If $m$ is odd and not prime

Question

Prove that it must have at least one prime factor $a \leq \sqrt{m}$ and that all of its prime factors must be a maximum of $m/3$?

Note: I have been able to prove that every non-prime $m$ has at least one prime divisor. Am I correct in assuming the proof of the first part will be similar? What I have tried is expressing $m$ in terms of two numbers $a_{1}, a_{2}$ and assuming one of them to be greater than $\sqrt{m}$ to reach a contradiction but it seems incomplete.

Answer 1

You are essentially there. As with the sieve of Eratosthenes, a composite number $n$ must have a factor less than $\sqrt n$ because two numbers larger than that will multiply to something greater than $n$. In you case the minimum factor is $3$ because the number is odd, so the maximum factor is at most $\frac n3$

Answer 2

Let $n = a*b$.

Either $a \le \sqrt n$ or $a > \sqrt n$.

But if $a > \sqrt n$.

Then $b = \frac na < \frac n{\sqrt n} = \sqrt n$.