Quandaries and Queries
 

 

When dividing a 3-digit number by a 1-digit number, for what divisors can you get a remainder of 8?
 

 

Hi,

Suppose that you have some jelly beans, at least a hundred and fewer than a thousand. That is the number of jelly beans that you have is a three digit number. Some children come to visit and you want to divide the jelly beans as evenly as possible among the children. The number of children who visit is less than ten, that is the number of children who visit is a one digit number.

Suppose that the number of children who visit is 2. If the number of jelly beans you have is even then you can divide them evenly between the 2 children and there are 0 jelly beans rermaining. If the number of jelly beans is not even, when you divide them up you have one jelly bean remaining.

Thus when you divide a three digit number by 2 the only possible remainders are 0 and 1.

Now suppose that the number of children who visit is 3. This time when you divide the jelly beans among the children you might have 0, 1 or 2 jelly beans remaining.

Thus when you divide a three digit number by 3 the only possible remainders are 0, 1 and 2.

Can you now see how many children would need to visit so that when the jelly beans are divided by the number of children, 8 is a possible remainder?

Penny

 
 

Go to Math Central