Divisibility
The lock on your suitcase has four digits and the code has the form $2X6Y$. Your brother tells you the number is divisible by $4$ and by $9$ at the same time. How do you find $X$ and $Y$ without trying all one hundred possible codes? With the divisibility rules and a little organization. At the end of the page we solve it.
Multiples and divisors
If a carton holds $6$ eggs, then with $7$ full cartons you have $42$ eggs. We say that $42$ is a multiple of $6$ and that $6$ is a divisor of $42$.
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The multiples of $12$ are $12, 24, 36, 48, 60, \ldots$ (there are infinitely many).
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The divisors of $24$ are $1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 12, 24$ (there are a finite number). They are found in pairs: $1\times24$, $2\times12$, $3\times8$, $4\times6$.
On a streaming platform, series are grouped into seasons. If a series has a total of $42$ episodes, state which of the following statements are true and which are false,…
On a streaming platform, series are grouped into seasons. If a series has a total of $42$ episodes, state which of the following statements are true and which are false, giving a brief reason for your answer:
- a) The number $6$ is a factor of $42$.
- b) $42$ is a multiple of $5$.
- c) $42$ is divisible by $14$.
Calculate mentally and write down in your notebook: a) The first five multiples of $12$. b) All the factors of the number $24$. c) The multiples of $7$ between $30$ and…
Calculate mentally and write down in your notebook:
- a) The first five multiples of $12$.
- b) All the factors of the number $24$.
- c) The multiples of $7$ between $30$ and $60$.
Divisibility rules
To find out whether $3{,}456$ is divisible by $4$ you don't need to divide: it's enough to look at its digits.
A video game requires you to enter a four-digit code to unlock a level: $3.45\$. Help the player find the last digit so that the number satisfies the following…
A video game requires you to enter a four-digit code to unlock a level: $3.45\_$. Help the player find the last digit so that the number satisfies the following conditions:
- a) The number is divisible by $2$ and $5$ at the same time.
- b) The number is divisible by $3$, but not by $2$.
- c) It is a multiple of $9$.
Find a natural number that simultaneously satisfies the following conditions: 1. It is between $200$ and $250$. 2. It is a multiple of $13$. 3. When divided by $2$ and…
Find a natural number that simultaneously satisfies the following conditions:
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It is between $200$ and $250$.
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It is a multiple of $13$.
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When divided by $2$ and by $3$, it gives an exact division.
Prime and composite numbers
The first primes are $2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, \ldots$ The number $2$ is the only even prime.
Sieve of Eratosthenes. In a table from $1$ to $100$ you cross out $1$, then the multiples of $2$ (except $2$), those of $3$ (except $3$), those of $5$ and those of $7$. The numbers left uncrossed are the primes less than $100$.
Look at the numbers appearing on the following board and classify them into prime numbers or composite numbers.
Look at the numbers appearing on the following board and classify them into prime numbers or composite numbers.
Prime factorization
Every composite number can be written, in only one way (regardless of order), as a product of primes. This is the fundamental theorem of arithmetic. To find it, divide by primes from smallest to largest until you reach $1$.
Find the prime factorisation of the following natural numbers. Remember to write the final result as a product of powers: a) $36$ b) $60$ c) $126$
Find the prime factorisation of the following natural numbers. Remember to write the final result as a product of powers:
- a) $36$
- b) $60$
- c) $126$
Least common multiple (LCM)
Two ways to calculate it:
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List of multiples: multiples of $6$: $6, 12, 18, 24, \ldots$; of $9$: $9, 18, 27, \ldots$ The first common one is $18$.
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Factorization: you factor the numbers and take all the primes (common and non-common) with their highest exponent.
When is it used? When something repeats every so often and you want to know when the events coincide.
Two lights on a gaming keyboard flash in different ways. The blue light turns on every $6$ seconds and the orange light every $9$ seconds. If both turned on at the same…
Two lights on a gaming keyboard flash in different ways. The blue light turns on every $6$ seconds and the orange light every $9$ seconds. If both turned on at the same time right now, how many seconds will pass before they flash together again for the first time?
Three streaming channels start broadcasting special content today at 10:00 am. Channel A broadcasts a giveaway every $18$ hours. Channel B broadcasts an interview every…
Three streaming channels start broadcasting special content today at 10:00 am.
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Channel A broadcasts a giveaway every $18$ hours.
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Channel B broadcasts an interview every $24$ hours.
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Channel C broadcasts a tournament every $30$ hours.
What is the minimum number of days that must pass before the three events coincide at the same time again? At what time and on which day of the week will this happen if today is Monday?
On the main stage of a music festival, there are three robotic lighting systems. The first system emits a white flash every $18$ seconds, the second a blue flash every…
On the main stage of a music festival, there are three robotic lighting systems. The first system emits a white flash every $18$ seconds, the second a blue flash every $24$ seconds, and the third an orange flash every $30$ seconds.
At $21:00$ hours, the three systems coincide for the first time. How many times will all three flashes coincide again before the concert ends at $22:25$ hours?
Greatest common factor (GCF)
With factorization: you take only the common primes with their lowest exponent.
When is it used? When you have to split or cut into equal parts with nothing left over, and the parts must be as large (or the groups as numerous) as possible.
Marta has $24$ star stickers and $16$ planet stickers. She wants to make identical gift envelopes (with the same number of stars and the same number of planets in each)…
Marta has $24$ star stickers and $16$ planet stickers. She wants to make identical gift envelopes (with the same number of stars and the same number of planets in each) without leaving any stickers over.
What is the maximum number of envelopes she can prepare? How many stickers of each type will there be in each envelope?
An interior design company has two rolls of colored LED strips: one blue light strip measuring $120$ meters and one warm light strip measuring $156$ meters. They want to…
An interior design company has two rolls of colored LED strips: one blue light strip measuring $120$ meters and one warm light strip measuring $156$ meters. They want to cut both rolls into pieces of equal length, as long as possible, leaving no material left over.
- a) How long should each piece be?
- b) How many pieces of each color will they get in total?
A municipality wants to pave a rectangular plaza measuring $45$ meters long by $24$ meters wide using square stone tiles. The architect wants the tiles to be as large as…
A municipality wants to pave a rectangular plaza measuring $45$ meters long by $24$ meters wide using square stone tiles. The architect wants the tiles to be as large as possible without having to cut any.
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What should the side length of each tile be?
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If due to budget constraints they decide to use tiles half that size, how many tiles will they now need to cover the entire plaza?
Relationship between LCM and GCF
With $12$ and $18$ we already saw that $\text{GCF} = 6$ and $\text{LCM} = 36$. Notice: $6 \times 36 = 216$ and $12 \times 18 = 216$.
Calculate the Highest Common Factor (HCF) and the Lowest Common Multiple (LCM) of the following pairs of numbers: a) $10$ and $15$ b) $20$ and $30$ c) $8$ and $12$
Calculate the Highest Common Factor (HCF) and the Lowest Common Multiple (LCM) of the following pairs of numbers:
- a) $10$ and $15$
- b) $20$ and $30$
- c) $8$ and $12$
Given that the product of two numbers is $2160$ and their highest common factor (HCF) is $12$: a) Calculate the lowest common multiple (LCM) of these numbers using the…
Given that the product of two numbers is $2160$ and their highest common factor (HCF) is $12$:
- a) Calculate the lowest common multiple (LCM) of these numbers using the relationship between HCF and LCM.
- b) If one of the numbers is $60$, what is the other number?
- c) Find the prime factorisation of both numbers to check that the results from the previous parts are correct.
The mechanism of an old clock uses two cogs that mesh together. Cog $A$ has $54$ teeth and cog $B$ has $36$ teeth. If we place a red mark at the point where the teeth…
The mechanism of an old clock uses two cogs that mesh together. Cog $A$ has $54$ teeth and cog $B$ has $36$ teeth. If we place a red mark at the point where the teeth touch right now:
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How many teeth of cog $A$ must pass before the marks coincide again for the first time?
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How many turns will each cog have completed at that moment?
Problems with LCM and GCF
To decide between LCM and GCF, ask yourself what the problem is looking for:
| If the problem talks about... | You use |
|---|---|
| Something that repeats and you want to know when it coincides | LCM |
| Splitting or cutting into equal parts, with nothing left over, as large as possible | GCF |
A logistics company needs to organise three types of aid packages in shipping containers. They have $144$ boxes of blankets, $120$ boxes of non-perishable food, and $84$…
A logistics company needs to organise three types of aid packages in shipping containers. They have $144$ boxes of blankets, $120$ boxes of non-perishable food, and $84$ boxes of hygiene kits.
They want to load the maximum number of identical containers so that each container has the same number of boxes of each type and no boxes are left over in the warehouse.
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How many containers can be sent?
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How many boxes of each type will be in each container?
Three artificial satellites orbit the Earth. The first completes an orbit every $90$ minutes, the second every $2$ hours, and the third every $105$ minutes. If at…
Three artificial satellites orbit the Earth. The first completes an orbit every $90$ minutes, the second every $2$ hours, and the third every $105$ minutes. If at $12:00$ noon they are aligned over the Greenwich meridian:
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At what exact time will they be aligned again for the first time?
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How many orbits will the slowest satellite have completed during that time?
Rules for 8 and 11
Pentagonal numbers and divisibility
Polygonal numbers count the dots needed to draw polygons that keep growing, one inside another. The pentagonal numbers form pentagons: $1, 5, 12, 22, \ldots$ To go from one pentagon to the next, a layer of dots is added along two sides of the outline.
The differences between consecutive terms are $4, 7, 10, 13, \ldots$ and they grow by $3$ each time. That way you can continue the sequence without drawing. There is also a formula for term $n$:
Look at the following polygonal numbers representing pentagonal numbers. The first terms are $1, 5, 12, 22...$ a) Draw the pattern of dots for the fifth pentagonal…
Look at the following polygonal numbers representing pentagonal numbers. The first terms are $1, 5, 12, 22...$
- a) Draw the pattern of dots for the fifth pentagonal number in your notebook.
- b) Following the sequence, what is the numerical value of the fifth and sixth pentagonal numbers?
- c) Check whether the tenth pentagonal number ($145$) is divisible by $3$, by $5$, and by $11$.
You can do it on paper and send a photo with your answer.
Unknown digits with several conditions
When a digit must satisfy several rules at the same time, solve each condition separately and then keep the values they have in common.
A programmer is designing a four-digit access code. The code follows the format $35A2$, where $A$ is an unknown digit. For the code to be valid, the number must be…
A programmer is designing a four-digit access code. The code follows the format $35A2$, where $A$ is an unknown digit. For the code to be valid, the number must be simultaneously divisible by $3$ and $4$.
Determine all possible values that the digit $A$ can take and write down the resulting complete numbers.
At a video game convention, they want to organise the participants into teams. We have a security access code that is a four-digit number of the form $4A2B$. For the…
At a video game convention, they want to organise the participants into teams. We have a security access code that is a four-digit number of the form $4A2B$.
For the code to be valid, it must satisfy two conditions:
- a) It must be divisible by $3$.
- b) It must be divisible by $11$.
Find all possible values for the digits $A$ and $B$.
A famous influencer wants to protect access to their video editing account with a four-digit PIN code of the form $5X4Y$. So as not to forget it, they have memorised the…
A famous influencer wants to protect access to their video editing account with a four-digit PIN code of the form $5X4Y$. So as not to forget it, they have memorised the following conditions based on divisibility:
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The number is divisible by $4$.
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The number is also divisible by $9$.
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The units digit ($Y$) is greater than the thousands digit.
Find all possible PIN codes that satisfy these conditions.
Reasoning with the number of divisors
Counting the divisors of $360$ one by one is slow. With the prime factorization there is a shortcut.
Calculate the total number of factors of the number $360$ without writing them all out. To do this: a) Find its prime factorisation using powers. b) Apply the rule of…
Calculate the total number of factors of the number $360$ without writing them all out. To do this:
- a) Find its prime factorisation using powers.
- b) Apply the rule of multiplying each exponent increased by one.
- c) State whether the number $360$ is a perfect square, explaining your reasoning based on the exponents in its factorisation.
A natural number $N$ has the following prime factorisation: $N = 2^{a} \times 3^{2} \times 5^{1}$. We know that the total number of factors of $N$ is exactly $24$. 1.…
A natural number $N$ has the following prime factorisation: $N = 2^{a} \times 3^{2} \times 5^{1}$.
We know that the total number of factors of $N$ is exactly $24$.
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Calculate the value of the exponent $a$.
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Determine the numerical value of $N$.
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Write down all the factors of $N$ that are multiples of $15$ but not of $2$.
It is known that a number $X$ is a multiple of $12$ and $15$ simultaneously. Furthermore, $X$ has exactly $12$ natural divisors. 1. Using prime factorisation, deduce the…
It is known that a number $X$ is a multiple of $12$ and $15$ simultaneously. Furthermore, $X$ has exactly $12$ natural divisors.
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Using prime factorisation, deduce the value of $X$. (Hint: reason about the exponents of the factorisation).
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Justify whether the number $X+1$ is a prime or composite number.
Back to the beginning: the code $2X6Y$ must be divisible by $4$, so $6Y$ must be a multiple of $4$: $Y \in \{0, 4, 8\}$. For $9$, the sum $2 + X + 6 + Y = 8 + X + Y$ must be a multiple of $9$. If $Y = 0$, $X = 1$ works ($2{,}160$); if $Y = 4$, $X = 6$ works ($2{,}664$); if $Y = 8$, $X = 2$ works ($2{,}268$). There are three possible codes.