Determine whether or not N is a composite number, where

NOTE:
A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number that has exactly two (distinct) natural number divisors, which are 1 and the prime number itself. A composite number is a positive integer which has a positive divisor other than one or itself. By definition, every integer greater than one is either a prime number or a composite number. The numbers 0 and 1 are considered to be neither prime nor composite.

(In reply to re: A first stab at the solution by Federico Kereki)

I can't equate that multiplication to the original polynomial.

OTOH, starting with x^12 and x^11 and playing around a little gave factors (x^12 + x^11 - 1) and (x^11 - x^10 + 1).

 

 

Posted by xdog on 2006-04-27 16:17:13