Number System
Number System
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Introduction
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Understanding the number system is crucial for competitive exams, as it forms the
foundation for various quantitative topics. The topic is known for intriguing
conceptual problems that test the best brains. Instead of just solving problems,
focus on grasping the concepts thoroughly. Explore alternative approaches to solve
questions, as it enhances your problem-solving skills and prepares you
comprehensively for the exam.
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Here is a list of Important formulas that candidates need to master to crack the
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exam successfully.
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⇒ When a + b + c = 0, then a3 + b3 + c3 = 3abc
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(a + b)n = an + (nC1)an-1b + (nC2)an-2b² + ... + (nCn-1)abn-1 + bn
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MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
A 11081 B 11881
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C 12881 D 11281
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Correct Answer: B
(a+b)2 = a2 +b2 +2ab
(109)2 = (100 + 9)2
⇒ 1002 + 92 + 2x(100)x(9) [(A + B)2 = A2 + B2 + 2AB]
⇒ 10000 + 81 + 1800 = 11881.
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Report a problem
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(a + b)2= a2 + b2 + 2ab
The (a + b)2 formula is the algebraic identity used to find the square of the sum of
two numbers. To find the formula of the binomial in the form (a + b)2, we will just
multiply (a + b) (a + b).
(a + b)2 = (a + b)(a + b)
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= a2 + ab + ba + b2
= a2 + 2ab + b2
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Therefore, (a + b)2 formula is: (a + b)2 = a2 + 2ab + b2
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(a + b + c)2= a2 + b2 + c2 + 2ab + 2bc + 2ca
The (a + b + c)2 formula is used to find the sum of squares of three numbers
without actually calculating the squares. (a + b + c)2 formula is one of the major
algebraic identities. To derive the expansion of (a + b + c)2 formula we just
multiply (a + b + c) by itself to get
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(a + b + c)2.
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Important Formulas in Number System
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1. 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + ... + n = n(n + 1)/2
Example: Find the sum of the first 35 natural numbers.
Solution: Given, n = 35
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The sum of natural numbers formula is:
S = [n(n+1)]/2
S = [35(35+1)]/2
S = 630
2. (1² + 2² + 3² + ..... + n²) = n ( n + 1 ) (2n + 1) / 6
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Example: Find the addition of squares of the first 40 natural numbers.
Solution: The formula of the sum of squared natural numbers is given by:
Σn2 = [n(n+1)(2n+1)]/6
Here, n = 40
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Σ40² = (40/6) (40 + 1)(2 x 40 + 1)
Σ40² = (20/3) (41)(81)
Σ40² = (20)(41)(27)
Σ40² = 22140
3. (1³ + 2³ + 3³ + ..... + n³) = (n(n + 1)/ 2)²
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Example: Find the sum of cubes of natural numbers from 5 to 14.
Solution: To find the sum of cubes of numbers from 5 to 14, we will first find the
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sum of cubes of the first 14 natural numbers and then we will find the sum of
cubes of the first 4 natural numbers. Then we subtract the values obtained to get
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the answer.
Sum of cubes of n natural numbers = [n (n + 1)]2/4
Sum of cubes of first 14 natural numbers = (14 × (14+1))2/4
= (14 × 15)2/4
= (210)2/4
= 44100/4 = 11025
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= (20)2/4
= 100
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Example:Find the sum of odd numbers 1 to 50.
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Solution: We know that there are 25 odd numbers between 1 to 50. Thus, by
using the sum of n odd numbers formula which is n2, we get, S25 = 252 = 625.
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We can alternatively show this using the formula Sn = n/2 × [a + l].
We know that the sum of odd numbers 1 to 50 is represented as
Sn = 1 + 3 + ... + 49.
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= (25/2) × 50
= 25 × 25 = 625
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Thus, the sum of odd numbers 1 to 50 is equal to 625.
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5. Sum of first n even numbers = n (n + 1)
Example: What is the sum of even numbers from 1 to 50?
Solution: We know that, from 1 to 50, there are 25 even numbers.
Thus, n = 25
By the formula of sum of even numbers we know;
Sn = n(n+1)
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Sn = 25(25+1) = 25 x 26 = 650
6. Highest power of n in m! is [m/n] + [m/n2] + [m/n3] +..... where, [x] is the greatest
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using the digits 1, 3, 5, 7 all at a time and which have no digits repeated?
Solution: The sum of the numbers formed by taking all the given n digits is (sum of
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* (4 - 1)! * ( 1111) = 16 * 3! * 1111
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9. If the number can be represented as N = ap∗ bq ∗ cr. Then, the number of factors
of N is (p+1) * (q+1) * (r+1)
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Sum of all factors:
Example: Find the number of factors of 98 and also find the sum and product of all
factors.
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Solution: First, write the number 98 into prime factorization.
i.e. 98 = 2 × 49 = 2 × 7 × 7 = 21 x 72
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Here A = 2, B = 7, p = 1, q = 2
Number of factors for 98 = (p + 1)(q +1) = 2 × 3 = 6
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Sum of all factors of 98 = 3 × 57 = 171
Product of all factors of number 98 = (98)6/2 = 941192
10. If the number of factors is odd, then N is a perfect square.
Example: Find the number of odd, even, perfect square, perfect cube factors of
4500.
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4500 = 45 × 100 = 9 × 5 × 10 × 10 = 3 × 3 × 5 × 5 × 2 × 5 × 2 = 22 × 32 × 53
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11. Suppose a number N and if there are n factors including the number N and 1,
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then the number of pairs of factors would be n/2. If N is a perfect square, then
the number of pairs (including the square root) is (n+1)/2.
Example: In how many ways you can express 36 as the product of two of its
factors?
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Prime factorization of 36 i.e. we write 36 = 22 × 32
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Number of factors of 36 will be (2+1)(2+1) = 9
(i.e. factors are 1, 2,3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18, 36).
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Since we are asked the total number of ways hence we include the square root of
36 i.e. 6 as well.
Thus the number of ways you can express 36 as the product of two of its factors is
(9+1)/2 = 5.
12. If the number can be expressed as N = 2p ∗ aq ∗ br . . . where the power of 2 is p and
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a, b are prime numbers then:
(i) The number of even factors of N = p (1 + q) (1 + r) . . .
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(ii) The number of odd factors of N = (1 + q) (1 + r)...
13. When we are asked to calculate how many positive integral solutions are possible
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for the equation X2- Y2= N,
there can be 4 cases.
Let us look at them one by one by solving examples:
Positive Integral Solutions for the equation X2 - Y2 = N?
When we are asked to calculate how many positive integral solutions are possible
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for the equation X2 - Y2 = N, there can be 4 cases.
Case 1: N is an odd number and not a perfect square
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X2 - Y2 = 135?
The total number of factors of 135 = 1, 3, 5, 9, 15, 27, 45 and 135 is 8.
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X2- Y2 = 121?
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The total number of factors of 121 = 1, 11 and 121 is 3.
So, the total number of positive integral solutions = (3-1)/2 = 1
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Case 3: N is an even number and not a perfect square
The total number of positive integral solutions will be
= [Total number of factors of (N/4)] / 2
Example: How many positive integral solutions are possible for the equation
X2- Y2 = 160?
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Total number of factors of 40 = 1, 2, 4, 5, 8, 10, 20 and 40 is 8 (as N = 160 and N/4
= 40)
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So, total number of positive integral solutions = 8/2 = 4
Case 4: N is an even number and a perfect square
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The total number of positive integral solutions will be
= {[Total number of factors of (N/4)] - 1 } / 2
Example: How many positive integral solutions are possible for the equation
X2- Y2= 256?
The total number of factors of 64 = 1, 2, 4, 8, 16, 32 and 64 is 7 (as N = 256 and
N/4 = 64)
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So, (7-1)/2
= 3 positive integral solutions.
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EduRev Tip: A number can be written as the sum of two squares while including
prime factors of the form 4k + 3 as long as those prime factors are raised to an
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even power.
14. The number of digits in ab = [b logm(a)] + 1; where m is the base of the number and
[.] denotes the greatest integer function.
15. Even a number that is not a multiple of 4, can never be expressed as a difference
of 2 perfect squares.
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18. The last two digits of a2, (50 - a)2, (50 + a)2, (100 - a)2 . . . . . are same. Every number
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can be written as (50n ± x), where x is a number from 0 to 25.
Hereby 50n, it just means any multiple of 50 i.e. 0, 50, 100, 150, ......
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0 to 25 = (0 to 25) itself.
25 to 50 = 50 - (25 to 0)
50 to 75 = 50 + (0 to 25)
75 to 100 = 100 - (25 to 0)
100 to 125 = 100 + (0 to 25)
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125 to 150 = 150 - (25 to 0) and so on.
But how does this help us in finding the last two digits of any square?
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(50n ± x)2 = 2500n2 ± 100nx + x2
The last two digits of each of 2500n2 and 100nx will be 00.
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Thus the last two digits of the RHS, and hence of the LHS, will be the last two
digits of x2.
Example: What are the last two digits of 2682?
268 = 50 × 5 + 18.
Thus, the last two digits of 2682 will be same as the last two digits of 182 i.e. 24.
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84.
19. If the number is written as 210n:
(i) When n is odd, the last 2 digits are 24.
(ii) When n is even, the last 2 digits are 76.
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTION
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Try yourself: What is the formula to find the sum of squares of the first n
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natural numbers?
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B
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C n(n + 1)
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D n(n + 1)(n + 2)/6
Correct Answer: A
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The formula to find the sum of the squares of the first n natural numbers is given
by:
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Report a problem
Types of Numbers
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1. Natural Numbers
All positive integers are called natural numbers. All counting numbers from 1 to
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2. Whole Numbers
The set of numbers that includes all natural numbers and the number zero are
called whole numbers. They are also called as Non-negative integers.
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W = { 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,..............∞}
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3. Integers
All numbers that do not have the decimal places in them are called integers.
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Z = {∞.......-3, -2, -1, 0, 1, 2, 3.........∞}
a. Positive Integers
1, 2, 3, 4..... is the set of all positive integers.
b. Negative Integers
-1, -2, -3..... is the set of all negative integers.
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c. Non-Positive and Non-Negative Integers
0 is neither positive nor negative.
4. Real Numbers
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All numbers that can be represented on the number line are called real numbers.
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5. Rational Numbers
A Rational Number is defined as a number of the form a/b where 'a' and 'b' are
integers and b ≠ 0.
The Rational Numbers that are not integers will have decimal values. These values
can be of two types
a. Terminating Decimal Fractions:
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• 3⁄4 = 0.75
• -7⁄8 = -0.875
b. Non-Terminating decimal fractions:
The decimal goes on forever but repeats a fixed block of digits.
Happens whenever q (in lowest terms) has prime factors other than just 2 or
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[Link]:
• 2⁄3 = 0.666... (repeating "6")
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For Example:
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π = 3.141592653589793...
√2 = 1.414213562373095...
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7. Complex Numbers
The complex numbers are the set {a+bi}, where, a and b are real numbers and 'i' is
the imaginary unit.
8. Imaginary Numbers
A number does not exist on the number line is called imaginary number.
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For example square root of negative numbers are imaginary numbers. It is
denoted by 'i' or 'j.
9. Even Numbers
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A number divisible by 2 is called an even number.
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For example: 2, 6, 8, 14, 18, 246, etc.
10. Odd Numbers
A number not divisible by 2 is called an odd number.
For example: 3, 7, 9, 15, 17, 373, etc.
11. Prime Numbers
A number greater than 1 is called a prime number, if it has exactly two factors,
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Try yourself: How many prime numbers are less than 100?
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A 20 B 25
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C 30 D 35
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Correct Answer: B
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Here's a list of prime numbers less than 100:
2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, 37, 41, 43, 47, 53, 59, 61, 67, 71, 73, 79, 83,
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89, 97
Counting them, you find that there are 25 prime numbers less than 100
Report a problem
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Divisibility Rules
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Divisibility by 2 → A number that is even or a number whose last digit is an even
number i.e. 0, 2, 4, 6, and 8.
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Divisibility by 3 → The sum of all the digits of the number should be divisible by
3.
Divisibility by 4 → Number formed by the last two digits of the number should
be divisible by 4 or should be 00.
Divisibility by 5 → Numbers having 0 or 5 as their ones place digit.
Divisibility by 6 → A number that is divisible by both 2 and 3.
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Divisibility by 7 → Subtracting twice the last digit of the number from the
remaining digits gives a multiple of 7.
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Divisibility by 8 → Number formed by the last three digits of the number should
be divisible by 8 or should be 000.
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Divisibility by 9 → The sum of all the digits of the number should be divisible by
9.
Divisibility by 10 → Divisibility rule for 10 states that any number whose last
digit is 0, is divisible by 10.
Divisibility by 11 →A number is divisible by 11 if the difference between the sum
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of the digits at odd positions and the sum of the digits at even positions in a
number is either 0 or divisible by 11.
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have to add four times of the last digit of the number to the remaining number
and repeat the process until you get a two-digit number. Now check if that two-
digit number is divisible by 13 or not. If it is divisible, then the given number is
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divisible by 13.
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Divisibility by 14→ A number divisible by both 2 and 7.
Divisibility by 16 → Last four-digit divisible by 16
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Divisibility by 27 → Sum of blocks of 3 (taken a right to left) divisible by 27
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(i) The number 7248 has 48 on its extreme right side which is exactly divisible by 4.
When we divide 48 by 4 we get 12.
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Therefore, 7248 is divisible by 4.
(ii) The number 7248 has 8 on its unit place which is an even number so, 7248 is
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divisible by 2.
(iii) 7248 is divisible by 8 as 7248 has 248 at its hundred place, tens place and unit
place which is exactly divisible by 8.
Q.2. A number is divisible by 4 and 12. Is it necessary that it will be divisible by 48?
Give another example in support of your answer.
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72 ÷ 4 = 18, so 72 is divisible by 4.
72 ÷ 12 = 6, so 72 is divisible by 12.
But 72 is not divisible by 48.
Q.3. Without actual division, find if 235932 is divisible (i) by 4 and (ii) 8.
Answer:
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(i) The number formed by the last two digits on the extreme right side of 235932 is
32
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32 ÷ 4 = 8, i.e. 32 is divisible by 4.
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But 932 is not divisible by 8.
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Therefore, 235932 is not divisible by 8.
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Q.4. Check whether 998 is divisible by 9.
Answer:
According to the rule, if the sum of the digits in a number is a multiple of 9, then it is
divisible by 9.
Sum of the digits in 998: 9 + 9 + 8 = 26
26 is not a multiple of 9
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So, 998 is not divisible by 9.
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Q.5. Check whether 1782 is divisible by 11.
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Answer:
According to the rule, in a number, if the sum of the digits in odd places and sum of
the digits in even places are equal or they differ by a number divisible by 11, then
the number is divisible by 11.
In 1782, the sum of the digits in odd places:
1+8 = 9
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7+2 = 9
In 1782, the sum of the digits in odd places and sum of the digits in even places are
equal.
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Y.
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96 = 2 × 3 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2
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36 = 2 × 3 × 2 × 3
18 = 2 × 3 × 3
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Therefore, the HCF of 96, 36 and 18 is the product of the highest number of
common factors in the given numbers i.e., 2 × 3 = 6.
In other words, 6 is the largest possible integer, which can divide 96, 36 and 18
without leaving any remainder.
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Example 2: Find the HCF of 42 and 70.
42 = 3 × 2 × 7
70 = 5 × 2 × 7
Hence, HCF is 2 x 7 = 14.
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Example 3: Find the HCF of numbers 144, 630, and 756.
144 = 24 × 32
630 =2 × 32 × 5 × 7
756 = 22 x 33 x 7
Hence, HCF of 144, 630, 756 = 2 × 32 = 18.
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96 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 = 25 × 31
36 = 2 x 2 x 3 x 3 = 22 x 32
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18 = 2 x 3 x 3 = 21 x 32
Therefore, LCM of 96, 36 and 18 is the product of the highest powers of all the
prime factors, i.e. 25 x 32 = 32 x 9 = 288.
That is, 288 is the smallest integer which is divisible by 96, 36 and 18 without
leaving any remainder.
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42 = 3 × 2 × 7
70 = 5 × 2 × 7
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more than three numbers.
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Example 6: Find out the LCM of 48 and 300.
Here, we need to find out the LCM of 48 and 300.
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48 = 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 × 3 = 24 × 31
300 = 2 × 2 × 3 × 5 × 5 = 22 × 31 × 52
List all numbers found, as many times as they occur, most often any one given
number, and multiply them together to find the LCM.
Thus, 24 × 31 × 52 = 1200
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Hence, the LCM of 48 and 300 is 1200.
Example 7: Find the LCM of 12, 18, 30.
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Here, we need to find the LCM of 12, 18, 30.
Now, let us find the prime factors of the above three numbers.
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12 = 2 × 2 × 3 = 22 × 31
18 = 2 × 3 × 3 = 21 × 32
30 = 2 × 3 × 5 = 21 × 31 × 51
Now, list all the prime numbers found as many times as they occur most often for
anyone given number and multiply them together to find the LCM.
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So, 2 × 2 × 3 × 3 × 5 = 180
Using exponents instead, multiply together each of the prime numbers with the
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highest power
Thus, 22 × 32 × 51 = 180
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Introduction & Concept: HCF & LCM
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