Question

What is the difference between the largest prime number less than 50 and the smallest composite number greater than 10?
35
36
37
38

Answer 1

To solve the problem, we first need to identify the largest prime number less than 50 and the smallest composite number greater than 10.

1. **Largest prime number less than 50**: The prime numbers less than 50 are:
- 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47
The largest among these is **47**.

2. **Smallest composite number greater than 10**: The composite numbers greater than 10 begin at 12 (since 11 is prime). The smallest composite number greater than 10 is **12**.

Now, let's find the difference between the largest prime number less than 50 (47) and the smallest composite number greater than 10 (12):

\[
47 - 12 = 35
\]

Thus, the difference is **35**.