I really like this puzzle. Obvious and so simple in retrospect.

I really like this puzzle. Obvious and so simple in retrospect.

Originally shared by Larry Phillips

A Bit of Number Theory

Choose any prime number p that is larger than 3. Compute p^2 – 1. The result is always divisible by 12.

Examples:

5^2 – 1 = 24 = 12 * 2

13^2 – 1 = 168 = 12 * 14

67^2 – 1 = 4488 = 12 * 374

Why is this true?

#mathematics

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