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Exercise 547Number theory › PrimesHigh schoolAdded 3 Nov 2026

Euclid's proof of infinitely many primes

#Euclid#contradiction#primes

Statement

Prove that there are infinitely many primes.

Hint

Assume finitely many primes p1,…,pnp_1,\ldots,p_n and consider N=p1⋯pn+1N=p_1\cdots p_n+1.

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Solution

Contradiction. Suppose finitely many primes p1,…,pnp_1,\ldots,p_n. Let N=p1⋯pn+1>1N=p_1\cdots p_n+1>1.

Prime divisor. NN has a prime divisor pp, which is one of the pip_i.

Contradiction. p∣Np\mid N and p∣p1⋯pnp\mid p_1\cdots p_n, so p∣1p\mid1, impossible.

Conclusion. There are infinitely many primes.