Today’s Topics

Integers and division

 The division algorithm
 Modular arithmetic
 Applications of modular arithmetic
 What is number theory?

Number theory is the branch of mathematics that

explores the integers and their properties.

Number theory has many applications within computer

science, including:
 Organizing data
 Encrypting sensitive data
 Developing error correcting codes
 Generating “random” numbers
 …

We will only scratch the surface…

The notion of divisibility is one of the most basic
properties of the integers

Definition: If a and b are integers and a ≠ 0, we say

that a divides b if there is an integer c such that b = ac.
We write a | b to say that a divides b, and a | b to say
that a does not divide b.

Mathematically: a | b ↔ ∃ c∈Z (b = ac)

Note: If a | b, then
a is called a factor of b
b is called a multiple of a

We’ve been using the notion of divisibility all along!

E = {x | x = 2k ∧ k ∈ Z}
 Division examples

Examples:
 Does 4 | 16?
 Does 3 | 11?
 Does 7 | 42?

Question: Let n and d be two positive integers. How

many positive integers not exceeding n are divisible by
d?
 Division examples

Examples:
 Does 4 | 16? Yes, 16 = 4 × 4
 Does 3 | 11? No, because 11/3 is not an
integer
 Does 7 | 42? Yes, 42 = 7 × 6

Question: Let n and d be two positive integers. How

many positive integers not exceeding n are divisible
by d?
Answer: We want to count the number of integers of
the form dk that are less than n. That is, we want
to know the number of integers k with 0 ≤ dk ≤ n, or
0 ≤ k ≤ n/d. Therefore, there are ⎣n/d⎦ positive
integers not exceeding n that are divisible by d.
 Important properties of divisibility

Property 1: If a | b and a | c, then a | (b + c)

Proof: If a | b and a | c, then there exist integers j

and k such that b = aj and c = ak. Hence, b + c = aj
+ ak = a(j + k). Thus, a | (b + c).

Property 2: If a | b, then a | bc for all integers c.

Proof: If a | b, then this is some integer j such that b

= aj. Multiplying both sides by c gives us bc = ajc, so
by definition, a | bc.
 One more property

Property 3: If a | b and b | c, then a | c.

Proof: If a | b and b | c, then there exist integers j

and k such that b = aj and c = bk. By substitution,
we have that c = ajk, so a | c.
 Division algorithm

Theorem: Let a be an integer and let d be a positive

integer. There are unique integers q and r, with 0 ≤ r
< d, such that a = dq + r.

For historical reasons, the above theorem is called the

division algorithm, even though it isn’t an algorithm!

Terminology: Given a = dq + r
 d is called the divisor
 q is called the quotient
 r is called the remainder
 q = a div d
 r = a mod d
 Examples
Question: What are the quotient and remainder when 123 is
divided by 23?

Question: What are the quotient and remainder when -11 is

divided by 3?
 Examples

Question: What are the quotient and remainder when 123 is

divided by 23?

Answer: We have that 123 = 23 × 5 + 8. So the quotient is 123

div 23 = 5, and the remainder is 123 mod 23 = 8.
Question: What are the quotient and remainder when -11 is
divided by 3?

Answer: Since -11 = 3 × -4 + 1, we have that the quotient is -11

and the remainder is 1.

Recall that since the remainder must be positive, 3 × -3 – 2 is not

a valid use of the division theorem!
Many programming languages use the div and
mod operations
For example, in Java, C, and C++
 / corresponds to div when used on integer arguments
 % corresponds to mod
public static void main(String[] args)
{
int x = 2;
int y = 5; Prints out 2, not
float z = 2.0; 2.5!
Prints out 1

System.out.println(y/x);
System.out.println(y%x); Prints out 2.5
System.out.println(y/z);
}
This can be a source of many errors, so be careful in
your future classes!
 Group work!

Problem 1: Does
1. 12 | 144
2. 4 | 67
3. 9 | 81

Problem 2: What are the quotient and remainder when

1. 64 is divided by 8
2. 42 is divided by 11
3. 23 is divided by 7
4. -23 is divided by 7
Sometimes, we care only about the remainder of an
integer after it is divided by some other integer

Example: What time will it be 22 hours from now?

Answer: If it is 1pm now, it will be (13 + 22) mod 24 =

35 mod 24 = 11 am in 22 hours.
Since remainders can be so important, they have
their own special notation!

Definition: If a and b are integers and m is a positive

integer, we say that a is congruent to b modulo m if
m | (a – b). We write this as a ≡ b mod m.

Note: a ≡ b mod m iff a mod m = b mod m.

Examples:
 Is 17 congruent to 5 modulo 6?
 Is 24 congruent to 14 modulo 6?
Since remainders can be so important, they have
their own special notation!
Definition: If a and b are integers and m is a positive
integer, we say that a is congruent to b modulo m if
m | (a – b). We write this as a ≡ b mod m.

Note: a ≡ b mod m iff a mod m = b mod m.

Examples:
 Is 17 congruent to 5 modulo 6? Yes, since 6 | (17 – 5)
 Is 24 congruent to 14 modulo 6? No, since 6 | (24 – 14)
 Properties of congruencies

Theorem: Let m be a positive integer. The integers a

and b are congruent modulo m iff there is an integer k
such that a = b + km.

Theorem: Let m be a positive integer. If a ≡ b (mod

m) and c ≡ d (mod m), then
 (a + c) ≡ (b + d) (mod m)
 ac ≡ bd (mod m)
Congruencies have many applications within
computer science

Today we’ll look at three:

1. Hash functions
2. The generation of pseudorandom numbers
3. Cryptography
 Hash functions allow us to quickly and
efficiently locate data
Problem: Given a large collection of records, how can we find the
one we want quickly?

Solution: Apply a hash function that determines the storage

location of the record based on the record’s ID. A common hash
function is h(k) = k mod n, where n is the number of available
storage locations.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Memory:

42 mod 8 = 2 276 mod 8 = 4 23 mod 8 = 7

ID: 42 ID: 276 ID: 23

… … …
… … …
Hash functions are not one-to-one, so we must
expect occasional collisions
Solution 1: Use next available location
Memory: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7

42 mod 8 = 2 10 mod 8 = 2

ID: 42 ID: 10
… …
… …

Solution 2: Pointer tables

Memory: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
42: 3
9: 4

42 mod 3 = 0 9 mod 3 = 0
ID: 42 ID: 9
… …
… …
Many areas of computer science rely on the ability to
generate pseudorandom numbers

Coding algorithms

Hardware, software, and

network simulation
Security

Network protocols
 Congruencies can be used to generate
pseudorandom sequences

Step 1: Choose Step 2: Apply the following

 A modulus m  xn+1 = (axn + c) mod m
 A multiplier a
 An increment c
 A seed x0

Example: m = 9, a = 7, c = 4, x0 = 3
 x1 = 7x0 + 4 mod 9 = 7 × 3 + 4 mod 9 = 25 mod 9 = 7
 x2 = 7x1 + 4 mod 9 = 7 × 7 + 4 mod 9 = 53 mod 9 = 8
 x3 = 7x2 + 4 mod 9 = 7 × 8 + 4 mod 9 = 60 mod 9 = 6
 x4 = 7x3 + 4 mod 9 = 7 × 6 + 4 mod 9 = 46 mod 9 = 1
 x5 = 7x4 + 4 mod 9 = 7 × 1 + 4 mod 9 = 11 mod 9 = 2
 …
The field of cryptography makes heavy use of
number theory and congruencies
Cryptography is the study of secret messages

Uses of cryptography:
 Protecting medical records
 Storing and transmitting military secrets
 Secure web browsing
 …

Congruencies are used in cryptosystems from antiquity, as

well as in modern-day algorithms

Since modern algorithms require quite a bit of sophistication

to discuss, we’ll examine an ancient cryptosystem
The Caesar cipher is based on congruencies

To encode a message using the Caesar cipher:

 Choose a shift index s
 Convert each letter A-Z into a number 0-25
 Compute f(p) = p + s mod 26

Example: Let s = 9. Encode “ATTACK”.

 ATTACK = 0 19 19 0 2 11
 f(0) = 9, f(19) = 2, f(2) = 11, f(11) = 20
 Encrypted message: 9 2 2 9 11 20 = JCCJLU
Decryption involves using the inverse function

That is, f-1(p) = p - s mod 26

Example: Assume that s = 3. Decrypt the message

“VHWVHDW”.
 VHWVHDW = 20 7 22 20 7 3 22
 f-1(20) = 17, f-1(7) = 4, f-1(22) = 19, f-1(3) = 0
 Decrypted result: 17 4 19 17 4 0 19 = RETREAT
 Group work!

Problem 1:
1. Is 4 congruent to 8 mod 3?
2. Is 45 congruent to 12 mod 9?
3. Is 21 congruent to 28 mod 7?

Problem 2: The message“RS GPEWW RIBX XYRWHEC”

was encrypted with the Caesar cipher using s = 4.
Decrypt it.
 Final thoughts

 Number theory is the study of integers and their

properties

 Divisibility, modular arithmetic, and congruency are

used throughout computer science

 Next time:
 Prime numbers, GCDs, integer representation (Section 3.5)