Divisibility Rule for 2 and Powers of 2

A number is divisible by
by

if and only if the last

digits of the number are divisible

. Thus, in particular, a number is divisible by 2 if and only if its units digit is

divisible by 2, i.e. if the number ends in 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8.

Proof

Divisibility Rule for 3 and 9

A number is divisible by 3 or 9 if and only if the sum of its digits is divisible by 3 or 9,
respectively. Note that this does not work for higher powers of 3. For instance, the sum
of the digits of 1899 is divisible by 27, but 1899 is not itself divisible by 27.
Proof

Divisibility Rule for 5 and Powers of 5

A number is divisible by

if and only if the last

digits are divisible by that power of 5.

Proof

Divisibility Rule for 7

Rule 1: Partition

into 3 digit numbers from the right (

alternating sum (

). The

) is divisible by 7 if and only if

is

divisible by 7.
Proof
Rule 2: Truncate the last digit of
the number (or vice-versa).

, double that digit, and subtract it from the rest of

is divisible by 7 if and only if the result is divisible by 7.

Proof
Rule 3: "Tail-End divisibility." Note. This only tells you if it is divisible and NOT the
remainder. Take a number say 12345. Look at the last digit and add or subtract a
multiple of 7 to make it zero. In this case we get 12380 or 12310 (both are acceptable; I
am using the former). Lop off the ending 0's and repeat. 1238 - 28 ==> 1210 ==> 121
- 21 ==> 100 ==> 1 NOPE. Works in general with numbers that are relatively prime to
the base (and works GREAT in binary). Here's one that works. 12348 - 28 ==> 12320
==> 1232 +28 ==> 1260 ==> 126 + 14 ==> 14 YAY!

Divisibility Rule for 10 and Powers of 10

If a number is power of 10, define it as a power of 10. The exponent is the number of
zeros that should be at the end of a number for it to be divisible by that power of 10.
Example: A number needs to have 6 zeroes at the end of it to be divisible by 1,000,000
because

Divisibility Rule for 11

A number is divisible by 11 if and only if the alternating sum of the digits is divisible by
11.
Proof

Divisibility Rule for 13

Rule 1: Truncate the last digit, multiply it by 4 and add it to the rest of the number. The
result is divisible by 13 if and only if the original number was divisble by 13. This process
can be repeated for large numbers, as with the second divisibility rule for 7.
Proof
Rule 2: Partition
alternating sum (

into 3 digit numbers from the right (

). The

) is divisible by 13 if and only if

is

divisible by 13.
Proof

Divisibility Rule for 17

Truncate the last digit, multiply it by 5 and subtract from the remaining leading number.
The number is divisible if and only if the result is divisible. The process can be repeated
for any number.
Proof

Divisibility Rule for 19

Truncate the last digit, multiply it by 2 and add to the remaining leading number. The
number is divisible if and only if the result is divisible. This can also be repeated for large
numbers.
Proof

Divisibility Rule for 29

Truncate the last digit, multiply it by 3 and add to the remaining leading number. The
number is divisible if and only if the result is divisible. This can also be repeated for large
numbers.
Proof

More general note for primes

For every prime number other than 2 and 5, there exists a rule similar to rule 2 for
divisibility by 7. For a general prime
is divisible by

, there exists some number

if and only if truncating the last digit, multiplying it by

it from the remaining number gives us a result divisible by

that for

such that an integer

and subtracting

. Divisibility rule 2 for 7 says

. The divisibility rule for 11 is equivalent to choosing

divisibility rule for 3 is equivalent to choosing

. The

. These rules can also be found

under the appropriate conditions in number bases other than 10. Also note that these
rules exist in two forms: if

is replaced by

then subtraction may be replaced with

addition. We see one instance of this in the divisibility rule for 13: we could multiply by 9
and subtract rather than multiplying by 4 and adding.

A very important one for Divisibility

More general note for composites
A number is divisible by

, where the prime factorization of

number is divisible by each of

is

, if the

Example
Is 55682168544 divisible by 36?

Solution
First, we find the prime factorization of 36 to be

. Thus we must check for

divisibility by 4 and 9 to see if it's divisible by 36.

Since the last two digits, 44, of the number is divisible by 4, so is the entire number.
To check for divisibility by 9, we look to see if the sum of the digits is divisible by 9. The
sum of the digits is 54 which is divisible by 9.
Thus, the number is divisible by both 4 and 9 and must be divisible by 36.

Divisibility

Unit 3 > Lesson 4

of 9

Problem:

Is the number 621 prime or composite?

Method:

In the last lesson, we learned to find all factors of a

whole number to determine if it is prime or composite.
We used the procedure listed below.
To determine if a number is prime or composite, follow
these steps:
1.
2.
3.

Find all factors of the number.

If the number has only two factors, 1 and itself, then it is prime.
If the number has more than two factors, then it is composite.

The above procedure works very well for small numbers. However, it would be timeconsuming to find all factors of 621. Thus we need a better method for determining if a large
number is prime or composite. Every number has one and itself as a factor. Thus, if we
could find one factor of 621, other than 1 and itself, we could prove that 621 is composite.
One way to find factors of large numbers quickly is to use tests for divisibility.
Definition

Example

One whole number is divisible by another if, after

dividing, the remainder is zero.

18 is divisible by 9 since 18 9 = 2 with a

remainder of 0.

If one whole number is divisible by another number,

then the second number is a factor of the first
number.

Since 18 is divisible by 9, 9 is a factor of

18.

A divisibility test is a rule for determining whether one Divisibility Test for 3: if the sum of the
whole number is divisible by another. It is a quick way digits of a number is divisible by 3, then
to find factors of large numbers.
the number is divisible by 3.
We can test for divisibility by 3 (see table above) to quickly find a factor of 621 other than 1 and
itself. The sum of the digits of 621 is 6+2+1 = 9. This divisibility test and the definitions above tell
us that...

621 is divisible by 3 since the sum of its digits (9) is divisible by 3.

Since 621 is divisible by 3, 3 is a factor of 621.
Since the factors of 621 include 1, 3 and 621, we have proven that 621 has more than two factors.
Since 621 has more than 2 factors, we have proven that it is composite.

Let's look at some other tests for divisibility and examples of each.
Divisibility Tests

Example

A number is divisible by 2 if the last digit is 0, 2,

4, 6 or 8.

168 is divisible by 2 since the last digit is 8.

A number is divisible by 3 if the sum of the digits

is divisible by 3.

168 is divisible by 3 since the sum of the

digits is 15 (1+6+8=15), and 15 is divisible by
3.

A number is divisible by 4 if the number formed

by the last two digits is divisible by 4.

316 is divisible by 4 since 16 is divisible by 4.

A number is divisible by 5 if the last digit is either 195 is divisible by 5 since the last digit is 5.
0 or 5.
A number is divisible by 6 if it is divisible by
2 AND it is divisible by 3.

168 is divisible by 6 since it is divisible by

2 AND it is divisible by 3.

A number is divisible by 8 if the number formed

by the last three digits is divisible by 8.

7,120 is divisible by 8 since 120 is divisible by

8.

A number is divisible by 9 if the sum of the digits

is divisible by 9.

549 is divisible by 9 since the sum of the

digits is 18 (5+4+9=18), and 18 is divisible by
9.

A number is divisible by 10 if the last digit is 0.

1,470 is divisible by 10 since the last digit is

0.

Let's look at some examples in which we test the divisibility of a single whole number.
Example 1: Determine whether 150 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10.
150 is divisible by 2 since the last digit is 0.
150 is divisible by 3 since the sum of the digits is 6 (1+5+0 = 6), and 6 is divisible
by 3.
150 is not divisible by 4 since 50 is not divisible by 4.
150 is divisible by 5 since the last digit is 0.
150 is divisible by 6 since it is divisible by 2 AND by 3.
150 is not divisible by 9 since the sum of the digits is 6, and 6 is not divisible by 9.
150 is divisible by 10 since the last digit is 0.
Solution:

150 is divisible by 2, 3, 5, 6, and 10.

Example 2: Determine whether 225 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 9 and 10.

225 is not divisible by 2 since the last digit is not 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8.
225 is divisible by 3 since the sum of the digits is 9, and 9 is divisible by 3.
225 is not divisible by 4 since 25 is not divisible by 4.
225 is divisible by 5 since the last digit is 5.
225 is not divisible by 6 since it is not divisible by both 2 and 3.
225 is divisible by 9 since the sum of the digits is 9, and 9 is divisible by 9.
225 is not divisible by 10 since the last digit is not 0.
Solution:

225 is divisible by 3, 5 and 9.

Example 3: Determine whether 7,168 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10.

7,168 is divisible by 2 since the last digit is 8.
7,168 is not divisible by 3 since the sum of the digits is 22, and 22 is not divisible by
3.
7,168 is divisible by 4 since 168 is divisible by 4.
7,168 is not divisible by 5 since the last digit is not 0 or 5.
7,168 is not divisible by 6 since it is not divisible by both 2 and 3.

7,168 is divisible by 8 since the last 3 digits are 168, and 168 is divisible by 8.
7,168 is not divisible by 9 since the sum of the digits is 22, and 22 is not divisible by
9.
7,168 is not divisible by 10 since the last digit is not 0 or 5.
Solution:

7,168 is divisible by 2, 4 and 8.

Example 4: Determine whether 9,042 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10.

9,042 is divisible by 2 since the last digit is 2.
9,042 is divisible by 3 since the sum of the digits is 15, and 15 is divisible by 3.
9,042 is not divisible by 4 since 42 is not divisible by 4.
9,042 is not divisible by 5 since the last digit is not 0 or 5.
9,042 is divisible by 6 since it is divisible by both 2 and 3.
9,042 is not divisible by 8 since the last 3 digits are 042, and 42 is not divisible by 8.
9,042 is not divisible by 9 since the sum of the digits is 15, and 15 is not divisible by
9.
9,042 is not divisible by 10 since the last digit is not 0 or 5.
Solution:

9,042 is divisible by 2, 3 and 6.

Example 5: Determine whether 35,120 is divisible by 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 8, 9 and 10.

35,120 is divisible by 2 since the last digit is 0.
35,120 is not divisible by 3 since the sum of the digits is 11, and 11 is not divisible
by 3.
35,120 is divisible by 4 since 20 is divisible by 4.
35,120 is divisible by 5 since the last digit is 0.
35,120 is not divisible by 6 since it is not divisible by both 2 and 3.
35,120 is divisible by 8 since the last 3 digits are 120, and 120 is divisible by 8.
35,120 is not divisible by 9 since the sum of the digits is 11, and 11 is not divisible
by 9.
35,120 is divisible by 10 since the last digit is 0.
Solution:

35,120 is divisible by 2, 4, 5, 8 and 10.

Example 6: Is the number 91 prime or composite? Use divisibility when possible to

find your answer.
91 is not divisible by 2 since the last digit is not 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8.
91 is not divisible by 3 since the sum of the digits (9+1=10) is not divisible
by 3.
91 is not evenly divisible by 4 (remainder is 3).
91 is not divisible by 5 since the last digit is not 0 or 5.
91 is not divisible by 6 since it is not divisible by both 2 and 3.
91 divided by 7 is 13.
Solution:

The number 91 is divisible by 1, 7, 13 and 91. Therefore 91 is composite

since it has more than two factors.

Summary: Divisibility tests can be used to find factors of large whole numbers quickly,
and thus determine if they are prime or composite. When working with
large whole numbers, tests for divisibility are more efficient than the
traditional factoring method.

Problem
Mr. Jones has eight children of different ages. On a family trip his oldest child, who is 9,
spots a license plate with a 4-digit number in which each of two digits appears two
times. "Look, daddy!" she exclaims. "That number is evenly divisible by the age of each
of us kids!" "That's right," replies Mr. Jones, "and the last two digits just happen to be
my age." Which of the following is not the age of one of Mr. Jones's children?

Solution
Let

be the set of the ages of Mr. Jones' children (in other words

a child who is

years old). Then

and

on the license plate. Since at least one of

We would like to prove that
that

. Let

or

is contained in

so the units digit of

years old, the last two digits can't be

by

is a digit. Since

, we have

is . Since the number has two

distinct digits, each appearing twice, another digit of

where

be the positive integer seen

, so for the sake of contradiction, let us suppose

. Then

be

if Mr. Jones has

must be . Since Mr. Jones can't

. Therefore

must be of the form

is divisible by , the sum of the digits of

(see Divisibility rules for 9). Hence

divisible by , contradiction. So

and

which implies

must be divisible

. But

is not

is not the age of one of Mr. Jones' kids.

(We might like to check that there does, indeed, exist such a positive integer

. If

is

not an age of one of Mr. Jones' kids, then the license plate number must be a multiple
of
multiple of

. Since

and

is the only

digit

that fits all the conditions of the license plate's number, the license

plate's number is

.)

Q The number 10^30 is divisible by all of the following EXCEPT

a) 250
b) 125
c) 32
d) 16
e) 6
The number 10^30 is divisible by all of the following EXCEPT
a) 250
b) 125
c) 32
d) 16
e) 6
break 10^30 as 2^29*(2*5^3)*(5^27)
clearly divisible by 250 hence also by 125, also divisible by 2^5 = 32 hence also by 16
not divisible by 3 hence also not divisible by 6 bcos to be divisible by 6, it has to be divisible by both 2
&3