Numbers

 The topic deals with relatively simple concepts which are easy to grasp.

 The trick lies in your ability to apply these concepts to the numerous types of problems which
can be formulated on this topic.

Types of numbers

 Real numbers are those which can be represented on the number line. Complex numbers (also
called imaginary numbers) are those, such as square root of negative numbers, which cannot be
represented on the number line.

 Real numbers can be rational or irrational. Rational numbers can be expressed as one integer by
another integer (e.g., 2, 2/3, 3/2, etc.). Examples of irrational numbers are square root or cube
root of 2 or 3.

 Rational numbers can be integers or fractions.

 An integer can be odd or even.

 Proper fractions are those with numerator less than denominators. Improper fractions are
those with numerator greater than denominators.

 Natural numbers are positive integers 1, 2, 3, 4, etc..

 Whole numbers are non-negative integers 0, 1, 2, 3, etc.

 A prime number has no factors other than itself and 1.

 A composite number has factors other than 1 & itself.

 1 is neither a prime nor a composite number.

Sequence in which arithmetic operations must be done

 The sequence in which arithmetic operations is to be done, is given by a rule called BODMAS
rule:

 Brackets (in the order of vinculum, simple brackets, curly brackets and square brackets)

 Of (means multiplication e.g., ½ of 4 is 2)

 Division

 Multiplication

 Addition

 Subtraction

Some definitions

 n factorial (n!) is defined as the product of the first n natural numbers.

 Powers (also called indices or exponents) represent repeated multiplication.

 If x raised to the power of p is N, then x is called the pth root of N.

Rules for divisibility

 2: last digit is zero or an even digit.

 3: the sum of digits is a multiple of 3.

 4: the last 2 digits are divisible by 4

 5: the last digit is 5 or 0.

 8: the last 3 digits are divisible by 8.

 9: the sum of digits is a multiple of 9.

 11: the sums of alternate digits are either the same or they differ by a multiple of 11.

 16: the last 4 digits are divisible by 16.

Some facts on divisibility

 x**n + y**n is divisible by x + y if n is odd.

 x**n - y**n is divisible by x + y if n is even.

 x**n - y**n is divisible by x - y irrespective of n is odd or even.

 n**3 – n is divisible by 3.

 n**5 – n is divisible by 5.

 n**11 – n is divisible by 11.

 n**13– n is divisible by 13.

LCM and HCF (also called GCD: Greatest Common Divisor)

 Factorization method for finding LCM: LCM is the product of prime factors, with each raised to
its highest power.

 Factorization method for finding HCF or GCD: HCF or GCD is the product of prime factors, with
each raised to its lowest power.

 Finding LCM of fractions: divide LCM of numerators by HCF of denominators

 Finding HCF of fractions: divide HCF of numerators by LCM of denominators

 LCM of (x,y) * HCF of (x,y) = xy (the product of LCM and HCF of 2 numbers = the product of the 2
numbers.)

Exercises

1. Find the unit digit of 343rd power of 2347.

(1) 3 (2) 5 (3) 7 (4) 9
2. If the six digit number 1457x9 is divisible by 3, which of the following cannot be equal to x?
(1) 1 (2) 4 (3) 7 (4) 5
3. How many of the numbers 6006, 9009, 888 and 333 are divisible by 99?
(1) 1 (2) 2 (3) 3 (4) 4
4. What is the value of 6A**2 + B**2 + 2AB where A and B are the digits of the number
39A80562B, which is a multiple of 72?
(1) 144 (2) 464 (3) 96 4) 432
5. What is the HCF of 4**2, 4**(-5), 4**3, 4**(-7) and 4**5?

(1) 4**4 (2) 4**(-5) (3) 4**2 (4) 4**(-7)

6. Two numbers are in the ratio 9:5. If their LCM is 900, then what is their HCF?

(1) 30 (2) 20 (3) 15 (4 ) 60

7. The LCM of two numbers is 6 times their HCF. The sum of the LCM and HCF is 210. If one of
the numbers is 60, then what is the other number?
(1) 105 (2) 90 (3) 256 (4) 126
8. Two positive integers are in the ratio 3:4. Their HCF and LCM are in the ratio 1:12. If the
difference between their LCM and their HCF is 44, then what is the sum of their numbers?

(1) 28 (2) 48 (3) 56 (4) 120

9. What is the minimum number of identical square tiles required to floor a room measuring
10.8 m X 9 m?
(1) 64 (2) 72 (3) 30 (4) 48
10. What is the sum of 1, 4, 8, 9, 16, 25, 27, etc. up to 216 (taking only the squares and cubes of
natural numbers)?
(1) 1456 (2) 1455 (3) 1391 (4) 1390
11. Find the sum of the squares of the numbers starting with 9 and ending with 20.
(1) 9(10)(19)6 (2) (9 + 10 + 11 …. + 20)**2
(3) (70 times 41 – 12 times 17)
(4) (7 times 41 – 6 times 17)

12. For what values of x is 25**x + 1 is divisible by 13?

(1) All values of x (2) odd values of x (3) even values of x (4) cannot be determined
13. For what values of n is 100**n – 1 divisible by 11? (n being a natural number)

(1) All odd values of n (2) All values of n (3) All even values of n (4) cannot say

14. (17**21 + 19**21) is divisible by:

. (1) 36 (2) 31 (3) 21 (4) 17
15. Among the following, which is the largest number that divides (21**3 – 1) exactly

(1) 20 (2) 22 (3) 463 (4) 421

16. (11**12296 – 1) is divisible by

(1) 11 and 12 (2) 11 and 10 (3) 10 and 12 (4) 11 only

17. The product of 4 consecutive positive integers greater than 1 is always divisible by:

(1) 24 (2) 48 (3) 72 (4) 120

18. If x and y are consecutive positive integers in increasing order, then which of the following is
always true?

(1) x**y > y**x (2) y**x > x**y (3) x**x > y**y (4) y**y > x**x

19. If x and y are consecutive positive integers, then for how many pairs of values of x and y is (x
+ y) < 50?

(1) 24 (2) 25 (3) 48 (4) 50

20. If a number is divided by 15, it leaves a remainder of 7. If thrice the number is divided by 5,
then what is the remainder?

(1) 5 (2) 6 (3) 7 (4) 1

21. A number when divided by 391 gives a remainder of 49. Find the remainder when it is
divided by 13.

(1) 10 (2) 9 (3) 8 (4) cannot be determined

22. If x is the product of three consecutive positive integers and x <= 1000, then what is the
value of the highest possible prime factor of x?

(1) 7 (2) 11 (3) 13 (4) 17

23. How many digits are used when the first 50 even natural numbers are typed?

(1) 94 (2) 96 (3) 97 (4) 98

24. A 6 digit number is such that if the first 3 digits are removed and placed at the end of the
number in the same order, the number remains unchanged, which of the following need not be
a factor of such a number?

(1) 91 (2) 143 (3) 78 (4) none of these

25. A 2 digit number is such that the sum of its digits is 5 times the difference of the digits. If the
number is neither a prime nor a perfect square, then how many such 2 digits numbers are
possible?

(1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) 6

26. If p and q are consecutive positive integers (in increasing order), then which of the following
is always true?

(1) q**2 < p (2) 2p > q (3) (q + 1)**2 > p**2 (4) (p + 2)**3 < q**3

27. If 574 is divided by a positive integer, the remainder is 1 less and the quotient is 3 less than
the divisor. What is the divisor?

(1) 37 (2) 29 (3) 31 (4) 25

28. Find the number, given that it has the first ten natural numbers as its factors and that it is
the smallest such 5 digit number.

(1) 220 (2) 10080 (3) 36280 (4) 10040

29. What is the remainder you get when you divide 3**243 by 22?

(1) 1 (2) 3 (3) 9 (4) 27

30. What is the highest power of 4 that can divide 24! ?

(1) 7 (2) 9 (3) 11 (4) 13

31. What is the unit digit of 7**365?

(1) 7 (2) 9 (3) 3 (4) 1

32. What is the total number of divisors of 500?

(1) 6 (2) 12 (3) 18 (4) 24

33. If 2a + 1 is a factor of 8a**5 + 6a**4 + 4a**2 + 2k, then what is the value of k?

(1) 9/16 (2) 5/8 (3) -9/16 (4) -1/5

34. Find the smallest 4 digit number which when divided by 17 and 13 leaves a remainder of 7
in each case.

(1) 1047 (2) 1027 (3) 1112 (4) none of these

35. When number is successively divided by 7, 5 and 4, it leaves remainders 4, 2 and 3

respectively. What will be the respective remainders when the smallest such number is
successively divided by 8, 5 and 6?

(1) 5, 0, 3 (2) 2, 2, 4 (3) 3, 0, 3 (4) 2, 4, 2

36. Which year of the twentieth century, when successively divided by 20, 24 and 29, leaves
remainders 2, 3 and 4 respectively?

(1) 1981 (2) 1982 (3) 1983 (4) 1984

37. How many numbers lying between 950 and 1050 leave a remainder of 6 when divided by 7,
8 and 14?

(1) 2 (2) 3 (3) 4 (4) 5

38. Find the greatest number which divides 1080 and 2030 leaving remainders of 9 and 7
respectively?

(1) 120 (2) 118 (3) 121 (4) 119

39. Find the greatest number which divides 60, 89 and 147 leaving the same remainder.

(1) 29 (2) 39 (3) 49 (4) 19

40. 3 bells toll at intervals of 14, 21 and 42 minutes respectively. If they toll together at 11:24
am, when will they toll together for the first time after that?
(1) 11:56 am (2) 12:06 pm (3) 1:49 pm (4) 11:48 am
Answers to exercises

1. (1) 3
2. (4) 5
3. (1) 1
4. (2) 464
5. (4) 4**(-7)
6. (2) 20
7. (2) 90
8. (1) 28
9. (3) 30
10. (3) 1391
11. (3) (70 times 41 – 12 times 17)
12. (2) odd values of x
13. (2) All values of n
14. (1) 36
15. (3) 463
16. (3) 10 and 12
17. (1) 24
18. (4) y**y > x**x
19. (1) 24
20. (4) 1
21. (4) cannot be determined
22. (2) 11
23. (3) 97
24. (3) 78
25. (3) 4
26. (3) (q + 1)**2 > p**2
27. (4) 25
28. (2) 10080
29. (4) 27
30. (3) 11
31. (1) 7
32. (2) 12
33. (3) -9/16
34. (3) 1112
35. (3) 3, 0, 3
36. (2) 1982
37. (1) 2
38. (4) 119
39. (1) 29
40. (2) 12:06 pm