Difference between revisions of "Divisibility rules/Rule for 2 and powers of 2 proof"
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== Proof == | == Proof == | ||
− | + | ''An understanding of [[Introduction to modular arithmetic | basic modular arithmetic]] is necessary for this proof.'' | |
Let the [[base numbers | base-ten]] representation of <math>N</math> be <math>\underline{a_ka_{k-1}\cdots a_1a_0}</math> where the <math>a_i</math> are digits for each <math>i</math> and the underline is simply to note that this is a base-10 expression rather than a product. If <math>N</math> has no more than <math>n</math> digits, then the last <math>n</math> digits of <math>N</math> make up <math>N</math> itself, so the test is trivially true. If <math>N</math> has more than <math>n</math> digits, we note that: | Let the [[base numbers | base-ten]] representation of <math>N</math> be <math>\underline{a_ka_{k-1}\cdots a_1a_0}</math> where the <math>a_i</math> are digits for each <math>i</math> and the underline is simply to note that this is a base-10 expression rather than a product. If <math>N</math> has no more than <math>n</math> digits, then the last <math>n</math> digits of <math>N</math> make up <math>N</math> itself, so the test is trivially true. If <math>N</math> has more than <math>n</math> digits, we note that: |
Revision as of 12:31, 27 November 2008
A number is divisible by if the last digits of the number are divisible by .
Proof
An understanding of basic modular arithmetic is necessary for this proof.
Let the base-ten representation of be where the are digits for each and the underline is simply to note that this is a base-10 expression rather than a product. If has no more than digits, then the last digits of make up itself, so the test is trivially true. If has more than digits, we note that:
Taking this we have
because for , . Thus, is divisible by if and only if
is. But this says exactly what we claimed: the last digits of are divisible by if and only if is divisible by .