1987 AJHSME Problems/Problem 20

Problem

"If a whole number $n$ is not prime, then the whole number $n-2$ is not prime." A value of $n$ which shows this statement to be false is

$\textbf{(A)}\ 9 \qquad \textbf{(B)}\ 12 \qquad \textbf{(C)}\ 13 \qquad \textbf{(D)}\ 16 \qquad \textbf{(E)}\ 23$

Solution

To show this statement to be false, we need a non-prime value of $n$ such that $n-2$ is prime. Since $13$ and $23$ are prime, they won't prove anything relating to the truth of the statement.

Now we just check the statement for $n=9,12,16$. If $n=12$ or $n=16$, then $n-2$ is $10$ or $14$, which aren't prime. However, $n=9$ makes $n-2=7$, which is prime, so $n=9$ proves the statement false.

Therefore, the answer is $\boxed{\textbf{A}}$, 9.

See Also

1987 AJHSME (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 19
Followed by
Problem 21
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
All AJHSME/AMC 8 Problems and Solutions

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