Twin prime facts for kids
A twin prime is a special pair of prime numbers. These two prime numbers are always just two numbers apart from each other. For example, the smallest pair of twin primes is 3 and 5. If you look at them, 5 is exactly two more than 3.
Another example is 5 and 7. Here, 7 is two more than 5. Then comes 11 and 13, and after that, 17 and 19. Mathematicians are still studying twin primes. They want to know if there are endless pairs of these special numbers.
What is an Isolated Prime?
An isolated prime is a prime number that is not part of a twin prime pair. This means that if you take a prime number, neither the number two less than it nor the number two more than it is also a prime number.
For example, the number 23 is an isolated prime. Let's check:
- The number two less than 23 is 21. 21 is not a prime number because it can be divided by 3 and 7 (3 x 7 = 21).
- The number two more than 23 is 25. 25 is not a prime number because it can be divided by 5 (5 x 5 = 25).
Since neither 21 nor 25 are prime, 23 stands alone as an isolated prime.
Examples of Isolated Primes
Here are some of the first isolated prime numbers:
See also
- Número primo gemelo para niños (This link goes to a Spanish article about twin primes for kids.)
