Session 20:

Divisibility I. Review

It’s now time to approach a really important topic: divisibility and re-
mainders. This topic, while interesting and important on its own, is also
a gateway to a branch of mathematics called number theory. Number theory
was developed to study the general properties of numbers, especially integers.
This branch of mathematics, which was originally researched for its own sake,
turned out to be indispensable for computer science, software engineering,
cryptography, and a broad spectrum of other theoretical and applied disci-
plines. Divisibility and remainders also make a great math circle subject, as
they can be taught for several years in a row at increasing complexity levels.
Today’s lesson is a review of the material that we studied during Year 1
of our circle. (See [1].)

For Teachers: Today’s lesson is not a detailed presentation, but a fast-

paced review. During one lesson, we plan to walk through the topics
that took us three lessons to learn last year. Depending on your group,
you may plan on an additional lesson. (For the materials, you can use
Mathematical Circle Diaries, Year 1 or your favorite book on divisibility
theory.)

Teaching supplies for this session:

- Printouts of the two in-class practice sets (one per student).
- Printouts of the take-home problem set (one per student).

20.1. Math Warm-up

For today’s warm-up, we are going to play the famous Word Ladder puzzle,
invented by Lewis Caroll. The rules are very simple. The players get the
starting word and ending word, which must be of the same length. The goal
is to move from the starting word to the ending word, changing 1 letter at
a time. Each intermediate step must be a valid word, and no proper nouns
are allowed. A shorter solution is a better solution.
161
162 Session 20: Divisibility I. Review

Example: You can get from CAT to DOG in 3 steps:

CAT→COT →DOT→DOG.
For today’s warm-up, solve some of these Ladders, that come from cut-
the-knot [26]:
- Get from MOM to DAD.
- FALL comes with COLD.
- Drive PIG into STY.
- Raise FOUR to FIVE.

20.2. Discussion of the Day:

Divisibility
Let’s start this review by highlighting the important differences between the
terms “division” and “divisibility”.
Division is the action of dividing one number by another. We
use the special symbol “÷” (or “/”) to mean “divide”. For example,
10 ÷ 4 = 2.5 and 18.15 ÷ 5.5 = 3.3. In such an expression, the dividend
is divided by the divisor to get a quotient. Any number can stand for
a dividend, and almost any can stand for a divisor. (We cannot divide
by 0.)

Divisibility is a special term that means an ability of one integer

number to be divided evenly (without a remainder) by another integer
number. For example, 10 is divisible by 2 but is not divisible by 4.
(However, 10 can be divided by 4, and the quotient is 2.5.)

Next, let’s introduce the formal definition of divisibility.

Definition. Suppose that A and B are two integer numbers. Then A is

divisible by B if it is possible to find an integer K such that A = B × K.
Both B and K are called factors of A.

Notation. The symbol “|” is used for divisibility: “B|A” is read “B

divides A” and means that A is divisible by B.1

Divisibility has a lot of important and useful properties.

1
When we talk about divisibility, we imply that we are working with integer numbers
only. Therefore, for the sake of brevity, we may occasionally omit the word “integer” if it
is indicated by the context.
20.2. Divisibility 163

Divisibility of a sum
Suppose that two integers, A and B, are divisible by integer K. In this case,
the sum and the difference of these numbers, A + B and A − B, are divisible
by K as well. (We can write this property using the divisibility notation: if
K|A and K|B, then K|(A + B) and K|(A − B).)
Proof . Since A is divisible by K, then A = K × X, and B = K × Y ,
where X and Y are some integers. Therefore, A + B = K × X + K × Y =
K × (X + Y ).
The same proof would work for subtraction. 

Divisibility of a product
Suppose that at least one of the numbers A and B is divisible by K. Then
their product A × B is divisible by K as well.
Proof . Suppose that A is divisible by K. Then A = K × X, and
A × B = K × X × B = K × (X × B). Thus, A × B is divisible by K. 
These two simple properties are surprisingly useful.
Example: Is the number 111,222,333,444,555 divisible by 111?
The answer is positive. One way to prove this fact would be to do the
long division. However, being lazy, we would prefer to find a shortcut. Thus,
let’s notice that the numbers 111, 222, 333, 444, 555 are all multiples of 111.
Thus, any combination of these numbers (multiplied by integer coefficients)
will be a multiple of 111 as well.
Next, let’s observe that
111,222,333,444,555 = 111 × 1012 + 222 × 109 + 333 × 106 + 444 × 103 + 555.
Therefore, it is divisible by 111.

Prime Factorization
The next topics on our review list are prime numbers and prime factorization.

A prime number is a number that has only 2 distinct factors: this

number itself and 1. For example, the numbers 2, 3, 5, 7, and 11 are
prime; the numbers 4, 6, 8, and 9 are not prime—they are composite.
(The numbers 1 and 0 are neither prime nor composite. Can you tell
why?)

Prime factorization (prime factors decomposition) of a

number is the process of finding a set of prime factors which, when
multiplied together, give the original number. Alternatively, this term
can be used to indicate the result of this process: a collection of prime
numbers that multiply together to make the original number.
164 Session 20: Divisibility I. Review

For example, the prime factorization of 920 is

920 = 92 × 10
= 46 × 2 × 10
= 23 × 2 × 2 × 10
= 23 × 2 × 2 × 5 × 2.
It’s standard to write the prime factorization of a number in ascending
order (least to greatest), using exponentials to group repeating factors. Thus,
the correct way to write the prime factorization of 922 is 920 = 23 × 5 × 23.
We can also say that the prime factorization of 920 has three powers of 2,
one power of 5, and one power of 23.
The prime factorization of a number is unique, up to the order of the
factors. This important fact has a name of its own: the Fundamental
Theorem of Arithmetic. (We are not proving this theorem; instead, we take
it for granted.)

Notation
If we do not know the prime factorization of a number, we could use variables.
For example, we can express a generic number and its prime factors as A =
p1 × p2 × · · · × pn . In this formula, the variables pk are used to represent
unknown prime factors. (Since we do not know how many prime factors the
number has, we use the variable n.)
If exponential form matters for a problem, we can employ more advanced
notation: A = pk11 × pk22 × · · · × pkmm . Here, we use variables for both the
distinct prime factors of the number and their exponentials.
Often, younger students tend to shy away from such a notation. It is not
a big deal, and there is no need to force it on them—eventually, they will
learn it. Since we would like this material to be accessible for this younger
group, we will stick to graphical models, which are more intuitive. We will
be visualizing the prime factors of a number as a “bag” filled with these
factors. Such a visualization emphasizes the role of the prime factors as the
building blocks of a number. It also allows us to produce mathematically
rigorous explanations, with the additional benefit of providing a visual way
of thinking about divisibility.
The picture below has three examples that illustrate this model: the first
drawing represents the number 920 and its entire collection of prime factors;
the second drawing—some number A, with prime factorization unknown;
and the third one—some number B that has prime factor 2,017.
920 A B
2
2 p1 ... ...
2
5 ... pn 2017
23
20.2. Divisibility 165

Prime Factorization of a Product

Suppose that A and B are two numbers. Then the prime factorization of
A × B is equal to the union of the prime factorizations of the two original
numbers.

AxB
A B
Todos os Todos os Todos os Todos os
fatores fatores fatores fatores
prime de
e
prime de prime de prime de
A B A B

Divisibility and Prime Factorization

What difference does it make whether we know the prime factors of a num-
ber? The truth is that prime factorization reveals a lot of information about
the number. In particular, it is a great tool for learning about the divisibility
of the number.

We start with a very important observation:

Observation. The number A is divisible by the number B only if the
prime factorization of B is contained in the prime factorization of A.
Proof. If A is divisible by B, then A = B × K, where K is some
integer. We can keep factoring B and K until we get the prime factorization
of both. These two factorizations, combined, make the prime factorization of
A. Thus, the prime factorization of B is contained in the prime factorization
of A.
Let’s prove that the reverse is true as well. Suppose that the entire collec-
tion of prime factors of the number B is contained in the prime factorization
of A. We would like to prove that A is divisible by B.
Let’s split all the prime factors of A into two groups—those that are
contained in B, and those that are not. (See the picture below.)

Todos os fatores prime de A

Todos os Os outros
fatores fatores
prime de prime de
B A
166 Session 20: Divisibility I. Review

The factors in the first group multiply to B; in the second group, they
multiply to a number K such that A = B × K. Thus, A is divisible by B.

Exercise 1. Suppose that

A = 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 7 × 11 × 37.

(a) The number B is equal to 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 × 11. Will A be divisible by

B?
(b) The number C is equal to 2 × 2 × 2 × 3. Will A be divisible by C?

The answer to the first question is positive because the entire collection
of prime factors of B is contained in the collection of prime factors of A.
The second answer is negative because C has three copies of prime factor
2 and A has just two copies.

Practice problems
Let’s solve a couple more practice problems. While the problems themselves
are not that challenging, the students usually have difficulty explaining their
solutions with mathematical rigor.

Problem 2. The number A is not divisible by 3. Could the number 2A be

divisible by 3?

Problem 2 Discussion. The answer is negative, and the reason is that for
2A to be divisible by 3, one of its prime factors has to be 3. Where would this
3 come from? Since 2A is a product of 2 and A, then the prime factors of 2A
are the union of the prime factors of 2 and A. However, 3 does not belong
to the set of prime factors of either of these numbers. Therefore, 3 does not
belong to the union either. The picture below visualizes this explanation.

2xA
A
Does not have factor 3 2 Does not have factor 3

Problem 3. The number A2 is divisible by 8. Prove that A2 is divisible

by 16.

Problem 3 Discussion. The number A2 is divisible by 8 = 2 × 2 × 2;

therefore, these three 2’s belong to its prime factorization. However, the
20.2. Divisibility 167

prime factors of A2 = A × A are the union of two sets, each being the set
of prime factors of A. The three copies of factor 2 are distributed between
these two sets; thus, at least two factors 2 belong to one of these sets. Then,
A is divisible by 2 × 2 = 4. Therefore, A2 is divisible by 4 × 4 = 16.

AxA AxA
A A A A

2 2 2 2 2 2

Problem 4. Solve the following encrypted problem: BAO × BA × B =

2,002. (The same letters stand for the same digits; different letters stand for
different digits.)
Problem 4 Discussion. We start by writing the prime factorization of
2,002.
2,002 = 2 × 1,001
= 2 × 7 × 11 × 13.
(How did we get the prime factorization of 1,001? Well, we can guess the
factor 7 through trial and error. However, 1,001 is a special number—it
is not unusual to encounter 1,001 and its derivations in various divisibility
problems. Therefore, a much better approach is to memorize the list of
prime factors of 1,001.) These 4 prime factors, 2, 7, 11, and 13, should be
distributed among the 3 numbers BAO, BA, and B. Let’s start with factor
11. Definitely, neither B nor BA is divisible by 11; thus, 11 must belong to
BAO.
How big could digit B be? If it were bigger than 1, then BAO × BA × B
would be at least 200 × 20 × 2 = 8,000. Since this number is way too big,
B has to be 1. It follows that the factors 2, 7, 13 all belong to BAO and
BA. Since BA starts with 1, then either BA is 2 × 7 or BA is 13. If
BA = 13, then BAO = 11 × 2 × 7 = 154. This solution does not work since
A cannot be equal to 2 different values: 5 and 3. If BA = 2 × 7 = 14, then
BAO = 11 × 13 = 143. This is the answer that works.
A solid understanding of foundations makes all the difference in the topic
of divisibility. Therefore, in addition to the main problem set, this lesson
has two practice sets. These practice sets may turn out to be very useful
for a group of younger or novice students. Also, this lesson includes a large
section of additional problems that can be used for extra practice.
168 Session 20: Divisibility I. Review

20.3. Prime Factorization Practice. Set 1

In each problem below, you are given a list of divisibility facts about a
number. Your goal is to figure out what this number is.

1. The secret number: 6. The secret number:

- is divisible by 7,
- is divisible by 11,
- is divisible by 2,
- has 3 prime factors total.
2. The secret number:
- is divisible by 4,
- is divisible by 6,
- has 3 prime factors total.
3. The secret number:
- is not divisible by 8,
- is divisible by 4,
- is divisible by 6,
- is divisible by 7,
- has 4 prime factors total.
4. The secret number:
- is divisible by 14,
- is divisible by 21,
- is divisible by 6,
- has 3 prime factors total.
5. The secret number:
- is not divisible by 27,
- is divisible by 6,
- is divisible by 9,
- is divisible by 4,
- has 4 prime factors total.
- is divisible by 45,
- is divisible by 25,
- has 4 prime factors total.
7. The secret number:
- ends with 2 zeroes,
- is divisible by 3,
- has 5 prime factors total.
8. The secret number:
- is divisible by 5,
- is divisible by exactly 3
different numbers.
9. The secret number:
- is divisible by 4,
- is divisible by exactly 5
different numbers.
10. The secret number:
- is divisible by 15,
- is divisible by 21,
- is divisible by 35,
- is divisible by exactly 8
different numbers.

20.4. Prime Factorization Practice. Set 2

Problem 1. The prime factorization of a number is 2 × 32 × 73 × 13. Is
this number divisible by 2? By 4? By 14? By 12? By 98?

Problem 2. The prime factorization of a number is 22 × 3 × 73 × 13, and

the factorization of another one is 2 × 33 × 72 .
(a) Is the first number divisible by the second one?
(b) Is the product of these numbers divisible by 8? By 36? By 27? By
16? By 56?
20.5. Take-Home Problem Set 169

Problem 3. The number A is even. Is it true that 3A should definitely be

divisible by 6?
Problem 4. The number 5A is divisible by 3. Is it true that A should
definitely be divisible by 3?
Problem 5. A and B are two whole numbers such that AB is divisible by
7. Is it true that one of the numbers should definitely be divisible by 7?
Problem 6. A and B are two whole numbers such that AB is divisible by
15. Is it true that one of the numbers should definitely be divisible by 15?
Problem 7. The number A2 is divisible by 11. Is it true that A2 should
definitely be divisible by 121?
Problem 8. The number A2 is divisible by 12. Is it true that A2 should
definitely be divisible by 144?

20.5. Take-Home Problem Set

Problem 1. The inscription in an ancient math textbook reads:
“3333333 + 1 is a prime number.” Could this inscription be correct?
Problem 2. What is the smallest integer number N such that N ! is
divisible by 990? (N ! is a product of all integer numbers from 1 to N .)
Problem 3. Is 100! divisible by 2100 ?
Problem 4. Solve HE × HE = SHE. (The same letters stand for the
same digits; different letters stand for different digits.)
Problem 5. An absent-minded mathematician believes that he can place
99 integer numbers in a circle so that for each pair of neighbors the ratio of
the bigger and smaller numbers in the pair is a prime number. Prove that
the mathematician is mistaken.
Problem 6. Someone placed 8 rooks on a chess board so that no two
rooks attack each other. Prove that if you cut the chessboard into four 4 × 4
squares as shown in the picture, then the squares A and D will contain the
same number of rooks.

A B

C D
170 Session 20: Divisibility I. Review

20.6. Additional Problems

Problem 1. The product of two natural numbers, neither of which ends
with 0, is equal to 1,000. Find the sum of these numbers.
Problem 2. Prove that a number is divisible by 8 only when the number
formed by its last three digits is divisible by 8.
Problem 3. Several hundred years ago, the famous mathematician Leon-
hard Euler published a very interesting formula: n2 + n + 41. If you start
trying this formula on the first positive integers n = 1, 2, 3, 4, and so on,
the values that it produces would all be prime. For example, for n = 20
the answer is 461, which is a prime number. For n = 21 the answer is 503,
which is also prime, etc. Could it be true that for any positive integer n this
formula would produce a prime number?
Problem 4. Prove that out of any 7 perfect squares you can always find 2
such that thier difference is divisible by 10.
Problem 5. I am thinking of a 3-digit prime number. Its last digit is equal
to the sum of the 2 other digits. What could my number’s last digit be?
Problem 6. Prove that if n! + 1 is divisible by n + 1, then n + 1 is a prime
number.
 Session 21:
Divisibility II.
Relatively Prime Numbers;
GCF and LCM

Today, we will keep working on divisibility-related topics. We will start with

a review of relatively prime numbers and will move on to the discussion of
greatest common factors and least common multiples.
Teaching supplies for this session:
- Printouts of the take-home problem set (one per student).
- Printouts of the in-class GCF and LCM practice problems (one per
student).

21.1. Math Warm-up: Mysteries of Prime Numbers

For today’s warm up, we present a collection of interesting and entertaining
facts about prime numbers.1
For many centuries mathematicians have been fascinated with prime
numbers. Studying them, they came up with plenty of great discoveries and
also with the multitude of questions that are still unanswered.
Let’s introduce several types of prime numbers that have been awarded
names of their own.
Twin primes are prime numbers which differ by two. For examples, 3
and 5 are twin primes, as well as 17 and 19. Can you come up with other
examples of twin primes?
Cousin primes are prime numbers that have a gap of four. For exam-
ple, 19 and 23 are cousin primes.
Could you guess what sexy primes are? These are prime numbers
which differ by six. (Indeed, “sex” means “6” in Latin.) For example, (11,
17) and (13, 19) are two pairs of sexy primes.

1
This warm-up was inspired by the article on the bounded gap between primes in the
New Yorker Magazine [16].

171
172 Session 21: Divisibility II. Relatively Prime Numbers; GCF and LCM

There also exist permutable primes, which are numbers that remain
prime regardless of how their digits are arranged (for example, 337, 373, and
733 are all prime), palindromic primes (primes that read the same forward
and backward), holey primes (the ones which have only digits with holes),
and many other special types of primes.
Of all the baffling questions about prime numbers, the most
important have always been about the distribution of primes:
- Is there a formula for prime numbers?
- How frequently do prime numbers occur?
- As prime numbers get bigger, what happens with the gaps between
them? Do they get bigger as well?
While the answers for some of these questions are already known, others
remain a mystery.
It was proved many years ago that there are infinitely many prime
numbers. (This fact was established by Euclid around 300 BC.) However,
prime numbers appear at random—no formula for generating prime numbers
has been discovered so far.
As numbers get larger, the primes occur less and less frequently. For
example, we all know that many more primes are clustered around 10 than
around 1,000. And, indeed, there are 5 primes between 1 and 10, 25 primes
between 1 and 100, 168 between 1 and 1,000, and 1,229 between 1 and 10,000.
As prime numbers become more and more dispersed, the gaps between
them grow wider. It fact, for any width, it is possible to come up with a
stretch of consecutive numbers that are all composite. (The challenge of
pinpointing such a set is not that difficult.)
At the same time, a conjecture (a hypothesis) was proposed in the 19th
century. It states that, no matter how far you get on the number line, you
will always be able to find a pair of prime numbers that are twins (two
apart). For more than a hundred years, mathematicians have not able to
prove this fact; however, these days they are getting close. A groundbreaking
theorem was proved several years ago that paves the way for the “twin primes”
conjecture.2
Another famous theorem, the Goldbach Conjecture, asserts that every
even integer greater than 2 can be expressed as a sum of 2 primes. For
example, 6 = 3 + 3, 8 = 3 + 5, 24 = 11 + 13, 100 = 53 + 47. This conjecture
is more than 250 years old, and it has not been proved yet!!!
Thus, after centuries of studies, prime numbers still hold plenty of mys-
teries and secrets for us and plenty of challenges for the greatest modern-day
mathematicians.

2
The “Bounded Gap Between Primes” theorem pinpoints a number, a gap bound,
such that as you go further out along the number line, you will occasionally be finding
pairs of primes that are closer than this bound. In the original theorem, proved by Yitang
Zhang in 2012, this bound is equal to 70 million. These days, mathematicians are working
on bringing it down to 2.
21.2. Relatively Prime Numbers 173

21.2. Discussion of the Day:

Relatively Prime Numbers
Relatively prime numbers (also called coprime numbers) are numbers
that do not have any common factors other than 1. For example, 12 and 25
are relatively prime, while 12 and 18 are not because they share the factors
2, 3, and 6.
During Year 1 of our circle, we studied one very useful property of
coprime numbers: we learned how the divisibility by a product of relatively
prime numbers follows from the divisibility by each of these numbers. (See
[1].) Let’s review this property: first, we will illustrate it with a specific
example; next, we will generalize.
Example: Suppose we need to check whether the number 78,123,456 is
divisible by 36. What would be a smart way to do this? We rule out long
division as too time consuming.
Maybe we can split 36 into two factors and check divisibility factor by
factor? For example, we can factor 36 as 3×12 or as 4×9. Would divisibility
by 36 follow from divisibility by 3 and by 12? Would it follow from divisibility
by 4 and by 9?
The number 24 is an easy example which illustrates that divisibility by
36 does not follow from divisibility by 12 and by 3. However, divisibility by
36 does follow from divisibility by 4 and 9, because 4 and 9 are relatively
prime! Indeed, if the dividend is divisible by 4 and 9, it should contain
the entire sets of prime factors of 4 and 9. Moreover, since 4 and 9 are
relatively prime, these two sets do not have anything in common. Therefore,
the dividend contains all prime factors of 4 (which are 2 and 2) AND all
prime factors of 9 (which are 3 and 3). Thus, it is divisible by 2 × 2 × 3 × 3.
Thus, to find out if 78,123,456 is divisible by 36, we need to check if it
is divisible by 4 and 9. The number 78,123,456 is indeed divisible by 9 since
the sum of its digits is divisible by 9; it is also divisible by 4 since it ends
with the 2-digit number 56, which is divisible by 4. Therefore, 78,123,456 is
divisible by 36.
Next, we present the generalized rule:

Divisibility and coprime numbers. Suppose that we need to

check if integer A is divisible by integer B, where B is the product of
two relatively prime numbers: B = B1 × B2. Then, if A is divisible by
both B1 and B2, A is divisible by their product B = B1 × B2 as well.

This useful rule can be generalized even further. Suppose that we would
like to test divisibility by some number. If we can split this number (the
divisor) into the product of several factors that are all relatively prime to
each other, the problem can be simplified: if the dividend is divisible by each
factor, then it is divisible by the entire product.
174 Session 21: Divisibility II. Relatively Prime Numbers; GCF and LCM

Example:
- To check divisibility by 60, it is sufficient to test divisibility by 3, 4,
and 5.
- To check divisibility by 180, it is sufficient to test divisibility by 9, 4,
and 5.

21.3. Greatest Common Factor (GCF)

Definition. The greatest common factor of two integers A and B is the
highest integer that divides into both numbers. (Often, this integer is called
the greatest common divisor .) Both of these terms can be written as
three-letter abbreviations: GCF and GCD.
Example: The numbers 24 and 36 share several common factors, 1, 2,
3, 4, 6, and 12. The highest of these, the factor 12, is the greatest common
factor. Using the abbreviated notation, we can write GCF(24, 36) = 12.

How do we calculate GCF?

If we know the prime factorization of two numbers, then the GCF is not
difficult to compute. Let’s start by explaining this procedure on an example.

Example: What is the GCF of 54 and 144?

These numbers factor as:
54 = 6 × 9 = 2 × 3 × 3 × 3 and
144 = 2 × 72 = 2 × 8 × 9 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 3.
Any divisor that is common to these two numbers has to be composed
of those prime factors that are common to both these numbers: 2, 3 × 2,
etc. And the greatest common divisor should contain all such prime factors.
The numbers 54 and 144 share the prime factors 2, 3, and 3. (The picture
below illustrates this.) Therefore, the greatest common factor of 54 and 144
is 2 × 3 × 3 = 18.
54 144

3 2
3 3 2
2 2

Next, let’s reformulate the same idea in terms of the generic numbers A
and B. The greatest common factor of A and B consists of all prime factors
that are shared by these numbers. (See the picture.)
B
A
MDC(A, B)
Todos os fatores
prime comuns
de A e B
21.4. Least Common Multiple (LCM) 175

Example: What is the GCF of A = 23 × 53 × 7 × 117 and B = 2 × 34 ×

52 × 11 × 13?
Comparing the lists of prime factors and taking the biggest common part,
we get GCF(A, B) = 2 × 52 × 11.

Thus, if we know the prime factorization of two numbers, the task of

computing the GCF becomes fun and easy. However, what if the prime
factorization is too difficult to find?
For example, suppose we are asked to find the GCF of the numbers
5,499 and 728. It looks like computing the prime factorization of these two
numbers may take a lot of our time. Is there a better way? Indeed, there is
a more efficient method, called the Euclidian algorithm, for computing the
GCF of a pair of numbers. We will not be discussing this algorithm until
next year. However, if you are curious, you are welcome to research it on
your own. For example, the book [2] contains an excellent discussion of more
advanced GCF and LCM topics.

Before we get to the next topic, let’s solve another problem.

Problem 1. Two numbers differ by 6. What could their GCF be?

Problem 1 Discussion. Suppose that the numbers are A and B and that
their GCF is K. Since both A and B are divisible by K, then their difference
should be divisive by K as well. Therefore, 6 is divisible by K. Thus, K
could be 1, 2, 3, or 6. It is easy to come up with the examples for each of
these values: 7 and 13, 8 and 14, 9 and 15, 12 and 18.

This problem illustrates the important fact that the difference (or sum)
of a pair of numbers is always divisible by their GCF.

21.4. Least Common Multiple (LCM)

The notion of the least common multiple is as natural as that of the greatest
common factor.

Definition. The least common multiple of the two integers A and B is

the smallest number which is divisible by both A and B. (The standard
abbreviations is LCM.)

Example: The least common multiple of the numbers 12 and 18 is 36.

Indeed, the number 36 is divisible by both 12 and 18, and it is the smallest
of such numbers. Using the notation, we can write that LCM(12, 18) = 36.

As before, if we know the prime factorization of two numbers, then there

is an easy way to compute their least common multiple. Again, we start by
explaining the algorithm on a particular pair of numbers.
176 Session 21: Divisibility II. Relatively Prime Numbers; GCF and LCM

Example: What is the LCM of 270 and 144?

These two numbers factor as 270 = 54 × 5 = 2 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 5 and
144 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 3.
We are looking for a common multiple, which is a number that could be
divided by 270 and also by 144.
To be divisible by 270, the number should contain the entire set of prime
factors of 270. To be divisible by 144, it should also contain the entire
set of prime factors of 144. (These two sets may overlap because we are
not dividing by 144 and 270 at the same time.) And the smallest common
multiple should be the lowest such number. Thus, its prime factorization
should contain nothing extra beyond a set of factors that would ensure the
divisibility by 144 and by 270.
Let’s start constructing the LCM of 270 and 144 factor by factor. How
many factors of 2 should it contain? For divisibility by 270, 1 copy is
sufficient; however, for divisibility by 144, 4 copies are required. Thus, any
common multiple should have at least 4 copies of factor 2. Since we are
looking for the smallest, we need exactly 4 copies of 2. Similarly, we need
exactly 3 copies of 3 and exactly 1 copy of 5. Therefore, the LCM(270, 144) =
2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 × 3 × 5.
You can visualize this process in 2 different ways.
First, take a look at the drawing below. You can see how, for each prime
factor, we choose the greatest number of times it occurs in either number.

270 = 2 33 5

144 = 24 32

Another way of visualizing the same process uses the “bag of prime
factors” model. The drawing below helps us to realize that, to construct
the LCM, we need to take:
- 1 copy of every factor in the prime factorizations of the numbers 270
and 144 that they share in common (factors 2, 3, and 3),
- and 1 copy of every factor that is unique to each number (factors 3 and
5; factors 2, 2, and 2).
270 144

3 2
33
2
5 2 2

Let’s reformulate the LCM construction process in terms of the generic

numbers A and B.
21.6. GCF and LCM. In-Class Practice Problems 177

Least Common Multiple algorithm: For every distinct prime factor

that belongs to either A or B, we should take the fewest number of copies
that guarantees divisibility. Therefore, we should:
- Compare the number of times this prime factor occurs in A and B and
choose the greatest.
- Add this greatest number of copies of that factor into LCM(A, B).

Exercise 1. What is the LCM of A = 23 × 53 × 7 × 117 and B = 2 × 34 ×

52 × 11 × 13?

21.5. How GCF and LCM Are Related

It’s time to show how beautifully LCM and GCF complement each other.
Suppose we have two numbers: A and B. Then the following is true:
GCF(A, B) × LCM(A, B) = A × B.

You are probably already able to see why this relationship is true. If not,
read through the previous sections one more time and take another look at
the pictures that illustrate how GCF and LCM can be assembled from the
prime factors of the numbers A and B. Can you prove this fact now?

We are done with the core properties of GCF and LCM; it’s problem-
solving time now.
In addition to the main problem set, this lesson includes one practice
set that is composed of simple GCF and LCF problems that emphasize
understanding of how GCF, LCM, and factorization are related.

21.6. GCF and LCM. In-Class Practice Problems

Problem 1.
(a) What is the smallest common factor of the numbers 2 × 32 × 54 ×
11 × 13 and 24 × 52 × 7 × 11?
What is their greatest common factor?
(b) What is the least common multiple of these numbers?

Problem 2. Little Shmuel has several aunties who live in the town called
Chelm. When Shmuel visited Chelm on January 1st, each auntie cooked
a dish for him: Auntie Edis made pancakes; Auntie Yetta baked pot pies;
Auntie Malka cooked borscht soup; and Auntie Sonia made stuffed cabbage.
How soon should Shmuel visit Chelm next time if he wants to sample all the
dishes again and if Auntie Edis makes pancakes every 2nd day, Auntie Yetta
bakes pot pies every 3rd day, Auntie Malka cooks borsch every 4th day, and
Auntie Sonia makes stuffed cabbage every 7th day?
178 Session 21: Divisibility II. Relatively Prime Numbers; GCF and LCM

Problem 3.
(a) Two numbers x and y are relatively prime, and their product is
equal to 23 × 52 . What could these numbers be? Find all the answers.
(b) The GCF of the numbers x and y is 6, and their product is equal
to 28 × 35 . What could the numbers x and y be? Find all the answers.

Problem 4.
(a) Emma says that since 24 = 4 × 6, divisibility by 24 should follow
from divisibility by 4 and by 6. Rachel says that since 24 = 8 × 3, divisibility
by 24 should follow from divisibility by 8 and by 3? Which girl is right and
why?
(b) Joseph says that since 60 = 3 × 4 × 5, divisibility by 60 follows
from divisibility by 3, by 4, and by 5. Milo says that since 60 = 2 × 3 × 10,
divisibility by 60 follows from divisibility by 3, by 2, and by 10. Which boy
is right?
(c) Come up with an easy test for divisibility by 180.

Problem 5.
(a) Can you find a pair of numbers such that their difference is 24 and
their greatest common factor is 12?
(b) Can you find a pair of numbers such that their difference is 12 and
their greatest common factor is 24?
(c) Can you find a pair of numbers such that their difference is 24 and
their greatest common factor is 7?

Problem 6.
(a) While visiting Cape Verde, Pirate Jim and Pirate Bob bought several
chocolate chip cookies each. Jim paid 93 copper coins for his cookies, and
Bob paid 102 copper coins. What could the price of a single cookie be if it
is an integer?
(b) Pirates Lisa and Elsa bought several barrels of gunpowder each.
Elsa paid one gold coin more than Lisa. What could the price of a single
barrel be if it is an integer?
(c) Captain Hook and Captain Kid bought several tricorn hats each.
Captain Hook paid 6 silver coins more than Captain Kid. What could the
price of a tricorn hat be if it is an integer?

Problem 7. The greatest common factor of the two numbers A and B is

equal to 150. What could their smallest possible product be? What could
the greatest possible product be?

Problem 8. A and B are two integer numbers; C is their greatest common

factor. Prove that A − B is divisible by C.
21.7. Take-Home Problem Set 179

21.7. Take-Home Problem Set

Problem 1. Rena and Simon bought several firecrackers each. Simon paid
12 shmollars more than Rina; Rina paid an odd number of shmollars. What
could the price of the firecracker be? (A firecracker costs a whole number of
shmollars.)

Problem 2. There are horses and cows on a farm. The number of horses
is half of the number of cows plus 10 more. The number of cows is 20 more
than the number of horses. How many horses and how many cows are there
on the farm?

Problem 3. Michael has a wooden triangle with one of its angles equal to
40 degrees. Using this triangle, how can he measure the following:
(a) a 160-degree angle?
(b) a 20-degree angle?
(The sizes of the other angles are unknown.)

Problem 4.
(a) King Haggard has a velvet pouch filled with diamonds. He can
divide these diamonds into 3 equal piles, 4 equal piles, or 5 equal piles. How
many diamonds does he have if it is known that his collection contains less
than 100 diamonds in total?
(b) King Haggard has a stash of gold coins. He is 1 coin short of being
able to divide these coins into 4 equal piles or 5 equal piles or 6 equal piles
or 7 equal piles. How many coins does he have if he has fewer than 500?

Problem 5. What is the smallest integer number n such that 1,000! is not
divisible by 38n ?

Problem 6. For each shape below, place integer numbers at the nodes in
such a way that:
- If two nodes are connected by an edge, then the numbers at these nodes
are not relatively prime.
- If two nodes are not connected, then the numbers at these nodes are
relatively prime.

Problem 7. Suppose that p is a prime number.

(a) How many numbers that are less than p are relatively prime to it?
(b) How many numbers that are less than p2 are relatively prime to it?
180 Session 21: Divisibility II. Relatively Prime Numbers; GCF and LCM

21.8. Additional Problems

Problem 1.
(a) How many common factors do the numbers 907 and 908 have?
(b) How many common factors do the numbers 56,785 and 56,789 have?
Problem 2. I am thinking of 5 non-prime numbers, and every pair of them
are relatively prime. Prove that at least one of my numbers is greater than
100.
 Session 22:
Divisibility III.
Mathematical Race Game

A solid understanding of the key concepts and ideas of divisibility theory

comes from practice. Therefore, during this lesson the students will be
working on a collection of problems that develop proficiency in the topics
that we have discussed so far: prime factorization, divisibility and relatively
prime numbers, least common multiple, greatest common factor, etc. To
make this lesson more enjoyable, we organize it as a Mathematical Race
tournament.
Mathematical Race is an individual or small-team tournament with a
simple set of rules. During the competition, each team works its way through
the same set of problems. The only restrictions are that a team works on 4
problems at a time and that the problems are handed out in the order they
are listed. You can read more about the rules of the tournament on page
249.
A team’s progress depends on the number of problems solved and also on
the longest uninterrupted stretch of correct answers. Therefore, the children
are motivated to progress through the list, trying to skip as few problems as
possible.
Teaching supplies for this session:
Make sure to print:
- The tournament problems, one or two copies per team (remember
to cut each set into individual problems in advance).
- Blank Mathematical Race score tables, one per team (a score table
is easy to make; for a sample, consult the chapter on Mathematical Race
rules).
- Mathematical Race answer key, one per teacher (the answer key for
today’s problem set can be found in the “Solutions” section).
- Small prizes for the participants (optional).

181
182 Session 22: Divisibility III. Mathematical Race Game

For Teachers: Depending on the goal of the game (a strict competition

or a friendly educational event), you may decide to provide occasional
help for the students.
If you work with a group of advanced students, having each student
be on his or her own could work better than a team game.

22.1. Math Warm-up

Warm-up 1. A farmer went to the market to sell some peas and lentils.
However, he had only one sack and didn’t want to mix peas and lentils. So,
he poured in the peas first, tied the sack in the middle, and then filled the top
portion of the sack with the lentils. At the market, an innkeeper happened
by with his own sack. He wanted to buy the peas, but he did not want the
lentils.
Pouring the peas or lentils anywhere else but into the sacks is considered
soiling. Trading sacks is not allowed. The farmer can’t cut a hole in his sack.
How would you transfer the peas to the innkeeper’s sack, which he wants to
keep, without soiling the produce? (Source: [37].)

Warm-up 1 Discussion. For this cool puzzle, be ready to dispense hints

that would steer the students in the right direction. For the possible hints,
check the “Solutions” section.

22.2. Event of the Day:

Mathematical Race
Today’s game contains fourteen problems. Some of the problems are, in
turn, composed of several subproblems. Usually, these subproblems explore
the same idea in different settings, progressing from easier to more complex
scenarios. When tallying the total score, we suggest giving points for each
subproblem separately.

Mathematical Race Problems

In all the problems below, unless stated otherwise, we are working with
positive integer numbers.

Problem 1. The greatest common factor of the numbers a and b is 10;

the greatest common factor of the numbers b and c is 7. What could the
smallest possible value of a × b × c be?

Problem 2. Two numbers are relatively prime, and their product is equal
to 23 × 52 × 133 . What could these numbers be? Find all the answers.
22.3. Take-Home Problem Set 183

Problem 3. The greatest common factor of 2 numbers is 6, and their

product is 22 × 32 × 115 . What could these numbers be? Find all the
answers.
Problem 4.
(a) Prove that the product of any 5 consecutive natural numbers is
divisible by 30.
(b) Prove that the product of any 5 consecutive natural numbers is
divisible by 120.
Problem 5.
(a) Find the biggest N such that 100! is divisible by 11N .
(b) Find the biggest N such that 100! is divisible by 35N .
Problem 6. Prove that 50! is not a perfect square.
Problem 7. Find the smallest n such that n × (n + 1) × (n + 2) × (n + 3)
is divisible by 1,000.
Problem 8.
(a) The number a + 1 is divisible by 3. Prove that 4a + 1 is divisible by
3 as well.
(b) The number a + 1 is divisible by 3. Prove that 7a + 16 is divisible
by 3 as well.
(c) The number a + 13 is divisible by 3. Prove that 2a − 13 is divisible
by 3 as well.
Problem 9. Find the last 2 digits of the sum: 1! + 2! + · · ·+ 1,999! + 2,000!.
Problem 10. The number 2 + a is divisible by 11. Prove that 31 − a is
divisible by 11 as well.
Problem 11. The number x + 2y is divisible by 7. Prove that 6x + 5y is
divisible by 7 as well.
Problem 12. Come up with 3 different numbers x, y, z such that x + y + z
is divisible by x, by y, and by z.
Problem 13. Come up with 5 different numbers such that their sum is
divisible by any one of them.
Problem 14. A table has 2 rows and infinitely many columns. The first
row contains all positive multiples of 9: 9, 18, 27, 36, .... In the second row,
below each multiple of 9, the sum of its digits is written. Thus, the first four
columns of the second row contain 9, 9, 9, and 9.
(a) What is the position of the first number 81 in the second row?
(b) In the second row of this table, which comes first: the number 36
or 4 consecutive number 27’s?

22.3. Take-Home Problem Set

The unsolved problems of today’s Race constitute the homework.
Problem Set 20: Divisibility I. Review 329

Session 20. Divisibility I. Review

Solution to Warm-up Problem
Warm-up Solution.
mom -> mum -> mud -> mad -> dad
fall -> tall -> toll -> told -> cold
sty -> say-> bay-> bag -> big -> pig
five -> fire ->firm ->form -> foam -> foal -> foul -> four

Solutions to Prime Factorization Practice. Set 1

Problem 1 Solution. 11 × 7 × 2 = 154.
Problem 2 Solution. 2 × 2 × 3 = 12.
Problem 3 Solution. 2 × 2 × 3 × 7 = 84.
Problem 4 Solution. 2 × 7 × 3 = 42.
Problem 5 Solution. 2 × 3 × 3 × 2 = 36.
Problem 6 Solution. 3 × 5 × 3 × 5 = 225.
Problem 7 Solution. 3 × 5 × 2 × 5 × 2 = 300.
Problem 8 Solution. The number 25 is divisible by 1, 5, 25.
Problem 9 Solution. The number 16 is divisible by 1, 2, 4, 8, 16.
Problem 10 Solution. The number 105 = 3 × 5 × 7 is divisible by 1, 3, 5,
7, 3 × 5, 3 × 7, 7 × 5, 3 × 5 × 7.

Solutions to Prime Factorization Practice. Set 2

Problem 1 Solution. Divisible by 2, 14, 98. Not divisible by 4, 12.
Problem 2 Solution.
(a) No.
(b) Divisible by 8, 36, 27, 56. Not divisible by 16.
Problem 3 Solution. Yes, it has prime factors 2 and 3.
Problem 4 Solution. Yes, 5 × A has prime factor 3. Thus, A has to have
it.
Problem 5 Solution. Yes, one of the terms has to have prime factor 7.
Problem 6 Solution. Not necessary, as the example 3 × 5 shows.
Problem 7 Solution. Yes, since A has to be divisible by 11.
Problem 8 Solution. Not necessary, as the example A2 = 36 shows.
330 Solutions

Solutions to Take-Home Problems

Problem 1 Solution. No, since the number is even.
Problem 2 Solution. 990 = 10 × 99 = 2 × 5 × 9 × 11 = 2 × 3 × 3 × 5 × 11.
To be divisible by 990, N ! must contain all these prime factors. However, if
N is less than 11, N ! does not have factor 11. Therefore, it is not divisible
by 990. If N = 11, then N ! contains the entire collection of prime factors of
990.
Problem 3 Solution. Let’s count the number of prime factors 2 in 100!.
Each of the numbers 2, 4, ..., 100 is divisible by 2. This gives us 50 factors.
Each of the numbers 4, 6, ..., 100 is divisible by 22 . This gives us 25 more
factors of 2. Each of the numbers 8, 16, ..., 96 is divisible by 23 . This gives
us 12 more factors. Each of the numbers 16, 32, ... , 96 is divisible by 24 .
This gives us 6 more factors. Each of the numbers 32, 64, 96 is divisible by
25 . This gives us 3 more factors. The number 64 is divisible by 26 . This is
1 more factor 2. The total is 50 + 25 + 12 + 6 + 3 + 1 = 97. Thus, 100! is
not divisible by 2100 .
Problem 4 Solution. Rewrite as HE × HE − HE = S × 100.
Then HE × (HE − 1) = S × 2 × 2 × 5 × 5.
Thus, prime factors 2, 2, 5, 5 should be distributed among the numbers
HE and HE − 1. Since these two numbers differ by 1, they cannot both be
multiples of 2 or 5. Therefore, one number must contain 2×2, another—5×5.
This second number must be odd. So, we are looking for two 2-digit numbers
that are 1 apart from each other. These two numbers must be a multiple of
4 and a multiple 25, and the multiple of 25 must be odd. Thus, one of these
numbers has to be either 25 or 75. If we choose 75, the other number must
be 76 or 74. In this case, the product of these two numbers would be too big.
If we choose 25, the other number must be 24 or 26. Since 25 × 24 = 600
and 25 × 26 = 650, we choose 24. Answer: 25 × 25 = 625.
Problem 5 Solution. Suppose this can be done. Starting from the smallest
number, let’s step clockwise from number to number. Each new number is
equal to the previous number multiplied or divided by a prime number.
Thus, the prime factorization of each new number contains 1 more or 1 less
prime factors than that of the previous number. To get back to the original
number, the number of prime factors added must be equal to the number of
prime factors removed. However, there are 99 operations altogether. Since
99 is odd, the numbers of added and removed prime factors cannot be equal.
Contradiction.
Problem 6 Solution. Notice that the number of rooks on A plus the
number of rooks on B is equal to 4 since there has to be exactly 1 rook
in each of the first 4 rows. Similarly, the number of rooks on B plus the
number of rooks on D is equal to 4 since there is 1 rook in each of the last
4 columns. Thus we have A + B = 4 = B + D and A = D.
Problem Set 20: Divisibility I. Review 331

Solutions to Additional Problems

Problem 1 Solution. Suppose the numbers are A and B. We know that
1,000 = 23 × 53 . Therefore, these prime factors have to be distributed among
A and B. If 2 and 5 belonged to the same number, this number would end
with 0. Therefore, A = 23 and B = 53 .
Problem 2 Solution. Key idea: 1,000 is divisible by 8. Therefore, any
number that ends with 3 zeroes is divisible by 8.
Problem 3 Solution. No, if we use n = 41, we get a composite number.
Problem 4 Solution. A digit at the 1’s position of a perfect square could
be one of these: 0, 1, 4, 5, 6, 9. This is 6 numbers total. Therefore, according
to the Pigeonhole Principle, there will be 2 numbers that end with the same
digit.
Problem 5 Solution. The last digit must be odd and not 5. Therefore, it
must be equal to 1, 3, 7, or 9. If it is 3 or 9, then the sum of the digits of the
3-digit number is either 6 or 18. Such a number is divisible by 3. Therefore,
the last digit could be 1 or 7. The examples are 101 and 347.
Problem 6. Proof by contradiction. Suppose that n+1 is not prime. Then
it has a factor, the number k, that is greater than 1 and less than n + 1.
This number k is one of the terms in n!. Therefore, n! is divisible by k. So,
n! + 1 is not divisible by k. So, it is not divisible by n + 1 either. Impossible.
332 Solutions

Session 21. Divisibility II. Relatively Prime Numbers; GCF

and LCM
Solutions to GCF and LCM In-Class Practice Problems

Problem 1 Solution.
(a) The smallest common factor is 1. The greatest common factor is
2 × 52 × 11.
(b) The least common multiple is 24 × 32 × 54 × 7 × 11 × 13.

Problem 2 Solution. The answer is the greatest common factor of 2, 3, 4,

and 7. This number is 4 × 3 × 7 = 82. Thus, he should visit in 82 days.

Problem 3 Solution.
(a) The prime factors of the product 23 ×52 should be distributed among
the two numbers. Since the two numbers are relatively prime, the entire set
of prime factors 2 should belong to one of the numbers. The same is true
with 5. Thus, the two answers are: 23 and 52 ; 1 and 23 × 52 .
(b) The factors of 28 × 35 should be distributed among x and y. Since
the common factor is 6, each number should contain at least one copy of
2 and of 3. However, if both numbers contained more than one factor 2;
the common factor would be at least 2 × 2 × 3. Therefore, one number
must contain one factor 2; the other number must contain 27 . Similarly, one
number must contain 3; the other must contain 34 . Thus, the answers are:
2 × 3 and 27 × 34 ; 27 × 3 and 2 × 34 ; 2 × 34 and 27 × 3.

Problem 4 Solution.
(a) Emma is not right. For example, 36 is divisible by 6 and 4, but not
by 24. However, since 8 and 3 are relatively prime, divisibility by 24 follows
from divisibility by 8 and by 3.
(b) Milo is not right. For example, 30 is divisible by 2, 3, and 10, but
not by 60. However, since 3, 4, and 5 are all relatively prime, divisibility by
60 follows from divisibility by 3, by 4, and by 5.
(c) Since 180 = 9 × 4 × 5 and since 9, 4, and 5 are all relatively prime,
divisibility by 180 follows from divisibility by 9, by 4, and by 5.

Problem 5 Solution.
(a) Example: 12 and 36.
(b) If the GCF of two numbers is 24, then each must be a multiple of
24. So, their difference must be a multiple of 24 as well. Thus, it cannot be
12.
(c) If the GCF of two numbers is 7, then each must be a multiple of 7.
So, their difference must be a multiple of 7 as well. Thus, it cannot be 24.

Problem 6 Solution.
(a) Both 93 and 102 are multiples of a price of a cookie. 93 = 3 × 31
and 102 = 3 × 34 = 3 × 2 × 17. So, a cookie could cost 1 or 3 copper coins.
Problem Set 21: Divisibility II. Relatively Prime Numbers; GCF and LCM 333

(b) Both totals should be divisible by the price of a barrel. However,

since they differ by 1, their greatest common factor is 1. So, the price of a
barrel is 1.
(c) Both totals should be divisible by the price of a single hat. Therefore,
the difference of these totals, which is 6, must be divisible by this price as
well. So, the price could be 1, 2, 3, or 6 silver coins. Examples; 61 and 67,
62 and 68, 63 and 69, 66 and 72.
Problem 7 Solution. Each number must be a multiple of 150. Thus, the
smallest such number is 150; so, the smallest possible product is 150 × 150.
There is no greatest possible product. By setting the numbers A and B to
products of 150 and two different big primes, A = P1 ×150 and B = P2 ×150,
we can set the product to be as big as necessary.
Problem 8 Solution. A = C×x, B = C×y. Therefore, A−B = C×(x−y).

Solutions to Take-Home Problems

Problem 1 Solution. Suppose the price of a firecracker is k. Both of the
amounts that Rina and Simon paid must be divisible by k. Thus, their
difference, which is 12 shmollars, must be divisible by k as well. So, the
possible values for k are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 12. However, Rina paid an odd number
of shmollars. So, she couldn’t have paid a multiple of 2, 4, 6, or 12. Thus,
the price of a firecracker must be 1 or 3 shmollars. Both answers are possible,
as the examples (5, 17) and (3, 15) illustrate.
Problem 2 Solution. Suppose that h is the number of horses and c is
the number of cows. h = c/2 + 10 and c = h + 20. Substituting, we get
c = c/2 + 10 + 20. This means that c is 60 and h is 40.
Problem 3 Solution.
(a) Measure four 40-degree angles next to each other.
(b) Measure a 160-degree angle and extend one of its sides to form a
180-degree angle. Their difference is a 20-degree angle.
Problem 4 Solution.
(a) This number is a multiple of 3, 4, and 5. Since 3, 4, and 5 are
relatively prime, this number must be a multiple of their product 3 × 4 × 5 =
60. The only such number that is less than 100 is 60.
(b) Suppose that we add 1 coin to the stash. Then we get a number that
is divisible by 4, 5, 6, and 7. The smallest such number is 2 × 2 × 3 × 5 × 7 =
420. Thus, the king has 419 coins.
Problem 5 Solution. To be divisible by 38n , a number must be divisible
by 2n and by 19n . Since there are at least 9 even numbers between any
2 consecutive multiples of 19, a factorial that is divisible by 19n will be
divisible by 2n . Thus, we are looking for the smallest n such that 1,000! is
not divisible by 19n .
334 Solutions

There are 52 multiples of 19 that are smaller than 1,000; out of them 2
are multiples of 192 . Thus, 1,000! contains 52 + 2 = 54 prime factors 19.
Therefore, n = 55.
Problem 6 Solution.
3*5
2*3 3*5 2*3 3*5
2*3 5*7
2*3*5*7*
2*3*5*7 11*13

2*7 5*7 2*7 5*7 11*13 7*11

Problem 7 Solution.
(a) Suppose that we have a number smaller than p. Then, since p is
prime, it cannot share any common factor with it. Therefore, 2, 3, . . . , p − 1
are all relatively prime to p. This is p − 2 numbers altogether.
(b) The only numbers less than p2 that are not relatively prime to p2
are 1 × p, 2 × p, 3 × p,. . . , (p − 1) × p. Therefore, to get all relatively prime
numbers, we are to exclude this set from the list 2, 3, . . . , p2 − 1. That makes
p2 − 2 − (p − 1) = p2 − 2 − p + 1 = p2 − p − 1 numbers altogether.

Solutions to Additional Problems

Problem 1 Solution.
(a) These numbers differ by 1. Therefore, the only common factor that
they share is 1.
(b) These numbers differ by 4. Therefore, all their possible common
factors must be multiples of 4: the numbers 1, 2, and 4. However, since both
numbers are odd, they are not divisible by 2 or by 4. Answer: 1.
Problem 2. These 5 numbers should be composed of at least 10 different
prime factors. The first 10 prime factors are 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29.
Out of these factors, only 4 are less than 10. Therefore, at least 1 number
has 2 prime factors which are greater than 10. This number is greater than
100.
Problem Set 22: Divisibility III. Mathematical Race Game 335

Session 22. Divisibility III. Mathematical Race Game

Solution to Warm-up Problem
Warm-up 1 Solution. Hints:
- Stress that both sacks are big.
- Approve the suggestion to start from transferring lentils to the inn-
keeper’s sack. This is the only meaningful first step, anyway.
- Use plenty of drawings to illustrate the puzzle. In the drawings, always
draw bags big and wide. For example, after the first step, the picture could
look like the drawing below. (P stands for peas, L—for lentils.)

P L

- Encourage “out of the box” ideas of how to use a bag.

Solution: Pour the lentils into the innkeeper’s bag. Keeping the farm-
er’s bag tied in the middle, turn it inside out. Pour the lentils to the
overturned farmer’s sack. Unbind the farmer’s sack and pour the peas.

Solutions to the Mathematical Race Problems

Problem 1 Solution. Since GCF(a, b) = 10, then both a and b are mul-
tiples of 10. Thus, the smallest that a can be is 10. Since GCF(b, c) = 7,
then both b and c are multiples of 7. Thus, the smallest value of c is 7.
The smallest value of b is 10 × 7 = 70. The smallest value of a × b × c is
10 × 70 × 7 = 4,900.
Problem 2 Solution. The prime factors of the product 23 ×52 ×133 should
be distributed between the two numbers in question. Since the numbers are
relatively prime, they cannot have any common prime factors. Therefore,
the entire set of 2’s should belong to one of the numbers. The same is true
for 5 and 13. Therefore, the options are 1 and 23 × 52 × 133 ; 23 and 52 × 133 ;
52 and 23 × 133 ; 133 and 52 × 23 .
Problem 3 Solution. Since 2 × 3 is a common factor of 2 numbers, each
number should have prime factors 2 and 3. So, each number must contain
2 × 3. Thus, all that’s left is to split 115 between the 2 numbers. However, if
each number had prime factor 11, their GCF would contain 11 as well. So,
all prime factors 11 must belong to the same number. Therefore, the only
possible answer is (2 × 3, 2 × 3 × 115 ).
Problem 4 Solution.
(a) Divisibility by 30 follows from divisibility by 3, 2, and 5 because
these factors are relatively prime. Out of 5 consecutive numbers, at least 1
must be a multiple of 2. So, the product is divisible by 2. Also, at least 1
336 Solutions

must be a multiple of 3; so, the product is divisible by 3. Similarly, 1 must

be a multiple of 5. Thus, the product is divisible by 2 × 3 × 5.
(b) Divisibility by 120 follows from divisibility by 3, 8, and 5. Out of
5 consecutive numbers, 2 must be even numbers that are 2 apart. So, 1 of
them must be a multiple of 4. Thus, 1 of these even numbers must be a
multiple of 4, and their product must be divisible by 2 × 4 = 8.
Problem 5 Solution.
(a) Nine numbers below 100 are multiples of 11: 11, 22, ..., 99. Thus,
the answer is 9.
(b) 35 = 5 × 7. Since 5 and 7 are relatively prime, we need divisibility
by 5N and 7N . Divisibility by 5N would follow from divisibility by 7N since
there are more factors 5 than factors 7. There are 14 multiples of 7 below
100: 7, 14, ..., 98. Two of them, 49 and 98, contain 2 copies of 7. Thus, the
answer is 14 + 2 = 16.
Problem 6 Solution. There are plenty of different proofs. For example,
50! is divisible by 37 but not divisible by 372 .
Problem 7 Solution. 1,000 = 23 × 53 . Thus, n × (n + 1) × (n + 2) × (n + 3)
should contain 3 copies of prime factor 2 and 3 copies of prime factor 5. Out
of any 4 consecutive numbers, 1 must be a multiple of 2, and 1 must be a
multiple of 4. Thus, divisibility by 8 can be taken for granted. Also, out of
4 consecutive numbers, only 1 could be a multiple of 5. Therefore, 1 of these
numbers has to be divisible by 53 = 125. For the smallest n, we must have
n + 4 = 125. Thus, the answer is 122 × 123 × 124 × 125, and n = 122.
Problem 8 Solution.
(a) The difference between 4a + 1 and a + 1 is 3a, which is definitely
divisible by 3. Therefore, 4a + 1 is divisible by 3.
(b) The difference between 7a+16 and a+1 is 6a+15, which is definitely
divisible by 3. Therefore, 7a + 16 is divisible by 3.
(c) The sum of a + 13 and 2a − 13 is 3a, which is definitely divisible by
3. Therefore, 2a − 13 is divisible by 3.
Problem 9 Solution. Every factorial starting from 10! ends with 00. Thus,
only 1! + 2! + · · · + 9! matters. Since we need the last 2 digits of this sum, we
should add the 2-digit ending of these 9 factorials. 1! ends with 01; 2! ends
with 02; 3! ends with 06; 4! ends with 24; 5! ends with 20; 6! ends with 20;
7! ends with 40; 8! ends with 20; 9! ends with 80.
1 + 2 + 6 + 24 + 20 + 20 + 40 + 20 + 80 ends with 1 + 2 + 6 + 4 = 13.
Problem 10 Solution. 31 − a = 33 − (2 + a), and 33 is divisible by 11.
Thus, 31 − a is divisible by 11.
Problem 11 Solution. x + 2y + 6x + 5y = 7x + 7y, which is divisible by 7.
Problem 12 Solution. 1, 2, and 3. Other solutions are possible.
Problem 13 Solution. 1, 2, 3, 6, 12, 24. Other solutions are possible.
Problem Set 22: Divisibility III. Mathematical Race Game 337

Problem 14 Solution.
(a) The smallest multiple of 9 with the sum of its digits adding up to
81 is composed of nine 9’s. Thus, it will be in the column 111111111.
(b) Four consecutive number 27’s come first. For example, they will be
under the numbers 9,369, 9,378, 9,387, 9,396.