Number System (1) - Repaired

Introduction
From the CAT exam point of view, Numbers is one of the topics that one
considerably less weightage when compared to Arithmetic, Algebra and
Geometry. Yet, Number System is a crucial topic to cover as it serves the
foundation for many other topics including DILR. Between 2016 and 2020,
up to 3 questions have been asked in CAT from the topic of Number System.
Numbers is one of those topics that makes the difference for that high
percentile in Quant Section. Here are the most important Number System
rules and formulae that you must memorize and apply through practice by
using the free InsideIIM Mini Mock Test Series.
https://insideiim.com/free-cat-tests-to-ace-cat-2021
https://insideiim.com/cat-preparedness
https://insideiim.com/cat-study-planner
https://insideiim.com/insideiim-ai-based-profile-evaluation-tool
Prime numbers:
Numbers which have exactly 2 factors (1 and number itself): Eg: 2, 3, 5, 7, 11,
Composite numbers:
Numbers which have more than 2 factors
Remember:
i. 1 is neither prime nor composite.
ii. If a number ‘N’ is not divisible by any prime number less than √N , then N is
a prime number.
iii. Every prime number greater than 3 can be written in the form of (6k + 1)
or (6k – 1), where k is an integer.
Relative primes:
Numbers which do not have a common factor other than 1. Eg: 3 and 8, 15 and
16.
Perfect numbers:
If the sum of all the factors excluding itself (but including 1) is equal to the
number itself, then the number is called the perfect number. E.g. 6, 28
Note :
i. The product of 2 consecutive integers is always divisible by 2.
ii. The product of n consecutive integers is always divisible by n!
Pure recurring decimal:

if all the digits after decimal repeat, then it is called pure recurring.
Converting pure recurring decimal to fraction:

Ex:
0.abababab.... = ab / 99 .i.e.,
recurring digits / as many 9’ as the number of recurring digits
iii. Every prime number greater than 3 can be written in the form of (6k + 1)
or (6k – 1), where k is an integer.
The following operations hold true when you consider

even and odd numbers:
Even + Even = even
Odd + Odd = even
Even + Odd = Odd
Even any number = even
Odd x Odd = odd
Even/Odd = Even (if divisible)
Odd/Odd = Odd (if divisible)
Odd/Even = > Never divisible
Odd + Odd + Odd + Odd + .... Odd number of times = Odd number
Divisibility
The following divisibility rules hold true:
Divisibility by 2 - If the last Digit of a number is even ie 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 then the

number is divisible by 2. eg:- 842.
Divisibility by 3 - If the sum of all digits is divisible by 3, the number is

divisible by 3.
Divisibility by 4 - If the last two digits of a number is divisible by 4 or is 00, the

number is also divisible by 4.
Divisibility by 5 - If the last digit is 0 or 5 the number is divisible by 5

eg:- 125, 525, 220 etc.
Divisibility by 6 - A number is divisible by 6 if the number is divisible by both

2&3
simultaneously.
Eg:- 144 is divisible by 2 & 3 both hence will also be divisible by 6
Divisibility by 8 - If the last three digits of a number is divisible by 8 or have 3

or more
zeroes (eg. 000, 0000 etc), the no is also divisible by 8. eg→ 632000.
Divisibility by 9 - A number is divisible by 9 if the sum of its digits is a multiple

of 9. eg:- 729
Divisibility by 11 - If you subtract the sum of digits in the even places from the
sum of digits in the odd places (even places and odd places are to be counted
from the right), the answer of the subtraction should be either 0 or a multiple
of 11. In such a case, the number is said to be divisible by 11. eg:- 1419
If x is divisible by y, then xz is also divisible by y.
If x is divisible by y, y is divisible by z then x is divisible by z
If x is divisible by y, y is divisible by x., then x=y.
If x is divisible by a, y is divisible by a then x+ y and x- y are both divisible by a.
If a is divisible by c and b is divisible by d, then ab is divisible by cd.
The highest power of a prime number ‘p’, which divide x! exactly is given by:
[x/p] + [x/p²] + [x/p³ ] + …
Units Digit
Cyclicity
FACTORS AND CO-PRIMES OF A NUMBER
Number of Factors of a Number
If N is a composite number such that N = ap . bq . cr …….
where a, b, c are prime factors of N and p, q, r ……. are positive integers, then
the number of factors of N is given by the expression.
(p + 1) (q+1) (r+1)....
For example 140 = 22 x 51 x 71.
Hence 140 has (2 + 1) (1+1) (1+1), i.e., 12 factors.
Please note that the �igure arrived at by using the above formula includes 1 and
the given number N also as factors. So if you want to �ind the number of factors
the given number has excluding. 1 and the number itself, we �ind out (p+1)
(q+1) (r+1) and then subtract 2 from that �igure.
In the above example, the number 140 has 10 factors excluding 1 and itself.
Number of ways of expressing a given number as a
product of two factors.
The given number N (which can be written as equal to ap . bq . cr …….. where a,
b, c are prime factors of N and p, q, r….. are positive integers) can be expressed
as the product of two factors in different ways.
The number of ways in which this can be done is given by the expression 1/2
{(p + 1) (q+1) (r+1).........}
So, 140 can be expressed as a product of two factors in 12/2 or 6 ways

{because (p + 1) (q+1) (r+1) in the case of 140 is equal of 12}
If p, q, r, etc. are all even, then the product (p+1) (q+1) (r+1)........becomes odd
and the above rule will not be valid since we cannot take 1/2 of an odd number
to get the
number of ways. If p,q,r,.... are all even, it means that the number N is a perfect
square . This situation arises in the speci�ic cases of perfect squares because a
perfect square can also be written as {square root x square root}. So, two
different cases arise in case of perfect squares depending on whether we
would like to consider writing the number as {square root x square root} also
as one of the ways.
Thus, to �ind out the number of ways in which a perfect square can be
expressed as a product of 2 factors , we have the following 2 rules.
as a product of two factors (including √N x √N ) in 1/2 {(p+1) (q+1) (r+1)

………. +1} ways.
In general, if N = pa . qb . rc (where at least one of a, b, c is odd), the product of

all the factors of N is Nd/2, where d is the number of factors of N and is given
by (a+1) (b+1) (c+1).
Number of ways of writing a number as product of two

co-primes.
Using the same notation and convention used earlier. If N= ap . bq .
cr…………………..,
then, the number of ways of writing N as a product of 2 co-primes in 2n-1 ,
where ‘n’ is the number of distinct prime factors of the given number N.
Number of co-primes of N, that are less than N

If N is a number that can be written as ap . bq . cr……………………. , then, the
number of co-primes of N, which are less than N, represented by ϕ (N) is,
For example if, 48 is considered,
Note: If numbers less than 48 are listed, and co-primes to 48 are spotted, the
count of co-primes will be 16.
LEAST COMMON MULTIPLE (LCM) AND HIGHEST
COMMON FACTOR (HCF)
Least Common Multiple (LCM) of two or more numbers is the least number
which is divisible by each of these numbers (i.e leaves no remainder ; or
remainder is zero). - The same can be algebraically de�ined as “LCM of two or
more expressions is the expression of the lowest dimension which is divisible
by each of them i.e leaves no remainder ; or remainder is zero.”
Highest Common Factors (HCF) is the largest_factor of two or more given

numbers. The same can be de�ined algebraically as “ HCF of two or more
algebraical expressions is the expression of_highest dimension which divides
each of them without remainder.
HCF is also called GCD (Greatest Common Divisor).
For �inding LCM and HCF of fractions , �irst reduce each fraction to its
simplest form i.e ., cancel out any common factors between the denominator
and numerator and then apply appropriate formula from the following:
Any number which when divided by p, q, or r leaving the same remainder s in
each case will be of the form k (LCM of p,q and r) + s
where k = 0, 1, 2, ………..
If we take k = 0, then we get the smallest such number.
Any number which when divided by p, q or r leaving respective remainders of

s, t and u where (p - s) = (q - t) = (r - u) = v (say), will be of the form
k (LCM of p,q and r) - v
The smallest such number will be obtained by substituting k = 1.
HCF - Model 1
In this model, we have to identify the largest number that exactly divides the
given dividends (which are obtained by subtracting the respective remainders
from the given numbers).
HCF - Model 2
In this model, the problem will be as follows :
“Find the largest number with which if we divide the numbers p, q and r, the
remainders are the same.”
Take the difference between any two pairs out of the three given numbers. Let
us say we take the two differences ( p - q) and (p - r). The HCF of these
numbers will be the required number.
Factorial
Factorial is �irst de�ined for positive integers. It is denoted by ∠ or ! . Thus

“Factorial n” is written as n! or ∠n .
n! is de�ined as the product of all the integers from 1 to n .
Thus n! = 1.2.3. …..n(n-1)n.
0! is de�ined to be equal to 1.
0! = 1 and , 1! is also equal to 1.
IGP of a Divisor in a Number
Very often we would like to know how many times we can divide a given
number by another and continue to get integral quotients. We �irst consider
prime divisors and then other divisors.
If a single number is given we simply represent it in its canonical form (the

simplest and must convenient form).
For example , consider N = 258,048.
By trial, we express N = 2123271. We see immediately that N can be divided by

2 a total of 12 times, by 3 two times and by 7 just once. In other words the index
of the greatest power (IGP) of 2 in N is 12 , of 3 is 2 and of 7 is 1.
Let D = pmqn (where pm, q are primes and m,n are positive integers). We �irst
determine the IGP of p that divides N and the IGP of q that divides N, Let these
be a and b respectively
Therefore, the IGP of pm that divides N is and the IGP of qn that divides N
is
Finally, the IGP of D that divides N is the smaller of
is the greatest integer less than or equal to x.]
Properties of the numbers
Following are some properties of the numbers which are helpful in solving the
questions in the examination.
The sum of 5 successive whole numbers in always divisible by 5.
The product of 3 consecutive natural numbers in divisible by 6.
The product of 3 consecutive natural numbers, the �irst of which is an even

number is divisible by 24.
The sum of a two- digit number and a number formed by reversing its digits is
divisible by 11. At the same time, the difference between those numbers will be
divisible by 9.
e.g . 82 - 28 = 54, which is divisible by 9.
is the sum of �irst n natural numbers.
is the sum of �irst n perfect squares.
xn + yn = ( x + y ) (xn- 1 - xn-2 . y + xn- 3 . y2 ……… +yn - 1 ) when n is odd.

Therefore, when n is odd, xn + yn is divisible by x + y
e.g. 33 + 23 = 35 , which is divisible by 5
xn - yn = ( x + y ) (xn- 1 - xn-2 . y + ……… yn - 1 ) when n is even. Therefore, when

n is even , xn - yn is divisible by x + y
e.g. 72 - 32 = 40 , which is divisible by 10 .
xn - yn = ( x - y ) (xn- 1 + xn-2 . y + ………+ yn -1

) for both odd and even n .
Therefore, xn - yn is divisible by x - y.
e.g. 94 - 24 = 6545 , which is divisible by 7 .
Remainder Theory
Questions from the number system appear regularly in almost all competitive
exams. Within the number system, the questions on remainders are found to
be most tricky. This will help you learn different types of remainder questions
and various approaches you can apply to solve these.
The basic remainder formula is :
Dividend = Divisor x Quotient + Remainder
If remainder = 0, then the number is perfectly divisible by divisor is a factor of

the number e.g. when 8 divides 40, the remainder is 0, it can be said that 8 is a
factor of 40.
There are few important results relating to numbers. Those will be covered
one by one in the following examples.
Formulas Based Concepts for Remainder:
(an + bn ) is divisible by ( a + b ), when n is odd.

(an - bn ) is divisible by (a + b), when n is even.
(an - bn ) is always divisible by (a - b), for every n.
Concept of Negative Remainder :

By de�inition, remainder cannot be negative. But in certain cases, you can
assume that for your convenience. But a negative remainder in real sense
means that you need to add the divisor in the negative remainder to �ind the
real remainder.
NOTE : Whenever you are getting a negative number as the remainder, make it
positive by adding the divisor to the negative remainder.
Cyclicity in Remainders:
Cyclicity is the property of remainders, due to which they start repeating

themselves after a certain point.
Role of Euler’s Number in Remainders:
Euler’s Remainder theorem states that , for co-prime numbers M and N,

Remainder [[ME(N) / N ] = 1, ie. number M raised to Euler number of N will
leave a remainder 1 when divided by N. Always check whether the numbers
are co-primes are not as Euler’s theorem is applicable only for co-prime
numbers.
Now that you have all the formulas in place why don't you execute them in
these practise tests.
Now that you have all the formulas at place why don't
you execute them in these practice tests.
Number Test 1 ht ps:/ insideim.com/fre -daily-mba-mock-test -cat-xat-other-mba-exams/152
Number Test 2 ht ps:/ insidei m.com/fre -daily-mba-mock-tests-cat-xat-other-mba-exams/153

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Introduction

ii. The product of n consecutive integers is always divisible by n!

Pure recurring decimal:

Converting pure recurring decimal to fraction:

The following operations hold true when you consider

The following divisibility rules hold true:

Divisibility by 2 - If the last Digit of a number is even ie 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8 then the

Divisibility by 3 - If the sum of all digits is divisible by 3, the number is

Divisibility by 4 - If the last two digits of a number is divisible by 4 or is 00, the

Divisibility by 5 - If the last digit is 0 or 5 the number is divisible by 5

Divisibility by 6 - A number is divisible by 6 if the number is divisible by both

Divisibility by 8 - If the last three digits of a number is divisible by 8 or have 3

Divisibility by 9 - A number is divisible by 9 if the sum of its digits is a multiple

If x is divisible by y, then xz is also divisible by y.

If x is divisible by y, y is divisible by z then x is divisible by z

If x is divisible by y, y is divisible by x., then x=y.

If x is divisible by a, y is divisible by a then x+ y and x- y are both divisible by a.

If a is divisible by c and b is divisible by d, then ab is divisible by cd.

So, 140 can be expressed as a product of two factors in 12/2 or 6 ways

as a product of two factors (including √N x √N ) in 1/2 {(p+1) (q+1) (r+1)

In general, if N = pa . qb . rc (where at least one of a, b, c is odd), the product of

Number of ways of writing a number as product of two

Number of co-primes of N, that are less than N

Highest Common Factors (HCF) is the largest_factor of two or more given

Any number which when divided by p, q or r leaving respective remainders of

k (LCM of p,q and r) - v

The smallest such number will be obtained by substituting k = 1.

In this model, the problem will be as follows :

Factorial is �irst de�ined for positive integers. It is denoted by ∠ or ! . Thus

IGP of a Divisor in a Number

If a single number is given we simply represent it in its canonical form (the

By trial, we express N = 2123271. We see immediately that N can be divided by

Finally, the IGP of D that divides N is the smaller of

is the greatest integer less than or equal to x.]

The sum of 5 successive whole numbers in always divisible by 5.

The product of 3 consecutive natural numbers in divisible by 6.

The product of 3 consecutive natural numbers, the �irst of which is an even

is the sum of �irst n natural numbers.

is the sum of �irst n perfect squares.

xn + yn = ( x + y ) (xn- 1 - xn-2 . y + xn- 3 . y2 ……… +yn - 1 ) when n is odd.

xn - yn = ( x + y ) (xn- 1 - xn-2 . y + ……… yn - 1 ) when n is even. Therefore, when

xn - yn = ( x - y ) (xn- 1 + xn-2 . y + ………+ yn -1

The basic remainder formula is :

Dividend = Divisor x Quotient + Remainder

If remainder = 0, then the number is perfectly divisible by divisor is a factor of

Formulas Based Concepts for Remainder:

(an + bn ) is divisible by ( a + b ), when n is odd.

Concept of Negative Remainder :

Cyclicity is the property of remainders, due to which they start repeating

Role of Euler’s Number in Remainders:

Euler’s Remainder theorem states that , for co-prime numbers M and N,

Number Test 5 ht ps:/ insidei m.com/fre -daily-mba-mock-tests-cat-xat-other-mba-exams/156

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