Divisibility

Q1. Prove that if 2n − 1 is prime then n must be prime. Give an example

to show that the converse is not true. Prove that gcd(2n − 1, 2m − 1) =
2gcd(n,m) − 1. More generally, show that if gcd(a, b) = 1 and 0 ≤ m < n, then
gcd(am − bm , an − bn ) = agcd(m,n) − bgcd(m,n) . Hint: Use Euclid’s algorithm.
Q2. Let n > m > 0 be  positive
 integers. Prove that if gcd(n, m) = 1 then the
n
binomial coefficient m is divisible by n. Is the converse of this statement
true? (Hint: There is a simple combinatorial proof for this.) Use this to
prove Fermat’s little theorem that for any prime p and for all x, xp − x is
divisible by p. Prove that 2n − 1 is not divisible by n for any n > 1.
Q3. Let m, n be positive integers such that m divides n. Show that there
exist numbers a, b such that a <= b, gcd(a, b) = m and lcm(a, b) = n. Find
a necessary and sufficient condition on m and n so that there exists a unique
pair of such numbers. Prove that in general the number of solutions is a
power of 2.
Q4. Consider two fractions m/n and m0 /n0 in lowest terms. In other words,
gcd(m, n) = gcd(m0 , n0 ) = 1. Prove that when the sum m/n + m0 /n0 is re-
duced to lowest terms, the denominator will be nn0 if and only if gcd(n, n0 ) =
1.
Q5. Let a, b be positive irrational numbers such that 1/a + 1/b = 1. Prove
that for every positive integer n there exists a positive integer k such that
n = bkac or n = bkbc.