NUMBER SYSTEM

Number System
(i) Natural Numbers:
 The counting numbers 1, 2, 3, 4,…. are called Natural Numbers. The set of natural number is
denoted by N.
Thus N = {1, 2, 3, 4, ….}. N is also denoted by I or Z+
(ii) Whole Numbers:
 Natural numbers including zero are called whole numbers. The set whole numbers, is
denoted by W.
Thus W = {0, 1, 2, …..}. W is also called as set non –ve integers.
(ii) Integers:
 The numbers ….–3, –2, –1, 0, 1, 2, 3,… are called integers and the set is denoted by I or Z.
Thus I (or Z) = {… –3, –2, –1, 0, 1, 2, 3…}
(a) Set of negative integers, denoted by I– and consists of {…., –3, –2, –1}
(b) Set of non-positive integers {….., –3, –2, –1, 0}
(iv) Even Integers:
 Integers which are divisible by 2 are called even integers.
e.g., 0, ± 2, ± 4, …..
(v) Odd Integers:
 Integers, which are not divisible by 2 are called as odd integers. e.g., ±1, ±3, ±5, ±7 ….
(vi) Prime Number:
 Let ‘p’ be a natural number ‘p’ is said to be prime if it has exactly two distinct factors, namely
1 and itself.
e.g., 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, …..
(vii) Composite Number:
 Let ‘a’ be a natural number, ‘a’ is said to be composite if, it has atleast three distinct factors.
Note:
(i) ‘1’ is neither prime nor composite.
(ii) ‘2’ is the only even prime number.
(iii) Number which are not prime are composite numbers (except 1).
(iv) ‘4’ is the smallest composite number.
(viii) Co-Prime Numbers:
 Two natural numbers (not necessarily prime) are co-prime, if there H.C.F. (Highest Common
Factor) is one.
e.g., (1, 2), (1, 3), (3, 4), (3, 10), (3, 8), (5, 6), (7, 8) etc.
These numbers are also called as relatively prime numbers.
Note: (a) Two distinct prime numbers are always co-prime but converse need not be true.
(b) Consecutive numbers are always co-prime numbers.
(ix) Twin Prime Numbers:
 If the difference between two prime numbers is two, then the numbers are called as twin
prime numbers. e.g., {3, 5}, {5, 7}, {11, 13}, {17, 19}, {29, 31}.
(x) Rational Numbers:
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 All the numbers which can be represented in the form p/q, where p and q are integers and
q  0 , are called rational numbers and their set is denoted by Q.
p 
Thus Q   :p, q I and q  0  . It may be noted that every integer is a rational number since
 Q 
it can be written as p/1. The decimal part of rational numbers are either finite or recurring.
(xi) Irrational Numbers:
 There are real numbers which cannot be expressed in p/q form. These numbers are called
irrational numbers and their set is denoted by QC or Q'. (i.e., complementary set of Q) e.g.,
2,1  3, e  etc. Irrational numbers can not be expressed as recurring decimals.
Note: e  2.71 is called Napier’s constant and   3.14
(xii) Real Numbers:
 The complete set of rational and irrational number is the set of real numbers and is denoted
by R. Thus R  Q  Q C .
Real numbers can be represented as points of a line. This line is called as real line or number
line
All the real numbers follow the order property i.e. if there are two distinct real numbers ‘a’
and ‘b’ then either a < b or a > b.
Note: (a) Integers are rational numbers, but converse need not be true.
(b) Negative of an irrational number is an irrational number.
(c) Sum of a rational number and an irrational number is always an irrational number e.g.,
2 3
(d) The product of a non zero rational number & an irrational number will always be an
irrational number.
(e) If a  Q and b  Q , then ab = rational number, only if a = 0.
(f) Sum, difference, product and quotient of two irrational numbers need not be an
irrational number (it may be a rational number also).
(xiii) Complex Number:
 A number of the form a + ib is called complex number, where a, b  R and i  1 . Complex
number is usually denoted by C
Note: If may be noted that N  W  I  R  C .
Divisibility Test:
(1) A number will be divisible by 2 iff the digit at the unit place is divisible by 2.
(2) A number will be divisible by 3 iff the sum of digits of the number is divisible by 3
(3) A number will be divisible by 4 iff last two digits of the number together are divisible by 4.
(4) A number will be divisible by 5 iff digit at the unit place is either 0 or 5.
(5) A number will be divisible by 6 iff the digit at the unit place of the number is divisible by 2 &
sum of all digits of the number is divisible by 3.
(6) Divisibility test of 7: Make two set of three nos. starts from unit digit then add the alternate
sets, and find out the mutual difference, if it is 0 or any multiple of 7 then the given no. is
divisible by 7.
e.g., 001234567
567 + 001 – 234 = 334
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 Since 334 is not divisible by 7 the given no. is also not divisible by 7.
The same test is applicable for 11 & 13. In these cases we have to see the result is divisible by
11 or 13 respectively or not.
(7) A number will be divisible by 8 iff the last 3 digits, all together, is divisible by 8.
(8) A number will be divisible by 9 iff sum of all it’s digits is divisible by 9.
(9) A number will be divisible by 10 iff it’s last digit is 0.
(10) A number will be divisible by 11, iff the difference between the sum of the digits at even
places and sum of the digits at odd places is a multiple of 11.
e.g., 1298, 1221, 123321, 12344321, 1234554321, 123456654321, 795432
(11) Divisibility By 12: A number is divisible by 12, if it is divisible by both 4 and 3.
(12) Divisibility By 14: A number is divisible by 14, if it is divisible by 2 as well as 7.
(13) Divisibility By 15: A number is divisible by 15, if it is divisible by both 3 and 5.
(14) Divisibility by 16: A number is divisible by 16, if the number formed by the last 4 digits is
divisible by 16.
(15) Divisibility by 24: A given number is divisible by 24, if it is divisible by both 3 and 8.
(16) Divisibility by 40: A given number is divisible by 40, if it is divisible by both 5 and 8.
(17) Divisibility by 80: A given number is divisible by 80, if it is divisible by both 5 and 16.
 If a number is divisible by p as well as q, where p and q are co-primes, then the given number
is divisible by pq.
 If p and q are not co-primes, then the given number need not be divisible by pq, even when it
is divisible by both p and q.
(i) Remainder Theorem:
 Let P(x) be any polynomial of degree greater than or equal to one and ‘a’ be any real number.
If P(x) is divided by (x – a), then the remainder is equal to P(a)
(ii) Factor Theorem:
 Let P(x) be a polynomial of degree greater than of equal to 1 and ‘a’ be a real number such
that P(a) = 0, then (x – a) is a factor of P(x). Conversely, if (x – a) is a factor of P(x), then
P(a) = 0.
(iii) Some Important Formulae:
(1) (a  b)2  a2  2ab  b2 = (a  b)2  4ab
(2) (a  b)2  a2  2ab  b2  (a  b)2  4ab
(3) a2  b2  (a  b)(a  b)
(4) (a  b)3  a3  b3  3ab(a  b)
(5) (a  b)3  a3  b3  3ab(a  b)
(6) a3  b3  (a  b)3  3ab(a  b)  (a  b)(a2  b2  ab)
(7) a3  b3  (a  b)3  3ab(a  b)  (a  b)(a2  b2  ab)
(8) (a  b  c)2  a2  b2  c2  2ab  2bc  2ca
1 1 1
 a2  b2  c2  2abc    
a b c
1
(9) a2  b2  c2  ab  bc  ca  [(a  b)2  (b  c)2  (c  a)2 ]
2

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 (10) a3  b3  c3  3abc  (a  b  c)(a2  b2  c2  ab  bc  ca)
1
 (a  b  c)[(a  b)2  (b  c)2  (c  a)2 ]
2
if a + b + c = 0, then a3  b3  c3  3abc .
(11) a4  b4  (a  b)(a  b)(a2  b2 )
(12) a4  a2  1  (a2  1)2  a2  (1  a  a2 )(1  a  a2 )

Theory of Numbers
(1) Every number is of one of the forms, 5n, 5n ± 1, 5n ± 2.
(2) Every square number is of one of the forms 5n, 5n ± 1.
(3) The square of every odd number is of the form 8n + 1.
Theorems on Division:
(1) If both ‘a’ and ‘b’ are divisible by ‘c’, so also is ma ± nb.
(2) If ‘r’ is the remainder when ‘a’ is divided by ‘b’ , then ‘cr’ is the remainder when ‘ca’ is divided
by ‘cb’.
(3) If both ‘a’ and ‘b’ are divisible by ‘c’ and ‘r’ is the remainder when ‘a’ is divided by ‘b’ then (i)
‘r’ is divisible by ‘c’ and (ii) ‘r/c’ is the remainder when ‘a/c’ is divided by ‘b/c’.
Theorems on the Greatest Common Divisor:
(1) If ‘r’ is the remainder when ‘a’ is divided by ‘b’, the common divisors of ‘a’ and ‘b’ are the
same as those of ‘b’ and ‘r’.
(2) If ‘a’ and ‘b’ are any two numbers, there exists a number ‘g’, and one only such that the
common divisors of ‘a’ and ‘b’ are the same as the divisors of ‘g’.
(3) If ‘a’ and ‘b’ are each multiplied by any number ‘m’ or are divided by a common divisor ‘m’,
then ‘g’, the greatest common divisor of ‘a’ and ‘b’, is multiplied or divided by ‘m’.
Numbers Prime to Each Other:
(1) If the product ‘ab’ is divisible by a number ‘m’, and ‘m’ is prime to one factor ‘a’, then ‘m’ is a
divisor of the other factor ‘b’.
(2) If ‘a’ is prime to ‘b’, and each of these numbers is a divisor of N, then ‘ab’ is a divisor of N.
(3) If ‘a’ is prime to ‘b’, positive integers z, y can be found such that ax  by  1 .

Theorems on Prime Numbers:

(1) A prime number, ‘p’, is prime to every number which is not a multiple of ‘p’.
(2) If a prime ‘p’ is a divisor of a product ‘abcd … hk’, it is a divisor of at least one of the factor ‘a,
b, ….. k’.
Theorems on Numbers, Prime or Composite:
(1) Every composite number N has at least one prime divisor.
(2) A composite number can be expressed as the product of prime factors in one way only.
(3) If m is prime to each of the numbers, a, b, …, k, it is prime to the product ab …. k.
(4) If ‘a’ is prime to ‘b’, then ‘an’ is prime to ‘bn’, where ‘n’ is any integer l and conversely.
(5) The sequence of primes is endless.
Theorems:
(1) The product of any ‘n’ consecutive integers is divisible by n .

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(2) If ‘n’ is a prime, Cnr is divisible by n.

Important Identities
Cyclic Expressions:
(1) (b  c)  (c  a)  (a  b)  0 .
(2) a(b  c)  b(c  a)  c(a  b)  0 .
(3) a2 (b  c)  b2 (c  a)  c2 (a  b)  (b  c)(c  a)(a  b) .
(4) bc(b  c)  ca(c  a)  ab(a  b)  (b  c)(c  a)(a  b) .
(5) a(b2  c2 )  b(c2  a2 )  c(a2  b2 )  (b  c)(c  a)(a  b)
(6) a3 (b  c)  b3 (c  a)  c3 (a  b)  (b  c)(c  a)(a  b)(a  b  c) .
(7) (a  b  c)(bc  ca  ab)  a(b2  c2 )  b(c2  a2 )  c(a2  b2 )  3abc .
(8) (b  c)(c  a)(a  b)  a(b2  c2 )  b(c2  a2 )  c(a2  b2 )  2abc .
(9) a3  b3  c3  3abc  (a  b  c)(a2  b2  c2  bc  ca  ab) .
(10) (b  c)2  (c  a)2  (a  b)2  2(a2  b2  c2  bc  ca  ab) .
(11) (a  b  c)(b  c  a)(c  a  b)(a  b  c)  a4  b4  c4  2b2c2  2c2a2  2a2b2 .

Theory of Numbers (2)

Fermat’s Theorem:
 If p is a prime and a is any number prime to p, then ap1  1 is divisible by p.
Corollary 1:
 If p is a prime and a is any number whatever, then ap  a is divisible by p.
 For ap  a  a(ap1  1), and if a is prime to p, ap1  1 is divisible by p, which is a prime
number. Hence in all cases ap  a is divisible by p.
 The fifth power of any number N has the same right-hand digit as N.

Wilson’s Theorem:
 If p is a prime number, then p  1  1 is divisible by p.
Lagrange’s Theorem:
 If p is a prime and r is any number less than p – 1, the sum of the products of the numbers 1,
2, 3, …., p – 1 taken r together is divisible by p.

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