Divisibility

  • SquareSearch
    problem

    Squaresearch

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
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    Consider numbers of the form un = 1! + 2! + 3! +...+n!. How many such numbers are perfect squares?
  • Prime AP
    problem

    Prime AP

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    What can you say about the common difference of an AP where every term is prime?

  • Sixational
    problem

    Sixational

    Age
    14 to 18
    Challenge level
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    The nth term of a sequence is given by the formula n^3 + 11n. Find the first four terms of the sequence given by this formula and the first term of the sequence which is bigger than one million. Prove that all terms of the sequence are divisible by 6.
  • Novemberish
    problem

    Novemberish

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
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    a) A four digit number (in base 10) aabb is a perfect square. Discuss ways of systematically finding this number. (b) Prove that 11^{10}-1 is divisible by 100.
  • Mod 3
    problem

    Mod 3

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
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    Prove that if a^2+b^2 is a multiple of 3 then both a and b are multiples of 3.
  • N000ughty thoughts
    problem

    N000ughty thoughts

    Age
    14 to 16
    Challenge level
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    How many noughts are at the end of these giant numbers?
  • Code to Zero
    problem

    Code to zero

    Age
    16 to 18
    Challenge level
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    Find all 3 digit numbers such that by adding the first digit, the square of the second and the cube of the third you get the original number, for example 1 + 3^2 + 5^3 = 135.
  • Adding all nine
    problem

    Adding all nine

    Age
    11 to 14
    Challenge level
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    Make a set of numbers that use all the digits from 1 to 9, once and once only. Add them up. The result is divisible by 9. Add each of the digits in the new number. What is their sum? Now try some other possibilities for yourself!
  • Digital Roots
    article

    Digital roots

    In this article for teachers, Bernard Bagnall describes how to find digital roots and suggests that they can be worth exploring when confronted by a sequence of numbers.
  • The Chinese Remainder Theorem
    article

    The Chinese remainder theorem

    In this article we shall consider how to solve problems such as "Find all integers that leave a remainder of 1 when divided by 2, 3, and 5."