How many different remainders can result when the 100th power of an integer is divided by 125?
Pick one
Solution
Write for , or . If , then and is divisible by , so the remainder is . If , or , then for some integer . Now use the Binomial Theorem:
Let be the number of positive integers less than that are relatively prime to ; this is Euler's totient function. Then . By Euler's Totient Theorem, if is not a multiple of , then . If is a multiple of , then . Therefore there are only possible remainders: and .
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