Math Made Simple: Understanding Congruence Modulo n

Two integers a and b are said to be congruent modulo n, if (a mod n) = (b mod n).

Fermat’s Little Theorem.

This means that when you divide a and b by n, they leave the same remainder. For example, let’s say n = 5. If a = 12 and b = 17, then:

a mod 5 = 2 (12 divided by 5 leaves a remainder of 2)
b mod 5 = 2 (17 divided by 5 also leaves a remainder of 2)

Therefore, a and b are congruent modulo 5.

This concept is often used in number theory, cryptography, and computer science. One common application is in hashing, where we want to store data in a way that allows us to quickly retrieve it later. Modulo arithmetic allows us to map large data sets to smaller values, while preserving their uniqueness.

In addition, modular arithmetic plays a key role in solving problems related to divisibility, finding the greatest common divisor of two numbers, and working with prime numbers. For example, it’s well known that if a number is divisible by a prime p, then we can use congruences to determine whether another number is also divisible by p. This is the basis of the so-called Fermat’s Little Theorem.

In short, congruence modulo n is a powerful tool that allows us to reason about the numerical properties of certain sets of numbers.

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