Problem:
Prove that is divisible by .
Solution
Solution:
Since ends in again, and ends in again, no matter to what power we raise or , the resulting numbers will end in or , respectively. Thus, ends in and ends in .
Further, , , , , etc., i.e., an odd power of ends in , and an even power of ends in (why?). Hence, ends in .
So, the last digit of is the same as the last digit of , i.e., it ends in .
It remains to show that ends in (so that ).
Indeed, , , , , , and the pattern will be , etc. So we need to figure out into which of these slots the rd power of will fall. Equivalently, we need to find the remainder of when divided by (the length of the pattern above is ). Now, : will complete cycles of the pattern, and will end in .
This shows that ends in . Therefore, the last digit of the total sum is the last digit of , , which makes the sum divisible by .