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South African Mathematics Olympiad First Round

South Africa number theory

Problem

If the difference between two prime numbers is also prime, what is the smallest value of the sum of those two primes? (A) 9 (B) 7 (C) 6 (D) 4 (E) 3
Solution
Looking at the difference of successive pairs of small primes, we note that which is not prime, and , and then larger numbers differing by (or more). So the smallest sum comes from .
Final answer
B

Techniques

Prime numbers