Primes: How many prime numbers are there between 40 and 60?

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How many prime numbers are there between 40 and 60 ?

A. 4
B. 5
C. 6
D. 7
E. 8

I know the answer to this question, but am interested in finding a shortcut for getting the prime numbers between 2 numbers.

For example, how can we work out how many prime numbers there are between 130 and 170 ?

Thanks.
II
Last edited by II on Mon May 05, 2008 2:29 am, edited 1 time in total.
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by gabriel » Sat Jan 19, 2008 3:28 am
I dont think that other than counting there is any other way .. Prime numbers do not occur after a fixed interval, so u cant exactly make a general rule for finding the number of prime numbers between 2 numbers.

Regards

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by II » Sat Jan 19, 2008 6:58 pm
gabriel wrote:I dont think that other than counting there is any other way .. Prime numbers do not occur after a fixed interval, so u cant exactly make a general rule for finding the number of prime numbers between 2 numbers.

Regards
Thats also what I think ... but was wondering if anyone had a quick way of finding one.

The only thing I found is:

Last Digits of Perfect Squares in Base 10

In base 10, the last digit of every perfect square is either 0, 1, 4, 5, 6, or 9.
If you know a number is a perfect square then you can determine the last digit of its square root as follows:

* If the last digit of the perfect square is 0, then the last digit of the square root is 0.
* If the last digit of the perfect square is 1, then the last digit of the square root is either 1 or 9.
* If the last digit of the perfect square is 4, then the last digit of the square root is either 2 or 8.
* If the last digit of the perfect square is 5, then the last digit of the square root is 5.
* If the last digit of the perfect square is 6, then the last digit of the square root is either 4 or 6.
* If the last digit of the perfect square is 9, then the last digit of the square root is either 3 or 7.

Determining the Square Root of a Perfect Square More Than or Equal to 100 but Less Than 10000

Suppose you are given a perfect square that is greater than or equal 100 but less than 10,000. All of these perfect squares have two digit square roots. A simple party trick algorithm exists for determining its square root with one or two guesses.

First, separate the digits into pairs of digits starting from the right and moving to the left. For examples, consider the perfect squares 4624, 729, and 1600. Break 4624 into 46|24, or break 729 into 7|29, or 1600 into 16|00.

Second, we find the first digit of the square root. If the leftmost pair is a perfect square, find its square root. If the leftmost pair is not a perfect square, find the square root of the largest perfect square smaller than the leftmost pair. That square root will be the leftmost digit of the square root. For examples, for 46|24, the leftmost pair is 46, which is not a perfect square; but the largest perfect square less than 46 is 36 which has a square root of 6. For 7|29, 7 is not a perfect square, but 4 is the largest square less than 7, and its square root is 2. For 16|00, the square root of 16 is 4.

Third, as mentioned in an earlier section, if we know the last digit of a perfect square in base ten, then we can also know the last digit of its square root in two guesses. Thus, we know the last digit of the square root of 4624 is either 2 or 8; for 729 it is either 3 or 7; for 1600 it is 0.

Fourth, we can guess the square root by conjuncting the second and third steps. The square root of 4624 is either 62 or 68; the square root of 729 is either 23 or 27; the square root of 1600 is 40.

If you use a calculator, you will find that the square roots of 4624, 729, and 1600 are actually 68, 27, and 40.