OmegaLearn.org Chapter 2.

Number Theory

2.7 Bases

Definition 2.7.1 (Bases). A number expressed in base-n is similar to base 10 except instead
of regrouping to a new place value every 10, we regroup every n.

A number in base n with digits am , am−1 . . . a2 , a1 , a0 can be expressed in the form

a0 · n0 + a1 · n1 + a2 · n2 + . . . am−1 · nm−1 + am · nm

where all ai are digits of the number

Video Link(s)
Base Conversion Basics
AMC 10/12 problems related to bases

Theorem 2.7.2 (Chicken McNugget Theorem)

The maximum value that cannot be expressed as the sum of non-negative multiples of a
and b is ab − a − b if a and b are relatively prime.
For relatively prime positive integers a, b ,there are exactly (a−1)(b−1)
2
positive integers
which cannot be expressed in the form ma + nb where m and n are positive integers.

Remark 2.7.3
This theorem is useful in finding solutions to problems like ”the maximum amount of
money that can’t be created with 3 cent and 5 cent coins”.

2.8 P-adic Evaluation

Definition 2.8.1. [Vp Notation] vp (n) is defined as the exponent of p in the prime factoriza-
tion of n.
For example, v5 (75) = 2 since 75 has 2 factors of 5. v2 (27) = 0 since 27 is odd and has no
factors of 2.

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