Sunday, 17 November 2013

elementary number theory - If 3 divides the decimal digit sum of n then 3 divides n (casting out threes)




This is a trick I learnt in primary school, but never gave it much thought. Here's how I formulate it:
n=mj=0xj10mj
is a decimal expansion of some integer n such that
mj=0xj=r

such that 3|r, then 3|n. Or, r=3k and n=3i with ki. I thought about it for some time, but didn't get any intuition.


Answer



Hint. Take the difference
nr=mj=0xj(10mj1)
and note that 3 (but also 9) divides (10mj1).


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