Problem 56190. Split Even Number Into Two Primes

Created by Ben Placek
Appears in Are You Smarter Than a MathWorker?

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Given an even whole number n (> 2), return a 2-element vector of primes, p, such that p(1) + p(2) = n. The elements of p should be in increasing numerical order (that is, p(1) <= p(2)).
Fun note: technically it cannot be guaranteed that such primes exist for any n. However, although Goldbach's Conjecture has not been formally proven, it has been verified for all n well beyond any you'll face in this problem.

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Last Solution submitted on Jun 30, 2025

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Dyuman Joshi on 12 Apr 2023

Test cases have been added to the problem.

Filip on 7 Jan 2024

It is a really nice tasks. However, The test cases or the task description can be improved. E.g. for n = 18 the answer can be a vector [5 13] or [13 5]. However, [13 5] is not "correct" according to the test. So in the task description can be written to return the numbers in ascending order or test cases should take any order of the 2 element vector

Matt Tearle on 23 Feb 2024

Thanks for that catch, Filip. I added the ordering to the problem description.

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Problem 56190. Split Even Number Into Two Primes

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Problem 56190. Split Even Number Into Two Primes

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