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Problem 599

AMC 10/12, early questions
Number theory Difficulty 3.7 Multiple choice CEMC Fermat · Canada · 2015

For how many integers aa with 1a101 \leq a \leq 10 is a2014+a2015a^{2014}+a^{2015} divisible by 5?

Pick one

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Official solution

First, we factor a2014+a2015a^{2014}+a^{2015} as a2014(1+a)a^{2014}(1+a).

If a=5a=5 or a=10a=10, then the factor a2014a^{2014} is a multiple of 5, so the original expression is divisible by 5.

If a=4a=4 or a=9a=9, then the factor (1+a)(1+a) is a multiple of 5, so the original expression is divisible by 5.

If a=1,2,3,6,7,8a=1,2,3,6,7,8, then neither a2014a^{2014} nor (1+a)(1+a) is a multiple of 5.

Since neither factor is a multiple of 5, which is a prime number, then the product a2014(1+a)a^{2014}(1+a) is not divisible by 5.

Therefore, there are four integers aa in the range 1a101 \leq a \leq 10 for which a2014+a2015a^{2014}+a^{2015} is divisible by 5.

Source: CEMC, University of Waterloo, licensed CC-BY-NC-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty, ordering) added by this project.