Wednesday, 14 June 2017

elementary number theory - What is the remainder of 18! divided by 437?





What is the remainder of 18! divided by 437?



I'm getting a little confused in the solution. It uses Wilson's theorem



Wilson's Theorem:
If p is prime then (p1)!1(mod p)



So it first factors 437 into primes. So 437=1923. Then from Wilson's theorem notes that 18!1(mod 19) so we're part way there, but also says 2222!(mod 23) by Wilson's theorem (really don't know how they got this from 22!1(mod 23).



Also I'm confused how solving this leads to finding the remainder for 18! divided by 437? I understand getting 18! from 19 but not the 23 part.


Answer




By Wilson's theorem, 18!\equiv-1\mod 19 and 22!\equiv-1\mod 23. Now



22!=22\times21\times20\times19\times18!\equiv(-1)(-2)(-3)(-4)18!\equiv(24)18!\equiv(1)18!=18!\mod 23.



Therefore 18!\equiv-1\mod19 and 18!\equiv-1\mod 23.



By the constant case of the Chinese remainder theorem, therefore,



18! \equiv-1\equiv436\mod 437=19\times23.


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