I need to use the fundamental theorem of arithmetic to show that
if p is prime then √p is irrational.
So far I've stated that √p=m/n where m,n are positive integers, then pn2=m2. Now I can factor m and n into primes but I don't know where to go on from there.
Answer
Given a prime p and some n∈N∗, let we define:
νp(n)=max
Since \mathbb{Z} is a UFD we have \nu_p(ab)=\nu_p(a)+\nu_p(b). In particular, \nu_p of a square is always an even number. If we assume that \sqrt{p}=\frac{m}{n} with m,n\in\mathbb{N}^*, we also have
p n^2 = m^2. \tag{2}
However, such identity cannot hold, since \nu_p(\text{RHS}) is an even number and \nu_p(\text{LHS}) is an odd number. It follows that \sqrt{p}\not\in\mathbb{Q} as wanted.
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