What is "Relatively Prime"?

Date: 8/3/96 at 13:25:42
From: Vinod Muthusamy
Subject: Relatively Prime

What does it mean when something is relatively prime?

Date: 8/3/96 at 14:13:2
From: Doctor Robert
Subject: Re: Relatively Prime

Relatively prime cannot apply to one thing, but it can apply to two or 
more numbers.  In that situation, all it means is that the two numbers 
have no common factors.  The numbers themselves may not be prime (they 
have factors other than 1 and themselves), but they have no factors in 
common.  

An example of two numbers that are relatively prime is 23 and 35.

   The non-trivial factors of 24 are 2, 3, and 4.
   The non-trivial factors of 35 are 5 and 7.

They have no factors in common (other than the trivial "1").
I hope that this helps.

-Doctor Robert,  The Math Forum
 Check out our web site!  http://mathforum.org/dr.math/