An introduction to Prime Numbers


If you were to walk up to a random person on the street and try to engage them in a conversation about prime numbers they would probably think you are:

a) strange
b) nerdy
c) boring
d) all of the above

At least these are the reactions that I've personally experienced!! That is unless that random person you spoke with just happens to be a mathematician, in which case you would probably have an enthralling conversation about them about the prime number theorem or the distribution of primes.

My goal in making this website is to change this! As I have researched prime numbers I have found it to be an incredibly interesting subject that we use extensively in our daily lives! I hope that as you navigate this website you will come to share my enthusiasm and excitement for prime numbers, if only a little, and learn something new and useful!


So let's start at the beginning, what is a prime number?

Definition
A prime number is a positive integer greater than one, which has no positive integer divisors other than one and itself.


Below you'll see an original applet I've created, click the checkboxes to circle multiples of each of the listed number
Which numbers are left over?



Hopefully you realized that the numbers left uncircled were all the prime numbers up to 100. This applet depicts a famous method of finding prime numbers called the "Sieve of Eratosthenes". Now let's move on to the other tabs of this website to find out more about these prime numbers!!

For more information on the "Sieve of Eratosthenes" check out my Activities page

Go to top

I am AWESOME!!!