Pearson Higher Nationals in Computing

(Software Engineering)

Unit 11: Math for Computing

Assignment 1: Number theory & Probability in

Mathematics
 Higher Nationals - Summative Assignment Feedback Form
BTSE0322010343
Student Name/ID
Math for Computing
Unit Title
Assignment Number Assignment 1 Assessor Mr. K H Navoda

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Submission Date
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Date Received 2nd
Re-submission Date submission
Assessor Feedback:
LO1 Use applied number theory in practical computing scenarios.
Pass, Merit & Distinction Descripts P1 £ P2 £ M1 £ D1 £

LO2 Analyse events using probability theory and probability distributions. Pass, Merit
& Distinction Descripts P3 £ P4 £ M2 £ D2 £

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BTSE0322010343 T D S Irunika Math For Computing
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 Student Declaration

I hereby declare that I know what plagiarism entails, namely, to use another’s work and to present it as my
own without attributing the sources in the correct way. I further understand what it means to copy another’s
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1. I know that plagiarism is a punishable offence because it constitutes theft.

2. I understand the plagiarism and copying policy of Edexcel UK.
3. I know what the consequences will be if I plagiarized or copy another’s work in any of the
assignments for this program.
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and where I have made use of another’s work, I will attribute the source in the correct way.
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BTSE0322010343 T D S Irunika Math For Computing
 Higher National Certificate/Diploma in Computing BTEC Assignment Brief

Student Name/ID Number BTSE0322010343

Unit Number and Title Unit 11: Math for Computing

Academic Year 2023

Unit Tutor Mr. K H Navoda

Assignment Title Assignment 1: Number theory & Probability in

Mathematics
Issue Date

Submission Date

IV Name & Date Ms. Duleesha Manohari

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BTSE0322010343 T D S Irunika Math For Computing
Submission Format

Activity Document Submission Format Document Word Count

(Minimum)
Activity 1 Hand written document including all N/A
calculations

Activity 2 Hand written document including all N/A

calculations

Activity 3 Hand written document including all N/A

calculations

Activity 4 Hand written document including all N/A

calculations

Activity 5 Hand written document including all N/A

calculations

Activity 6 Handwritten document including all N/A

calculations

Activity 7 Handwritten document including all N/A

calculations

Activity 8 Handwritten document including all N/A

calculations

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 Activity 01

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 Activity 02

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 Activity 03

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 Activity 04

In cryptography, prime numbers are very important. They are used in many security encryptions because
multiplying two large prime numbers is easy, but doing the reverse takes a lot of computing power. Prime
numbers are unique because they have no factors other than 1 and themselves, making them hard to
factorize. When two large prime numbers are multiplied, the result is used in encryption. Prime numbers
play a special role in encrypting and decrypting data because they are difficult to factorize.

The main reason prime numbers are used in cryptography is their difficulty to factorize. Without knowing
the prime factors, it is hard to decrypt an encrypted message without the right key. Prime numbers are
sometimes called "atoms" because they are the building blocks of all numbers. "Prime Factorization" is the
process of breaking down a composite number into prime numbers. This process is the basis of the RSA
encryption algorithm. Even a supercomputer would take years to factorize a composite number into its
prime factors. For a computer, multiplying prime numbers is not hard. Thus, prime numbers are crucial to
cryptography.

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 Activity 05

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 Activity 06

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 Activity 07

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Activity 08
A hash function is a mathematical function that takes input data of any size and generates a fixed-size output
called a message digest. It efficiently transforms the input data into a unique digital fingerprint.

A good hash function must ensure uniqueness, making the chance of two different inputs generating the
same hash value (collision) very low.

To calculate the probability of a collision in a hash function with N bits and M elements, we make some
assumptions about the hash function and how the elements are inserted into the hash table. Assuming a
perfect hash function and a uniform random distribution of elements, the probability of a collision can be
approximated using the birthday paradox formula:

This formula assumes each element is uniformly and independently distributed across the hash table, and the
1
probability of two elements colliding (being hashed to the same slot) is N
2

Using this equation, if we consider the possibility of a collision when M = 1 million and N = 32, the formula
becomes:

This shows that the probability of a collision is extremely small, approximately 1 in 1033.With a 32-bit hash
function, there are 233 possible hash values, so each of the 1 million values would likely map to a different
hash value, making collisions very unlikely.

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 Learning Outcomes & Assessment Criteria

Pass Merit Distinction

LO1 Use applied number theory in Practical computing scenarios LO1 Use applied number theory
in Practical computing scenarios
P1 Calculate the greatest common P1 Calculate the greatest common
divisor and least common multiple of a divisor and least common multiple of
given pair of numbers. a given pair of numbers.

P2 Use relevant theory to sum P2 Use relevant theory to sum

arithmetic and geometric progressions. arithmetic and geometric
progressions.
LO2 Analyse events using probability theory and probability distributions LO2 Analyse events using
probability theory and
P3 Deduce the conditional probability P3 Deduce the conditional probability probability distributions
of different events occurring within of different events occurring within
independent trials. independent trials.
P4 Identify the expectation of an event P4 Identify the expectation of an
occurring from a discrete random event occurring from a discrete
variable. random variable.

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