Math Curiosity: Waring’s Conjecture

Objective

Students will explore the unproven Waring's Conjecture.

In this video, we'll explore the puzzling mathematical curiosity known as Waring's Conjecture.

Edward Waring, in 1762, stated that all odd numbers greater than three:

1. Are either prime numbers
2. Or can be written as the sum of three primes

So far, no one has been able to prove it right or wrong.

Examples

• 7 is a prime.
• 15 can be written as the sum of three primes: 5 + 5 + 5
• 75 can be written as the sum of three primes: 71 + 2 + 2

Note: this conjecture is related to Goldbach's Conjecture

Resources

• Worksheet (PDF)
• Worksheet (Google Slides)
• All Primes Less Than 1000 (PDF)
• All Primes Less Than 1000 (Google Slides)