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Permutable prime

Permutable prime is a mathematics topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Permutable prime rather than just read about it. In short: A permutable prime, also known as anagrammatic prime, is a prime number which, in a given base, can have its digits' positions switched through any permutation and still be a prime number. H.

Key takeaways

  • Permutable prime belongs to mathematics; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Permutable prime to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Permutable prime from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

A permutable prime, also known as anagrammatic prime, is a prime number which, in a given base, can have its digits' positions switched through any permutation and still be a prime number. H. E. Richert, who is supposedly the first to study these primes, called them permutable primes, but later they were also called absolute primes.

Base 2 In base 2, only repunits can be permutable primes, because any 0 permuted to the ones place results in an even number. Therefore, the base 2 permutable primes are the Mersenne primes. The generalization can safely be made that for any positional number system, permutable primes with more than one digit can only have digits that are coprime with the radix of the number system. One-digit primes, meaning any prime below the radix, are always trivially permutable.

Base 10 In base 10, all the permutable primes with fewer than 49,081 digits are known

2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 31, 37, 71, 73, 79, 97, 113, 131, 199, 311, 337, 373, 733, 919, 991, R19 (1111111111111111111), R23, R317, R1031, R49081, ... (sequence A003459 in the OEIS) Where Rn := 10 n − 1 9 {\displaystyle {\tfrac {10^{n}-1}{9}}} is a repunit, a number consisting only of n ones (in base 10). Any repunit prime is a permutable prime with the above definition, but some definitions require at least two distinct digits. Of the above, there are 16 unique permutation sets, with smallest elements

2, 3, 5, 7, R2, 13, 17, 37, 79, 113, 199, 337, R19, R23, R317, R1031, ... (sequence A258706 in the OEIS) All permutable primes of two or more digits are composed from the digits 1, 3, 7, 9, because no prime number except 2 is even, and no prime number besides 5 is divisible by 5. It is proven that no permutable prime exists which contains three different of the four digits 1, 3, 7, 9, as well as that there exists no permutable prime composed of two or more of each of two digits selected from 1, 3, 7, 9. There is no n-digit permutable prime for 3 < n < 6·10175 which is not a repunit. It is conjectured that there are no non-repunit permutable primes other than the eighteen listed above. They can be split into seven permutation sets:

{13, 31}, {17, 71}, {37, 73}, {79, 97}, {113, 131, 311}, {199, 919, 991}, {337, 373, 733}.

Base 12 In base 12, the smallest elements of the unique permutation sets of the permutable primes with fewer than 9,739 digits are known (using inverted two and three for ten and eleven, respectively)

2, 3, 5, 7, B, R2, 15, 57, 5B, R3, 117, 11B, 555B, R5, R17, R81, R91, R225, R255, R4ᘔ5, ... There is no n-digit permutable prime in base 12 for 4 < n < 12144 which is not a repunit. It is conjectured that there are no non-repunit permutable primes in base 12 other than those listed above. In base 10 and base 12, every permutable prime is a repunit or a near-repdigit, that is, it is a permutation of the integer P(b, n, x, y) = xxxx...xxxyb (n digits, in base b) where x and y are digits which is coprime to b. Besides, x and y must be also coprime (since if there is a prime p divides both x and y, then p also divides the number), so if x = y, then x = y = 1. (This is not true in all bases, but exceptions are rare and could be finite in any given base; the only exceptions below 109 in bases up to 20 are: 13911, 36A11, 24713, 78A13, 29E19 (M. Fiorentini, 2015).)

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Permutable prime

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Permutable prime claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In mathematics, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Permutable prime before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Permutable prime ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Permutable prime

In research
Permutable prime appears in mathematics research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Permutable prime in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Permutable prime is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics Base-dependent integer sequences, Classes of prime numbers, Permutations, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Permutable prime outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Permutable prime in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Permutable prime means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Permutable prime out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Permutable prime in simple terms?

A permutable prime, also known as anagrammatic prime, is a prime number which, in a given base, can have its digits' positions switched through any permutation and still be a prime number. H.

Why does Permutable prime matter?

Because it connects several mathematics ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Permutable prime?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Permutable prime.

Tags

  • Base-dependent integer sequences
  • Classes of prime numbers
  • Permutations

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