Number Systems

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Theory

Number Systems is the most important topic in the quantitative section. It is a very vast
topic and a signi cant number of questions appear in CAT every year from this section.
Learning simple tricks like divisibility rules, HCF and LCM, prime number and remainder
theorems can help improve the score drastically. This segment is all about learning short
cuts. Due to the sheer size of the topic syllabus, many students never feel very
comfortable with Number Systems. The key here is to perform well on a relative scale
and improve your percentile.

Theory

Real and Complex Numbers

Real Numbers represent values along a continuous number line extending in both
positive and negative directions to in nity. They have a natural ordering. The set of
real numbers is the superset of all rational and irrational numbers, integers and
fractions. Examples are 4, -1, 1/4, 2.
Complex Numbers are of the form x+iy where x and y are real numbers and i is the
imaginary unit that equals −1 . They have no natural ordering. Examples are
2+i3, 1-i6, 9+i 2.
If a continuous line R represents the set of real numbers, the plane with R as the X
axis (and a Y-axis representing the imaginary part of the number) represents the
set of Complex numbers.

Rational and Irrational Numbers

Rational number is a number that can also be written as a fraction - that is it can be
expressed as the ratio of two whole numbers. It is the superset of all integers and
fractions, whole numbers and natural numbers. Examples are 3, 0, -1, 7/6,
34235/354.
Irrational numbers are numbers that cannot be written as the fraction of whole
numbers. Examples are π , 7 , 2+ 3 /2.

Integers, Natural Numbers and Whole Numbers

Integers are numbers that can be written without their fractional component.
Whole numbers are non-negative integers. Natural Numbers are positive integers.
Set of integers = {. . . -3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, . . . }. Set of Whole Numbers = {0, 1, 2, 3 . . }
and Natural Numbers = {1, 2, 3 . . . }

Prime and Composite Numbers

Prime numbers are numbers with only two factors- 1 and the number itself. A
prime number is not divisible by any number other than 1 and itself. Examples are
2, 3, 5, 7.
Composite numbers are numbers with more than 2 factors. Examples are 4, 6, 8, 9.
0 and 1 are neither composite nor prime.

Theory

 Prime numbers
How to check if a number is prime

To check if n is a prime number lets take the list of all prime factors less than or
equal to n rounded up. (i.e. 2, 3, . . .). If none of the prime factors can divide n
then n is a prime number. Important fact to remember: there are 25 prime numbers
less than 100.

Properties of Prime numbers

There are exactly 2 factors of a prime number: 1 and the number itself
There are in nitely many number of prime numbers
Fermat's theorem: For any integer a and prime number p, ap − a is always divisible
by p. Hence, a mod p = a mod p. Also, if a is not divisible by p then ap−1 mod p= 1
p

mod p.
Wilson's theorem: According to Wilson's theorem a number n is prime if and only if
(n-1)! mod n = -1 mod n. For example, consider the prime number 7. Hence, the
remainder when 6! is divided by 7 is -1 i.e. 6.
Only one triplet of prime numbers exists such that x, x+2 and x+4 are prime and
that is 3, 5 and 7.

Quick Recap

Fermats Theorem: If p is a prime number, ap − a mod p = 0

If a and p are co-primes then ap−1 mod p= 1 mod p
Wilson's Theorem: If n is prime (n-1)! mod n = -1 mod n

Solved Example

Prime Numbers
Question 1: What is the remainder when 10! is divided by 11?

Solution: By Wilson's theorem the remainder is -1 i.e. 11-1=10. Hence, remainder = 10

Question 2: What is the remainder when 2413 is divided by 7?

Solution: By Fermat's theorem as 24 and 7 are co-primes, remainder of 246 mod 7 =1.
Hence, 2413 can be split up as 246 * 246 * 24 mod 7 = 1*1*3 mod 7 =3. Hence,
remainder is 3.

Question 3: If a number is chosen at random from 1 to 100, what is the probability that it
would be prime?

Solution: There are 25 prime numbers in the range 1-100. Hence, probability = 25/100
=0.25.

Theory

Divisibility by 2, 4, 8, 16

A number is divisible by 2 if the last digit of the number is divisible by 2 i.e. last
digit is 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8
A number is divisible by 4 if the last two digits of the number are divisible by 4. For
eg. 1348 is divisible by 4 because 48 is divisible by 4.
A number is divisible by 8 if the last three digits of the number are divisible by 8.
For eg. 21348 is not divisible by 8 because 348 is not divisible by 8.
A number is divisible by 16 if the last four digits of the number are divisible by 16.
For eg. 1,134,224 is divisible by 16 because 4224 is divisible by 16.

Divisibility by 3, 9, 27

 A number is divisible by 3 if the sum of all digits of the number are divisible by 3.
Hence 729 (sum of digits = 7+2+9=18) is divisible by 3
A number is divisible by 9 if the sum of all digits of the number are divisible by 9.
Hence 62172 (sum of digits = 6+2+1+7+2=18) is divisible by 9.
A number is divisible by 27 if the sum of blocks of 3 from left to right are divisible
by 27. Hence 134433 (sum of blocks = 134+433=567) is divisible by 27.

Divisibility by 7

Remove the last digit, double it and subtract it from the truncated original number.
For example: 1638, 163-16=147 is divisible by 7 hence 1638 is divisible by 7. This
process should be repeated for larger numbers.

Divisibility by 11

Take sum of all even digits and subtract it from the sum of all odd digits. If the
difference is a multiple of 11 the original number will be a multiple of 11. Example
23452 (sum odd = 2+4+2=8 sum even=3+5=8) difference=8-8=0 is divisible by 11
hence 23452 is divisible by 11.

Divisibility properties

For composite divisors, check if the number is divisible by the factors individually.
Hence to check if a number is divisible by 6 it must be divisible by 2 and 3.
The equation an − bn is always divisible by a-b. If n is even it is divisible by a+b. If
n is odd it is not divisible by a+b.
The equation an + bn is never divisible by a-b. If n is odd it is divisible by a+b. If n
is even it is not divisible by a+b.

Quick Recap

Divisibility by 2: Last digit divisible by 2

Divisibility by 4: Last two digits divisible by 4
Divisibility by 8: Last three digits divisible by 8
Divisibility by 16: Last four digit divisible by 16
Divisibility by 3: Sum of digits divisible by 3
Divisibility by 9: Sum of digits divisible by 9
Divisibility by 27: Sum of blocks of 3 (taken right to left) divisible by 27
Divisibility by 7: Remove the last digit, double it and subtract it from the truncated
original number. Check if number is divisible by 7
Divisibility by 11: (sum of odd digits) - (sum of even digits) should be 0 or divisible
by 11

Solved Example

Divisibility Rules
Question 1: A number 24X34 is divisible by 9. Find X?

Solution: If the number is divisible by 9 then the sum of the digits must be divisible by 9.
Hence 2+4+X+3+4=13+X is divisible by 9. As 0<=X<=9, X=5.

Question 2: A number 4574X is divisible by 11. Find X?

Solution: The number would be divisible by 11 if difference of sum of alternate digits is

divisible by 11. Hence, (4+7+X)-(5+4)=X+2. As 0<=X<=9, X must be 9 for X+2 to be
divisible by 11. Hence, X=9.

Question 3: What is the remainder when 69 + 79 is divided by 13?

Solution: an + bn is divisible by a+b when n is odd. Hence, 69 + 79 is divisible by
(6+7)=13. Hence, remainder=0.


Theory

Base System

Converting a number from decimal to a different base

To convert a number from decimal to base b, repeatedly divide the number with b.
The remainder becomes the rightmost digit of the converted number and the
quotient is divided again by b. For example to convert 1342 to base 3, the steps are
as follows: 1342/3= Quot=447 Rem=1. Dividing 447/3 = Quot=149 Rem=0. Dividing
149/3= Quot 49 Rem=2, Dividing 49/3= Quot 16 Rem=1. Dividing 16/3 = Quot 5
Rem 1. Dividing 5/3= Quot 1 Rem=2. Hence the converted number is 1211201.

Converting a number from a different base to decimal

To convert a number from base b to decimal, multiply each number with the
corresponding power of b and sum it up. Hence, to convert 1211201 from base 3
to decimal, converted number = 1 ∗ 30 + 0 ∗ 31 + 2 ∗ 32 + 1 ∗ 33 + 1 ∗ 34 + 2 ∗
35 + 1 ∗ 36 = 1 + 0 + 18 + 27 + 81 + 486 + 729 = 1342.
Remainders applied to numbers in different bases

A decimal number in divisible by b-1 only if the sum of the digits of the number
when written in base b are divisible by b-1. For example 1211201 written in base 3.
The sum of the digits = 8 is divisible by 2. Hence 12112013 =134210 is divisible by
2.

Quick Recap

Converting from decimal to base b. Let R1 , R2 . . . be the remainders left after

repeatedly dividing the number with b. Hence, the number in base b is given by
...R2 R1 .
Converting from base b to decimal - multiply each digit of the number with a power
of b starting with the rightmost digit and b0 .

A decimal number in divisible by b-1 only if the sum of the digits of the number
when written in base b are divisible by b-1.

Solved Example

Base Systems
Question 1: Find X where 3567 + 21347 =X10 .

Solution: 356+2134 in base 7 = 25237 ( here for last digit 6+4 = 10 = 7+3. So, carry over 1
and last digit is 3. Similarly, for second last digit 5+3+1 = 9. So carry over 1 and second-
last digit is 2). Converting this to base 10, we get = 3_7^0 +2_7^1 +5_7^2 +2_7^3 = 3 + 14
+ 245 + 686 = 948. Hence X=948.

Question 2: 2464X24 is a number in base 8 which when represented in decimal format is

divisible by 7. What is X?

Solution: If the number is divisible by 7 in decimal format then the sum of the digits must
be divisible by 7. Hence, 2+4+6+4+X+2+4 = 22+X is divisible by 7. Hence X=6.

Theory

Cyclicity
To nd the last digit of an nd the cyclicity of a. For eg. if a=2, we see that

21 = 2 
 22 = 4
23 = 8
24 = 16
25 = 32
Hence, the last digit of 2 repeats after every 4 th power. Hence cyclicity of 2 =4.
Hence if we have to nd the last digit of an , the steps are:

1. Find the cyclicity of a, say it is x

2. Find the remainder when n is divided by x, say remainder r
3. Find ar if r>0 and ax when r=0
For example, nd the last digit of 4102 * 639

The cyclicity of 4 is as follows:

41 = 4
42 = 16
43 = 64
Hence, cyclicity of 4 is 2 and of 6 is 1. Last digit of 4102 is 6 and that of 639 is 6.
Thus 6*6 would give 6 as the last digit.

Solved Example

Factors and Cyclicity

Question 1: What are the number of factors in 1020?

Solution: 1020 can be represented as the product of prime factors as 1020 = 22 * 3 * 5 *

17

Hence, number of factors = (2+1) (1+1) (1+1) (1+1) =3 * 2 * 2 * 2 =24

Question 2: What are the number of even factors in 2880?

Solution: 2880 can be represented as the product of prime factors as follows: 2880 =
26 ∗ 32 ∗ 5
Hence number of even factors = 6 * (2+1) * (1+1) = 6*3*2 = 36

Question 3: What are the number of factors in 2880 that are divisible by 10?

Solution: 2880 can be represented as the product of prime factors as follows: 2880 = 2^6
* 3^2 * 5

Hence, for the factor to be a multiple of 10, 2 and 5 must come at least once.

Number of factors divisible by 10 = 6*(2+1)*1 = 18

Question 4: What is the highest power of 5 in 200!?

Solution: Highest power of 5 in 200! = 40 + 8 + 1=49

Formula

HCF * LCM of two numbers = Product of two numbers

The greatest number dividing a, b and c leaving remainders of x1 , x2 and x3 is the
HCF of (a-x1 ), (b-x2 ) and (c-x3 ).
The greatest number dividing a, b and c (a<b<c) leaving the same remainder each
time is the HCF of (c-b), (c-a), (b-a).

Theory

 How to nd LCM and HCF

To nd the LCM or HCF of a set of numbers, rst represent them as the product of
prime factors. While calculating LCM, nd the highest exponent for each prime
factor among the numbers. The LCM is the product of the prime factors raised to
the highest exponent.
For example to nd the LCM of 720, 140 and 64, we factorize each number 720 =
24 * 32 * 5, 140 = 22 * 5 * 7, 64 = 26
Hence, the highest exponent of each prime factor is as follows: 2 is 6, 3 is 2, 5 is 1
and 7 is 1. Hence LCM = 26 * 32 * 5 * 7 = 20160.
While calculating HCF, nd the lowest exponent for each prime factor among the
numbers. The HCF is the product of the prime factors raised to the lowest
exponent.

Hence for the 3 numbers the lowest exponent are as follows: 2 is 2, 3 is 0, 5 is 0

and 7 is 0. Hence the HCF = 4.

Properties of LCM, HCF

HCF * LCM of two numbers = Product of two numbers

Hence, if the two numbers are 180 and 320, the HCF=20. LCM = (180*320)/20=
2880.

The greatest number dividing a, b and c leaving remainders of x1 , x2 and x3 is the

HCF of (a-x1 ), (b-x2 ) and (c-x3 ). For example if a number divides 51, 128, 298 and
leaves 3, 8 and 10 as the remainders then the largest number to do so would be the
HCF of (48, 120, 288) = 24.
The greatest number dividing a, b and c (a<b<c) leaving the same remainder each
time is the HCF of (c-b), (c-a), (b-a). For example the largest number to divide 102,
141 and 258 is the HCF of (258-102, 258-141, 141-102)=HCF of ( 156, 117, 39) = 39
If a number, N, is divisible by X and Y and HCF(X,Y) = 1. Then, N is divisible by X*Y

Solved Example

HCF and LCM

Question 1: Ajay, Vijay and Alay run on a circular track of 800m at 0.4m/s, 0.5m/s and
0.8m/s. If the start at the same time, how many times will they meet by the time Alay
nishes 10 rounds of the track?

Solution: The time taken to nish one round of the track is 2000s, 1600s and 1000s
respectively. Hence, they meet every x seconds where x=LCM(2000, 1600, 1000) = 8000s.
Hence, by the time Alay completes 10 rounds in 10,000s, they would have met exactly
once.

Question 2: A number x leaves the same remainder when it divides 20, 50 and 62. Find
the maximum possible value of x?

Solution: The greatest number to leave the same remainder is HCF of (62-20, 62-50, 50-
20) =HCF(42, 12, 30) = 6. Hence max value of x=6.

Question 3: The HCF of 24 and a is 8 and the LCM is 48. Find a?

Solution: HCF*LCM = 24*a = 8*48. Hence, a=16.

Theory

Remainder Theorem

If a, b, c are the prime factors of N such that N= ap * bq * cr


 then the number of numbers less than N and co-prime to N ϕ(N )= N (1-1/a) (1 -
1/b) (1 - 1/c). This function is known as the Euler's totient function.

Euler's theorem

If M and N are co-prime to each other then remainder when M ϕ(N ) is divided by N
is 1.

Solved Example

Remainder Theorems
Question 1: Find the remainder when 4102 is divided by 21?

The Euler's totient function of 21 = 21 (1-1/3) (1 - 1/7) = 12 Hence remainder(412 / 21)=1.

Hence, 4102 can be represented as 412∗8 * 46 . Hence remainder = 1 * remainder (4^6 /21
) = remainder (2^12) / 21 = 1

Theory

Factors
Number of factors

To nd the number of factors of a number, convert the number into the product of
its prime factors. Prime factors of a number are the divisors that are prime
numbers. Hence 720 can be represented as

720 = 16 * 9 * 5 = 24 * 32 * 5
The individual factors of 720 can be constructed by taking 2 0 times, 1 time, 2
times . . 4 times = 5 ways

Similarly 3 can be taken 0 times, 1 time or 2 times = 3 ways

Similarly 5 can be taken 0 times or 1 time= 2 ways

Hence the number of factors of 720 are = number of combinations of factors =

(4+1) * (2+1) * (1+1) = 5*3*2=30.
In general if the number can be represented as N = ap ∗ bq ∗ cr . . . then number of
factors is (p+1) * (q+1) * (r+1) . . .
If the number of factors are odd then N is a perfect square.
If there are n factors, then the number of pairs of factors would be n/2. If N is a
perfect square then number of pairs (including the square root) is (n+1)/2.

Number of even and odd factors

To get even factors of 720, we must take 2 as a factor at least once.

Hence 2 can be taken 1 time, 2 times, 3 times, 4 times = 4 ways

If the number can be expressed as N = 2p ∗ aq ∗ br . . . where the power of 2 is p,

1. Then the number of even factors of N = p (1+q) (1+r) . . .

2. The number of odd factors of N = (1+q) (1+r) . . .

Hence the number of even factors of 720 (as shown above) = 4 * (2+1) *
(1+1) =4 * 3 * 2 = 24

Hence the number of odd factors of 720 (as shown above) = (2+1) * (1+1) =
3*2=6

Sum of factors

If the number can be represented as N = ap \∗ br \∗ cq . . .

Then sum of factors is



1 1 1
 ap+1 −1 bq+1 −1 cr+1 −1
a−1
* b−1 * c−1 . . .
5
−1 32+1 −1 51+1 −1
Hence sum of factors of 720 = 22−1 * 3−1 * 5−1 = 31 * 13 * 6 = 2418

Theory

Highest power of a number in a Factorial

The factorial of n is represented as n! = 1 * 2 * 3 . . . * (n-1) n

The highest power of a number p in a factorial n! if p is prime:
Lets take the example of highest power of 5 in 30!

To nd the highest power of 5 in 30, nd the number of multiples of 5 in 30 + nd

the number of multiples of 25 in 30 + so on

Hence, highest power of 5 in 30= 6+1 = 7

In general, highest power of p in n is sum = number of multiples of p + number of
multiples of p2 + number of multiples of p3 and so on.
The highest power of a number c in a factorial n! if c is composite:
If c is a composite, nd its highest prime factor. The power of the composite in n!
is the same as the power of its highest prime factor. Hence the highest power of
21 in 100! is the highest power of 7 in 100!. Hence, highest power of 7 in 100! =
14+2=16. Hence the highest power of 21 in 100! is 16.

Formula

Recap of Formulae

If N = ap ∗ bq ∗ cr . . . then number of factors is (p+1)(q+1)(r+1) . . .

If the number of factors are odd then N is a perfect square.
If there are n factors, then the number of pairs of factors would be n/2. If N is a
perfect square then number of pairs (including the square root) is (n+1)/2.
If the number can be expressed as N = 2p ∗ aq ∗ br . . . where the power of 2 is p,
Then the number of even factors of N = p (1+q) (1+r) . . .
The number of odd factors of N = (1+q) (1+r) . . .
If the number can be represented as N = ap ∗ br ∗ cq . . .

Then sum of factors is

ap+1 −1 bq+1 −1 cr+1 −1
a−1
* b−1 * c−1 . . .
In general, highest power of a prime p in n is sum = number of multiples of p +
number of multiples of p2 + number of multiples of p3 and so on

Shortcuts

Sum of all permutations of n-digits

If all possible permutations of n distinct digits are added together the sum is given by (n-
1)! * (sum of n digits) * (11111... n times)

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