Number System

Azmayeen Mahtab
Assistant Director of Bangladesh Bank
Recommended as Assistant Commissioner in 43rd BCS
Administration
Divisibility Rule of 1
Every number is divisible by 1. Divisibility rule for 1 doesn’t have any
condition. Any number divided by 1 will give the number itself, irrespective
of how large the number is. For example, 3 is divisible by 1 and 3000 is also
divisible by 1 completely.

Divisibility Rule of 2
If a number is even or a number whose last digit is an even number
i.e. 2,4,6,8 including 0, it is always completely divisible by 2.
Example: 508 is an even number and is divisible by 2 but 509 is not an
even number, hence it is not divisible by 2. Procedure to check whether
508 is divisible by 2 or not is as follows:
•Consider the number 508
•Just take the last digit 8 and divide it by 2
•If the last digit 8 is divisible by 2 then the number 508 is also divisible by 2.
Divisibility Rules for 3
Divisibility rule for 3 states that a number is completely divisible by 3 if the
sum of its digits is divisible by 3.
Consider a number, 308. To check whether 308 is divisible by 3 or not, take
sum of the digits (i.e. 3+0+8= 11). Now check whether the sum is divisible by
3 or not. If the sum is a multiple of 3, then the original number is also
divisible by 3. Here, since 11 is not divisible by 3, 308 is also not divisible by 3.
Similarly, 516 is divisible by 3 completely as the sum of its digits i.e.
5+1+6=12, is a multiple of 3.
Divisibility Rule of 4
If the last two digits of a number are divisible by 4, then that number
is a multiple of 4 and is divisible by 4 completely.
Example: Take the number 2308. Consider the last two digits i.e. 08.
As 08 is divisible by 4, the original number 2308 is also divisible by 4.

Divisibility Rule of 5
Numbers, which last with digits, 0 or 5 are always divisible by 5.
Example: 10, 10000, 10000005, 595, 396524850, etc.

Divisibility Rule of 6
Numbers which are divisible by both 2 and 3 are divisible by 6. That is,
if the last digit of the given number is even and the sum of its digits is
a multiple of 3, then the given number is also a multiple of 6.
Example: 630, the number is divisible by 2 as the last digit is 0.
The sum of digits is 6+3+0 = 9, which is also divisible by 3.
Hence, 630 is divisible by 6.
Divisibility Rule of 8
If the last three digits of a number are divisible by 8, then the number is
completely divisible by 8.
Example: Take number 24344. Consider the last two digits i.e. 344. As
344 is divisible by 8, the original number 24344 is also divisible by 8.

Divisibility Rule of 9
The rule for divisibility by 9 is similar to divisibility rule for 3. That is, if the
sum of digits of the number is divisible by 9, then the number itself is
divisible by 9.
Example: Consider 78532, as the sum of its digits (7+8+5+3+2) is 25,
which is not divisible by 9, hence 78532 is not divisible by 9.

Divisibility Rule of 10
Divisibility rule for 10 states that any number whose last digit is 0, is
divisible by 10.
Example: 10, 20, 30, 1000, 5000, 60000, etc.
Divisibility Rules for 11
If the difference of the sum of alternative digits of a number is divisible
by 11, then that number is divisible by 11 completely.
i.e., Sum of digits in odd places – Sum of digits in even places = 0 or a
multiple of 11
In order to check whether a number like 2143 is divisible by 11, below is
the following procedure.
•Group the alternative digits i.e. digits which are in odd places together
and digits in even places together. Here 24 and 13 are two groups.
•Take the sum of the digits of each group i.e. 2+4=6 and 1+3= 4
•Now find the difference of the sums; 6-4=2
•If the difference is divisible by 11, then the original number is also
divisible by 11. Here 2 is the difference which is not divisible by 11.
•Therefore, 2143 is not divisible by 11.
A few more conditions are there to test the divisibility of a number by 11.
They are explained here with the help of examples:
If the number of digits of a number is even, then add the first digit
and subtract the last digit from the rest of the number.
Example: 3784
Number of digits = 4
Now, 78 + 3 – 4 = 77 = 7 × 11
Thus, 3784 is divisible by 11.
If the number of digits of a number is odd, then subtract the first and
the last digits from the rest of the number.
Example: 82907
Number of digits = 5
Now, 290 – 8 – 7 = 275 × 11
Thus, 82907 is divisible by 11.
Form the groups of two digits from the right end digit to the left end of
the number and add the resultant groups. If the sum is a multiple of 11,
then the number is divisible by 11.
Example: 3774 := 37 + 74 = 111 := 1 + 11 = 12
3774 is not divisible by 11.
253 := 2 + 53 = 55 = 5 × 11
253 is divisible by 11.
Subtract the last digit of the number from the rest of the number. If the
resultant value is a multiple of 11, then the original number will be
divisible by 11.
Example: 9647
9647 := 964 – 7 = 957
957 := 95 – 7 = 88 = 8 × 11
Thus, 9647 is divisible by 11.
Divisibility Rule of 12
If the number is divisible by both 3 and 4, then the number is divisible
by 12 exactly.
Example: 5864
Sum of the digits = 5 + 8 + 6 + 4 = 23 (not a multiple of 3)
Last two digits = 64 (divisible by 4)
The given number 5864 is divisible by 4 but not by 3; hence, it is not
divisible by 12.

Divisibility Rules for 13

For any given number, to check if it is divisible by 13, we have to add
four times of the last digit of the number to the remaining number and
repeat the process until you get a two-digit number. Now check if that
two-digit number is divisible by 13 or not. If it is divisible, then the given
number is divisible by 13.
For example: 2795 → 279 + (5 x 4)
→ 279 + (20)
→ 299
→ 29 + (9 x 4)
→ 29 + 36
→65
Number 65 is divisible by 13, 13 x 5 = 65.
 Finding Number
293. Which of the following prime numbers while dividing 2176 leaves 9 as remainder? (a) 17 (b) 29 (c) 167 (d) 197

296. In a division sum, the quotient, dividend and remainder are 15, 940 and 25 respectively. The divisor is (a) 31 (b)
50 (c) 60 (d) 61

297. In a division sum, the divisor is 12 times the quotient and 5 times the remainder. If the remainder is 48, then the
dividend is (a) 2404 (b) 3648 (c) 4808 (d) 4848
300. In doing a question of division with zero remainder, a candidate took 12 as divisor instead of 21. The quotient
obtained by him was 35. The correct quotient is (a) 0 (b) 12 (c) 13 (d) 20

303. A number when divided by 136 leaves remainder 36. If the same number is divided by 17, the remainder will be
(S.S.C., 2010) (a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 7 (d) 9

309. When a number is divided by 13, the remainder is 11. When the same number is divided by 17, the
remainder is 9. What is the number? (a) 339 (b) 349 (c) 369 (d) Data inadequate (e) None of these
293. Which of the following prime numbers while dividing 2176 leaves 9 as remainder? (a) 17 (b) 29 (c) 167 (d) 197
296. In a division sum, the quotient, dividend and remainder are 15, 940 and 25 respectively. The divisor is (a) 31 (b)
50 (c) 60 (d) 61
297. In a division sum, the divisor is 12 times the quotient and 5 times the remainder. If the remainder is 48, then the
dividend is (a) 2404 (b) 3648 (c) 4808 (d) 4848
 Consecutive
22. If the numbers from 1 to 24, which are divisible by 2 are arranged in descending order, which number will be at the
8th place from the bottom? (a) 10 (b) 12 (c) 16 (d) 18

169. The sum of four consecutive even numbers A, B, C and D is 180. What is the sum of the set of next four consecutive
even numbers? (a) 196 (b) 204 (c) 212 (d) 214 (e) None of these 170.

281. How many 3-digit numbers are completely divisible by 6? (a) 149 (b) 150 (c) 151 (d) 166

282. The number of terms between 11 and 200 which are divisible by 7 but not by 3 are (C.P.F., 2008) (a) 18 (b) 19 (c) 27
(d) 28

283. Out of the numbers divisible by 3 between 14 and 95 if the numbers with 3 at unit's place are removed, then how
many numbers will remain? (R.R.B., 2006) (a) 22 (b) 23 (c) 24 (d) 25
 Divisible
217. If 78*3945 is divisible by 11, where * is a digit, then * is equal to (a) 0 (b) 1 (c) 3 (d) 5

220. Which of the following numbers is divisible by 3, 7, 9 and 11? (a) 639 (b) 2079 (c) 3791 (d) 37911

367. What minimum value should be assigned to *, so that 2361*48 is exactly divisible by 9? [ESIC—UDC Exam,
2016] (a) 2 (b) 3 (c) 9 (d) 4

269. Which of the following numbers should be added to 8567 to make it exactly divisible by 4? (Bank Recruitment, 2008)
(a) 3 (b) 4 (c) 5 (d) 6 (e) None of these

275. The smallest number which must be subtracted from 8112 to make it exactly divisible by 99 is (a) 91 (b) 92 (c) 93 (d) 95

277. The number of times 99 is subtracted from 1111 so that the remainder is less than 99 is (a) 10 (b) 11 (c) 12 (d) 13
267. The smallest 4-digit number exactly divisible by 7 is (P.C.S., 2009) (a) 1001 (b) 1007 (c) 1101 (d) 1108
 Successive Number
313. A number divided by 13 leaves a remainder 1 and if the quotient, thus obtained, is divided by 5, we get a
remainder of 3. What will be the remainder if the number is divided by 65? (a) 16 (b) 18 (c) 28 (d) 40

315. A number when divided by three consecutive numbers 9, 11, 13 leaves the remainders 8, 9 and 8 respectively. If
the order of divisors is reversed, the remainders will be (R.R.B., 2008) (a) 10, 8, 9 (b) 10, 1, 6 (c) 8, 9, 8 (d) 9, 8, 8

211. A number is divisible by 11 if the difference between the sums of the digits in odd and even places
respectively is (a) a multiple of 3 (b) a multiple of 5 (c) zero or a multiple of 7 (d) zero or a multiple of 11