2017 Mathematics Enrichment

Primes in Nature Task Two

Question One Applying the types of primes

So far, you have been exposed to seven different types of primes:

Odd Primes
Even Primes
Additive Primes
Twin Primes
Isolated Primes
Cousin Primes
Sexy Primes

From your reading, you should have discovered that periodical cicadas tend
to have life cycles of 13 and 17.

Which of the types of primes above do 13 and 17 satisfy? Justify your

answers.

Question Two Applying the Euclidean Algorithm

(a) Show, using the Euclidean Algorithm, that 13 and 17 are coprime.
!"
(b) Hence, use the formula , = !"# !,!
to determine the lowest
common multiple of 13 and 17.

Question Three Applying Modular Arithmetic

Recall that the power set of 2 i.e. {2, 4, 8, 16, 32, } has a lot of significance
in modular arithmetic, as it is useful in identifying patterns in various mods.
Below is a table displaying the patterns in the power set for mods 2 to 17.

mod 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
2 0 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2
4 0 1 0 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 4
8 0 2 0 3 2 1 0 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8 8
16 0 1 0 1 4 2 0 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 16
32 0 2 0 2 2 4 0 5 2 10 8 6 4 2 0 15
64 0 1 0 4 4 1 0 1 4 9 4 12 8 4 0 13
128 0 2 0 3 2 2 0 2 8 7 8 9 2 8 0 9
256 0 1 0 1 4 4 0 4 6 3 4 5 4 1 0 1
512 0 2 0 2 2 1 0 8 2 6 8 10 8 2 0 2
1024 0 1 0 4 4 2 0 7 4 1 4 7 2 4 0 4
2048 0 2 0 3 2 4 0 5 8 2 8 1 4 8 0 8
4096 0 1 0 1 4 1 0 1 6 4 4 2 8 1 0 16
(a) Interpret the table above and identify the length of the cycles for each of
the mods.

mod Cycle length

2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17

(b) From part (a), suggest why the cicadas may prefer 13 and 17-year life
cycles.

(c) From part (a), assuming that the length of the cycle correlates to an
increased chance of survival, suggest an alternative life cycle that may be
beneficial for the cicada.

Question Four Applying your understanding

Assume there are two species of periodical cicada. Species A has a 13-year
life cycle and Species B has a 17-year life cycle. A certain predator of the
cicada has a 6-year life cycle.

(a) How often can this predator rely on the Species A cicada as a food
source? Hence, how many generations of Species A cicada survive?

(b) How often can this predator rely on the Species B cicada as a food
source? Hence, how many generations of Species B cicada survive?

(c) How would the answers to (a) and (b) change if the Species A and B
cicada had life cycles of 12 and 18 years, respectively?