Divisibility Criteria

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Divisibility criteria are ways of telling whether one number divides another without

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actually carrying the division through. Implicit in this concept is the assumption that
the criteria in question affords a simpler way than the the outright division to answer
the question of divisibility. Divisibility criteria constructed in terms of the digits that
compose a given number.
To fix the notation, A will be the number whose divisibility by another number d we are going to investigate on this
page. In the decimal system,

A = 10n an + 10n1 an1 +. . . +101 a1 + a0

an 0. We readily have several examples. But let's first define
s+ (A) = an + an1 +. . . +a0 ,
s (A) = a0 a1 + + (1)n an .
Using these two functions we formulate the criteria of divisibility by 3, 9, and 11

Divisibility by 3 (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Generalization/div9.shtml#3).

A is divisible by 3 iff s+ (A) is divisible by 3.

Divisibility by 9 (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Generalization/div11.shtml).

A is divisible by 9 iff s+ (A) is divisible by 9.

Divisibility by 11 (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Generalization/div11.shtml#11).
Then A is divisible by 11 iff s (A) is.
All three critera follow from the two basic properties of the modulo arithmetic (http://www.cut-the-knot.org
/blue/Modulo.shtml)
1. [A]d
2. [A]d

+ [B]d = [A + B]d
[B]d = [A B]d

= 1(mod9) and 10 = 1(mod11), from which we successively get 102 = 1(mod9) and
102 = 1(mod11), 103 = 1(mod9) and 103 = 1(mod11), and so on.
and the fact that 10

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Note that both s+ (A) and s (A) are linear combinations (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/do_you_know

/superposition.shtml#combination) of the digits of A. This is the kind of functions we shall allow on this page. (One
generalization (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/Generalization/div11.shtml) would be to consider other bases
(http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/SysTable.shtml).)
We formalize the definition the following way:

Definition
A function f (A)

= f (an , , a0 ) is called a divisibility criterion by an integer d

< A and A is divisible by d iff f (A) is divisible

provided, starting with some A, |f (A)|

by d.

O(d) is defined as the set of all divisibility criteria by d.

Here are a few examples:

s+ O(9) and s+ O(3). (Incidently, O(9) O(3). Why?)

s O(11)
f1 (A) = a0 O(2) O(5)
f2 (A) = 10a1 + a0 O(4) O(25)
f3 (A) = 102 a2 + 10a1 + a0 O(8) O(125)

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f4 (A) = 2a1 + a0 O(4)

We have more. Indeed, since 100

= 1(mod11),

f5 (A) = (a1 a0 )10 + (a3 a2 )10 + (a5 a4 )10 +. . . O(11)

(f5 is obtained by splitting A right-to-left into 2 -digit numbers.) Similarly,

f6 (A) = (a1 a0 )10 (a3 a2 )10 + (a5 a4 )10 . . . O(101)

In the same spirit,

f7 (A) = (a2 a1 a0 )10 (a5 a4 a3 )10 + (a8 a7 a6 )10 . . . O(1001)

Interestingly, since 1001

= 7 11 13, f7 O(7) O(11) O(13). The fact may appear uninspiring for it does not

relieve one from drudging through the division by 7 or 11 or 13. However, in some cases this rule is of great help
indeed:
1. 2, 003, 008 is divisible by 7 for so is (008) (003) +
2. 524784 is divisible by 13 for so is 784 524 = 260.

2 = 7.

Would you rather go on with the long division?

Stuart Anderson developed a general framework (http://home.comcast.net/~stuartmanderson) for deriving
divisibility criteria. In particular, he noticed that

f8 (A) = 2 (. . . 2 (2 (an an1 )10 + (an2 an3 )10 ) + (an4 an5 )10 )+. . . O(7),
which holds for odd n. For even n, modification is obvious. This also follows from the fact that 102

= 2(mod7).

There is another approach that uses the following generalization (http://www.cut-the-knot.org

/blue/Euclid.shtml#general) of the Euclid's Proposition VII.30:
Let a and d be mutually prime (coprime). Then d|ab is equivalent to d|b.
Let d be a divisor of (10c
n1

A1 = 10
so that A

1) for some c. Then clearly d and c are coprime. Denote

an + 10n2 an1 +. . . +a1 ,

= 10A1 + a0 . We have

Ac = (ca0 + A1 ) + (10c 1)A1

from which it follows that

f (A) = ca0 + A1 O(d)

This leads to a recursive criterion. For example, let d

= 19, c = 2. Then (10c 1) is divisible by 19. Given a number

A, remove a0 , add 2a0 to the remaining number A1 . Proceed with these steps until you obtain a number which is
obviously divisible by 19 or is obviously not divisible by 19. Whatever the case, the same will be true of the original
number A. Thus, we get a sequence 12311, 1233, 129, 30. The latter is not divisible by 19. Hence neither is 12311.
On the other hand, as the same calculations show, 20311 is divisible by 19. (Additional examples are available
elsewhere (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/FurtherDivisibility.shtml). An ingenious example (http://www.cutthe-knot.org/blue/div7-11-13.shtml) was found by Gustavo Toja from Brasil.)

References
1. N. N. Vorob'ev, Criteria for Divisibility, University of Chicago Press, 1980.
Modular Arithmetic (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/Modulo.shtml)
Differences and Similarities (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/sim_diff.shtml)
Solutions to some problems (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/solutions.shtml)
Chinese Remainder Theorem (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/chinese.shtml)
Euclid's Algorithm (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/Euclid.shtml)
Euclid's Game (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/EuclidAlg.shtml)
Binary Euclid's Algorithm (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/binary.shtml)
gcd and the Fundamental Theorem of Arithmetic (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/gcd_fta.shtml)
Extension of Euclid's Algorithm (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/extension.shtml)
Stern-Brocot Tree (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/Stern.shtml)
Fine features (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/SB_props.shtml)
Binary Encoding (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/encoding.shtml)
Binary Encoding, a Second Interpretation (http://www.cut-the-knot.org
/blue/chaos_game.shtml)
Continued Fractions on the Stern-Brocot Tree (http://www.cut-the-knot.org
/blue/ContinuedFractions.shtml)
Fractions on a Binary Tree (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/b-tree.shtml)
Farey series (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/Farey.shtml)
Farey series, a story (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/FareyHistory.shtml)
Pick's Theorem (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/ctk/Pick.shtml)
Pick's Theorem, A Proof (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/ctk/Pick_proof.shtml)

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Divisibility Criteria

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Farey Series (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/ctk/Farey.shtml)

Pick's Theorem Applies to the Farey Series (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/ctk/PickToFarey.shtml)
Stern-Brocot Tree (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/ctk/SB_tree.shtml)
Fermat's Little Theorem (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/Fermat.shtml)
Wilson's Theorem (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/Wilson.shtml)
Euler's Function (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/Euler.shtml)
Divisibility Criteria
Further examles of divisibility criteria (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/FurtherDivisibility.shtml)
Divisibility by 7, 11, and 13 (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/div7-11-13.shtml)
Examples (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/examples.shtml)
Equivalence relations (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/equi.shtml)
A real life story (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/McWarter.shtml)

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Copyright 1996-2016 Alexander Bogomolny (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/index.shtml)

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CITE THIS PAGE AS:

A. Bogomolny, Divisibility Criteria from Interactive Mathematics Miscellany and Puzzles
http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/divisibility.shtml (http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/divisibility.shtml), Accessed 13 April 2016

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