime number.

Theorem 1: There are infinite many prime numbers.

Theorem 2: There is no greatest prime number.

Composite number: When a number has more than two factors, the number is
called a composite number.

Relatively prime: If two positive integers have no common factor except 1, the
two positive integers are said to be relatively prime, for example, 4 and 9 are
relatively prime.

1.2. METHOD TO DETERMINE A PRIME NUMBER

Theorem 3 (The square root rule): If a is not divisible by all the prime numbers
less than or equal to a , then a is a prime number.

Example 1. How many prime numbers are there between 51 and 600 ?
(A) 5 (B) 4 (C) 3 (D) 2 (E) 1

Solution: A.
Let the prime number be p.
51  p  600 .
Since 72 = 49 < 51 , p is greater than 7.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

Since 252 = 625 > 600 , p is smaller than 25.

We look at all prime number between 8 to 24: 11, 13, 17, 19, and 23. There are 5
of them.

Example 2. What is the smallest prime number greater than 120?

(A) 121 (B) 123 (C) 125 (D) 127 (E) 131

Solution: D.
121 (11  11), 123 (divisible by 3), 125 (multiple of 5). The next is 127.

We know that 112 = 121 < 127 < 144 = 122. We only need to test if 127 is
divisible by 11, 7, 5, 3, and 2. We are sure that 127 is neither divisible by 2, nor 3
nor 5. We only need to divide 127 by 7 and 11, respectively.
127 =7  17 + 1
127 = 11  11 + 6
So 127 is the smallest prime number greater than 120.

1.3. TWENTY FIVE PRIME NUMBERS (UP TO 100)

There are 25 prime numbers from 1 to 100.

2 3 5 7
11 13 17 19
23 29
31 37
41 43 47
53 59
61 67
71 73 79
83 89
97

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

Example 3. Two prime numbers that differ by two are called twin primes. Find
the sum of a pair of twin primes between 60 and 75.
(A) 135 (B) 138 (C) 141 (D) 144 (E) 148

Solution: D.
71 + 73 = 144.

Example 4. What is the sum of the two-digit prime numbers between 10 and 20?
(A) 33 (B) 34 (C) 56 (D) 58 (E) 60

Solution: E.
11 + 13 + 17 + 19 = 60.

2. PROBLEM SOLVING SKILLS

2.1. Property 1: A prime number p can only be written as p  1.

In other words, a prime number p can only be divided, without a remainder, by

itself and 1.

If p is a prime number and p = mn, then one of the two numbers m and n must be
1 and another one must be p.

Example 5. Find the value of a positive integer x such that, when 64 is taken
away from it, the results is a square number, and when 25 is added to it, the result
is also a square number.
(A) 1400 (B) 1600 (C) 1980 (D) 2000 (E) 1125

Solution: D.
x  64  n 2
 m2  n2  89  (m  n)(m  n)  89
x  25  m 2

Since 89 is a prime number and m + n > m – n,

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

m  n  89
 m = 45, n = 44.
m  n 1
x = 452 – 25 = 2000.

Example 6. Find the value of b – c if a3  b2 , c 2  d , and d  a  5 , where a, b,

c, and d are positive integers.
(A) 5 (B) 9 (C) 12 (D) 24 (E) 25

Solution: A.
Since a and b are positive integers, let a3  b2  t 32  t 6 , we get: a  t 2 and
b  t3 .
Therefore, d  a  5 can be written as c 2  t 2  5 or (c  t )(c  t )  5
Since 5 is a prime number and c + t > c – t, we have:

ct 5
 c = 3, t = 2.
c t 1
b – c = 23 – 3 = 5.

2.2. PROPERTY 2: If the sum of two prime numbers is an odd number, then
one of the two prime numbers must be 2.

Example 7. The sum of two prime numbers is 39. What is their product?
(A) 37 (B) 74 (C) 121 (D) 169 (E) 40

Solution: B.
Since the sum is an odd number, one prime number must be 2. The other one is
then 39 − 2 = 37. The product is 2  37 = 74.

Example 8. The sum of two prime numbers is 49. What is the sum of the
reciprocals of the two prime numbers?
49 1 1
(A) 47 (B) (C) (D) (E) 49
94 47 2

Solution: B.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

Let the two prime numbers be x and y and x < y.

Since y + x = 49, x must be 2 and y = 47.
1 1 49
  .
47 2 94

Example 9. Three prime numbers p, q, and r satisfy the following conditions: p +

q = r and 1 < p < q. Find the value for p.
(A) 2 (B) 3 (C) 5 (D) 7 (E) 23

Solution: A.
Since p, q, and r are all prime numbers, r must be an odd number and one of the
two numbers p and q must be 2.
Since 1 < p < q, p = 2.

Example 10. If a + b + c = 66 and ab + bc + ca = 1071, where a, b, and c are all

prime numbers, find the value of abc.
(A) 1071 (B) 944 (C) 1886 (D) 958 (E) 1024

Solution: C.
Since the sum of three prime numbers is an odd number, one of the prime
numbers must be 2. Let a  b  c , we get a = 2 and b + c = 64.
ab + bc + ca = 1071  2b + bc + 2c = 1071 or 2(b + c) + bc = 1071.
bc = 943. Thus abc = 2  943 = 1886.

2.3. How Many Prime Numbers

Example 11. For how many positive integers n is n2 − 3n + 2 a prime number?

(A) none (B) one (C) two (D) more than two, but finitely many
(E) infinitely many.

Solution: B.
We factor n2 − 3n + 2 = (n − 1)(n − 2).
When (n − 1) = 1, n = 2. n2 − 3n + 2 = 0 which is not a prime.
When n − 1 = −1, n = 0 which is not a positive integer.
When (n − 2) = 1, n = 3. n2 − 3n + 2 = 2 which is a prime.
When (n − 2) = −1, n = 1. n2 − 3n + 2 = 0 which is not a prime.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

Therefore, n2 − 3n + 2 is prime only when n = 3.

Example 12. The positive integers A, B, A − B, and A + B are all prime numbers.
The sum of these four primes is
(A) even (B) divisible by 3 (C) divisible by 5 (D) divisible by 7
(E) prime

Solution: E.
The numbers A − B and A + B are both odd or both even. However, they are also
both prime, so they must both be odd. Therefore, one of A and B is odd and the
other even. Because A is a prime between A − B and A + B, A must be the odd
prime. Therefore, B = 2, the only even prime. So A − 2, A, and A + 2 are
consecutive odd primes and thus must be 3, 5, and 7. The sum of the four primes
2, 3, 5, and 7 is the prime number 17.

Example 13. The product of three prime numbers is five times the sum of these
prime numbers and it is also divisible by 5. Find the remainder when the sum of
these prime numbers is divided by 11.
(A) 9 (B) 7 (C) 6 (D) 3 (E) 1

Solution: D.
Since the product is divisible by 5, one of these prime numbers must be 5.
Let p and q be the other two prime numbers, we have: 5pq = 5(p + q + 5)
 pq – p – q + 1 = 6.  (p – 1)(q – 1) = 6 = 2  3 = 1  6.
If p – 1 = 2 and q – 1 = 3, q = 4 is not a prime number which is not possible.
If p – 1 = 1 and q – 1 = 6, p = 2 and q = 7.
Three prime numbers are (2, 5, 7). The sum is 14 and the answer is 3.

p
Example 14. Find if both p and q are prime numbers and 3 p  5q  31.
3q  1
1 1 1 1
(A) or 1 (B) or 2 (C) or 11 (D) or 17 (E) 5
8 7 5 13

Solution: A.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

Since 3p + 5q = 31, 3p or 5q must be even since two odd numbers do not sum to
an odd integer.

Case I: If 3p is even, p must be 2. We then have 5q = 31 – 3  2 = 25  q = 5.

p 2 1
  .
3q  1 3  5  1 8

Case II: If 5q is even, q must be 2. We then have 3p = 31 – 5  2 = 21  p = 7.

p 7
 1.
3q  1 3  2  1

3. MORE EXAMPLES

Example 15. If m is the greatest prime factor of 57 and n is the greatest prime
factor of 120, what is the value of m + n?
(A) 7 (B) 12 (C) 24 (D) 29 (E) 44

Solution: C.
Since 5 + 7 = 12, 57 is divisible by 3. 57 = 3  19.
120 = 12  10 = 3  4  2  5. The greatest prime factor of 120 is 5.
m + n = 19 + 5 = 24.

Example 16. Jerry chose a four-digit number to be the personal identification

number for his bank account. The first digit (leftmost digit) is prime, the greatest
common factor of the middle two digits is 2, and the last digit is a divisor of 20.
Which of the following numbers could be his personal identification number?
(A) 2463 (B) 3475 (C) 3864 (D) 5467 (E) 6216

Solution: C.
We eliminate (E) since 6 is not a prime. We eliminate (B) since the greatest
common factor of 4 and 7 is not 2. Since the last digit is a divisor of 20, we
eliminate (A) and (D).

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

Example 17. For three positive prime numbers a, b, and c, ab = 55 and bc = 35.
What is the value of abc?
(A) 175 (B) 605 (C) 165 (D) 385 (E) 1925

Solution: D.
ab = 55 = 5  11. bc = 35 = 5  7.
So a = 11, b = 5, and c = 7  abc = 35  11 = 385.

Example 18. How many of the prime factors of 210 are greater than 2?
(A) One (B) Two (C) Three (D) Four (E) Five

Solution: C.
210 = 2  3  5  7. Only 3, 5, and 7 are greater than 2.

Example 19. What is the product of the prime numbers between 30 and 40?
(A) 1023 (B) 1108 (C) 1147 (D) 1221 (E) 1143

Solution: C.
31  37 = 1147.

Example 20. The difference of two prime numbers is 101. What is the value of
the larger prime number?
(A) 101 (B) 103 (C) 107 (D) 109 (E) 191

Solution: B.
Let the two prime numbers be x and y and x < y.
Since y – x = 101. x must be 2 and y = 103.

Example 21. Two prime numbers p and q satisfy the following conditions: p = m
+ n and q = mn, where both m and n are positive integers. Find the value of pq +
qp.
(A) 11 (B) 13 (C) 15 (D) 17 (E) 19

Solution: D.
Since q is a prime number and q = mn, m or n must be 1.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

Let m = 1, we have q = n and p = 1 + n = 1 + q

Since both p and q are prime number, q = 2 and p = 3.
pq + qp = 32 + 23 = 17.

Example 22. If a + b + c = 68 and ab + bc + ca = 1121, where a, b, and c are all

prime numbers, find the value of abc.
(A) 989 (B) 1978 (C) 1292 (D) 323 (E) 1003

Solution: B.
Since the sum of three prime numbers is an odd number, one of the prime
numbers must be 2. Let a  b  c , we get a = 2 and b + c = 66.
ab + bc + ca = 1121  2b + bc + 2c = 1121 or 2(b + c) + bc = 1121.
bc = 989. abc = 2  989 = 1978.

Example 23. For how many positive integers a is a2 – 3a + 2 a prime number?

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3 (E) 4

Solution: B.
We factor: a2 – 3a + 2 = (a – 2)(a – 1).
When (a – 2) = 1, a = 3, a2 – 3a + 2 = 2 (a prime number).
When (a – 2) = –1, a = 1, a2 – 3a + 2 = 6, (not a prime number).
When (a – 1) = 1, a = 2, a2 – 3a + 2 = 0 (not a prime number).
When (a – 1) = –1, a = 0 which is not a positive number.
So there is one positive integer a such that a2 – 3a + 2 is a prime number.

Example 24. Find a positive integer such that the sum of the positive integer and
72 is a square number, and the sum of the positive integer and 55 is also a square
number.
(A) 8 (B) 9 (C) 7 (D) 5 (E) 17

Solution: B.
Let x be the positive integer.
x  72  y 2 (1)
x  55  z 2
(2)

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

(2) – (1):
z 2  y 2  17  ( z  y)(z  y)  17
Since z – y < z + y, we have:
z – y =1
z  y  17
Solving we get: z = 9, y = 8, and x = 9.

Example 25. For how many integers n is n2 − 8n + 15 a prime number?

(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 3 (E) 4

Solution: C.
We factor: n2 − 8n + 15 = (n − 3)(n − 5).
When (n − 3) = 1, n = 4. n2 − 8n + 15 = −1 (not a prime).
When (n − 3) = − 1, n = 2. n2 − 8n + 15 = 3 (a prime).
When (n − 5) = 1, n = 6. n2 − 8n + 15 = 3 ( a prime).
When (n −5) = − 1, n = 4. n2 − 8n + 15 = −1 (not a prime).

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

4. PROBLEMS

Problem 1. The prime number p is a factor of 70 and is also a factor of 105. How
many possible values are there for p ?
(A) One (B) Two (C) Three (D) Four (E) Five

Problem 2. Which of the following is NOT an element of both the set of positive
odd integers and the set of prime numbers?
(A) 7 (B) 17 (C) 37 (D) 47 (E) 57

Problem 3. How many integers greater than 20 and less than 30 are each the
product of exactly two prime numbers?
(A) 3 (B) 4 (C) 5 (D) 6 (E) 7

Problem 4. What is the sum of the first ten prime numbers?

(A) 129 (B) 137 (C) 127 (D) 133 (E) 141

Problem 5. The sum of three consecutive primes is 159. What is the largest of the
three primes?
(A) 53 (B) 57 (C) 59 (D) 61 (E) 47

Problem 6. How many pairs of distinct prime numbers have a sum of 22?
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5

Problem 7. The sum of three prime numbers is 38. Find the largest of the primes.
(A) 17 (B) 19 (C) 37 (D) 31 (E) 41

Problem 8. The Goldbach Conjecture, which has not been proven, states that
every even integer greater than 2 is expressible as the sum of two prime numbers.
In how many ways can the number 36 be expressed as the sum of two primes?
(A) 4 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 1 (E) 5

Problem 9. How many prime numbers satisfy 300  x  700 ?

(A) 2 (B) 0 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

Problem 10. How many ordered triples of primes (a, b, c) exist such that a + b +
c = 7?
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5

Problem 11. How many ordered pairs of primes (a, b) satisfy a + b = 20?
(A) 1 (B) 4 (C) 3 (D) 2 (E) 5

Problem 12. How many ordered triples of primes (a, b, c) exist such that
a  b  c and a + b + c = 26?
(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5

Problem 13. If a + b + c = 28 and ab + bc + ca = 185, where a, b, and c are all

prime numbers, find the greatest of the three prime numbers.
(A) 21 (B) 12 (C) 17 (D) 19 (E) 26

Problem 14. The sum of three prime numbers is 40. Find the largest possible
product of the two of the three prime numbers.
(A) 144 (B) 221 (C) 323 (D) 217 (E) 361

Problem 15. How many ordered triples of three prime numbers exist for which
the sum of the members of the triple is 24?
(A) 6 (B) 15 (C) 12 (D) 3 (E) 5

Problem 16. If the sum of the square of a prime number and an odd positive
integer is 125, find the odd positive integer.
(A) 121 (B) 131 (C) 161 (D) 125 (E) 177

Problem 17. For how many positive integers n is n2 − 4n − 21 a prime number?

(A) 1 (B) 2 (C) 3 (D) 4 (E) 5

Problem 18. A group of 25 pennies is arranged into three piles such that each pile
contains a different prime number of pennies. What is the greatest number of
pennies possible in any of the three piles?
(A) 13 (B) 15 (C) 11 (D) 17 (E) 19

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

Problem 19. Find the sum of all integral values of x such that 8x2 + 2x − 55 is
prime.
(A) 0 (B) 1 (C) 2 (D) 14 (E) 51

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

5. SOLUTIONS

Problem 1. Solution: B.
70 = 7  5  2. 105 = 7  5  3. There are two values: 7 and 5,

Problem 2. Solution: E.
The sum of the digits of 57 is 5 + 7 = 12. So 57 is divisible by 3. 57 = 3  17.

Problem 3. Solution: B.
21 = 3  7; 22 = 2  11; 25 = 5  5; and 26 = 2  13.

Problem 4. Solution: A.
2 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 11 + 13 + 17 + 19 + 23 + 29 = 129.

Problem 5. Solution: C.
159/3 = 53 which is a prime number. So we know that the other two prime
numbers are 47 and 59.

Problem 6. Solution: B.
22 = 2 + 20 = 3 + 19 = 5 + 17 = 7 + 15 = 11 + 11
Only (3, 19) and (5, 17) are pairs of distinct prime.

Problem 7. Solution: D.
Since the sum is even, there must be a 2 in them. The sum of the other two prime
numbers is 36.

36 = 3+ 33 = 5 + 31 = 7 + 29 = 11 + 25 = 13 + 23 = 17 + 19.
The pairs of prime numbers are ( 5, 31), (7, 29), (13, 23), and (17, 19). The largest
one is 31.

Problem 8. Solution: A.
36 = 5 + 31 = 7 + 29 = 13 + 23 = 17 + 19.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

Problem 9. Solution: A.
300  x  700  18  x  26 . We have two prime numbers: 19 and 23.

Problem 10. Solution: C.

We see that 2 + 2 + 3 = 7. So we have 3 ordered triplets: (2, 2, 3), (2, 3, 2), and (3,
2, 2).

Problem 11. Solution: B.

Since 20 = 3 + 17 = 7 + 13, we have 4 ordered pair: (3, 17), (17, 3), (7, 13), and
(13, 7).

Problem 12. Solution: C.

Since the sum is even, there must be a 2 in them. The sum of the other two prime
numbers is 24.

Since 24 = 3 + 21 (not a prime) = 5 + 19 = 7 + 17 = 11 + 13, we have 3 ordered

triplets: (2, 5, 19), (2, 7, 17), and (2, 11, 13).

Problem 13. Solution: D.

Since the sum of three prime numbers is an odd number, one of the prime
numbers must be 2. Let a  b  c , we get a = 2 and b + c = 26. ab + bc + ca =
2b + bc + 2c = 185 or 2(b + c) + bc = 185. bc = 133 which is divisible by 7. bc
= 7  19. The greatest of a, b, c is 19.

Problem 14. Solution: E.

Since the sum is even, there must be a 2 in them. The sum of the other two prime
numbers is 38.

Since 38 = 3 + 35 (not a prime) = 5 + 33 (not a prime) = 7 + 31 = 11 + 27 (not a

prime) = 13 + 25 (not a prime) = 17 + 21 (not a prime) = 19 + 19, we have 2
ordered triplets: (2, 7, 31), and (2, 19, 19). 7  31 = 217. 19  19 = 361.

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AMC 8 Preparation Chapter 15 Prime Numbers

Problem 15. Solution: B.

Since the sum is even, there must be a 2 in them. The sum of the other two prime
numbers is 22.

Since 22 = 3 + 19 = 5 + 17 = 7 + 15 (not a prime) = 11 + 11, we have 15 ordered

triplets:

6 triplets (2, 3, 19), 3 triplets (2, 11, 11), and 6 triplets (2, 5, 17).

Problem 16. Solution: A.

Let the prime number be p and the odd number be 2n + 1. p2 + 2n + 1 = 125.
Since 125 is an odd number, p must be 2. Thus the odd number is 2n + 1 = 125 −
4 = 121.

Problem 17. Solution: A.

We factor: n2 − 4n − 21 = (n + 3)(n − 7).
When (n + 3) = 1, n = −2 (not positive, thus ignored).
When (n + 3) = − 1, n = −4. (not positive, thus ignored).
When (n − 7) = 1, n = 8. (n + 3)(n − 7) = 11 (a prime).
When (n − 7) = − 1, n = 6. (n + 3)(n − 7) = −9 (not a prime).

Problem 18. D.
25 = 3 + 5 + 17 = 5 + 7 + 13 = 3 + 11 + 11 (not all different) = 3 + 3 + 19 (not all
different) = 7 + 7 + 11 (not all different). The greatest number is 17.

Problem 19. Solution: A.

We factor: 8x2 + 2x − 55 = (2x − 5)(4x + 11).
When (2x − 5 ) = 1, x = 3. (2x − 5)(4x + 11) = 23 (a prime).
When (2x − 5) = − 1, x = 2. (2x − 5)(4x + 11) is negative.
When (4x + 11) = 1, x = −10/4 = −5/2 (not an integer).
When (4x + 11) = − 1, x = −3. (2x − 5)(4x + 11) = 11 (a prime).
3 – 3 = 0.

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