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Exercise 2197Number theory › PrimesM1Added 3 Nov 2026

The prime number theorem (statement)

#prime number theorem#asymptotic#pi function

Statement

State the prime number theorem and compute its prediction for π(106)\pi(10^6).

Hint

π(x)∼x/ln⁡x\pi(x)\sim x/\ln x.

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Solution

Theorem. π(x)∼x/ln⁡x\pi(x)\sim x/\ln x as x→+∞x\to+\infty, i.e. lim⁡x→+∞π(x)ln⁡x/x=1\lim_{x\to+\infty}\pi(x)\ln x/x=1.

Prediction. For x=106x=10^6: x/ln⁡x=106/ln⁡106=106/(6ln⁡10)≈106/13.816≈72,382x/\ln x=10^6/\ln10^6=10^6/(6\ln10)\approx10^6/13.816\approx72{,}382.

Actual value. π(106)=78,498\pi(10^6)=78{,}498, so the prediction is close (∼8%\sim8\% low, as expected since the next term is x/(ln⁡x)2x/(\ln x)^2).

Conclusion. The prime number theorem gives the correct leading asymptotic of π(x)\pi(x).