Brain teasing problem in number theory

Click For Summary

Homework Help Overview

The discussion revolves around a number theory problem involving the eleven-digit number X=10000000099 and its four-digit divisors. Participants explore methods to identify the divisors and the sum of their digits.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory, Mathematical reasoning, Assumption checking

Approaches and Questions Raised

  • The original poster attempts to factorize X but finds it challenging without a systematic method. Some participants discuss the prime factorization of X and question how to derive the four-digit divisors. Others introduce polynomial representations to simplify the problem.

Discussion Status

Participants are actively engaging with different approaches to understand the problem better. Some have provided insights into factorization and polynomial identities, while others express uncertainty about the completeness of these methods. There is no explicit consensus on the best approach yet.

Contextual Notes

There is mention of a reliance on computational tools for factorization, and some participants express a desire for a more systematic solution rather than trial methods. The nature of the problem suggests constraints related to the complexity of finding divisors of large numbers.

sagardip
Messages
38
Reaction score
0

Homework Statement



Let X=10000000099 represent an eleven digit no. and let Y be a four digit no. which divides X.Find the sum of the digits of the four digit no. Y.


Homework Equations



None


The Attempt at a Solution



I guess I have to factorize X. But it is really difficult to do so as i can't find a prime which divides it. Moreover i am in search for a systematic solution and not any trial method.Any help in this regard would be sincerely appreciated. Thank You.
 
Physics news on Phys.org
Last edited by a moderator:
How did you find it out
 
Here is an approach which is potentially less computation-intensive.

If we call the 11-digit number N, it's easy to see that
N = 10^10 + 10^2 -1, so N = P(10), where
P(x) = x^10 + x^2 - 1.

If you were a genius, I guess it would be obvious that
P(x) = (x^4 - x^2 + 1) (x^6 + x^4 - 1).

Confession: Not being a genius, I used a computer algebra system.
I guess you can drive this identity from x^5 + x - 1 = (x^2 - x + 1) (x^3 + x^2 - 1), but that's not obvious to me either.

If you now let x = 10, we have
N = (10^4 - 10^2 + 1) (10^6 + 10^4 - 1),
and 10^4 - 10^2 + 1 = 9901.

This isn't a complete solution, because it's not clear from the above that 9901 is the only 4-digit divisor.
 
Last edited:
Thanks
I understood it well and it is a very good solution
 

Similar threads

  • · Replies 3 ·
Replies
3
Views
2K
  • · Replies 18 ·
Replies
18
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 19 ·
Replies
19
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
Replies
4
Views
2K
Replies
2
Views
2K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
2K