Problem Solving

When positive integer n is divided by 5, the remainder is 1. When n is divided by 7, the remainder is 3. What is the smallest positive integer k such that k+n is a multiple of 35?

A) 3
B) 4
C) 12
D) 32
E) 35

There's a nice rule that says, If, when N is divided by D, the remainder is R, then the possible values of N include: R, R+D, R+2D, R+3D,. . .

When n is divided by 5, the remainder is 1.
So, possible values of n are 1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, 31, 36, 41, 46, 51, 56, 61, 66, 71, 76, etc.

When n is divided by 7, the remainder is 3.
So, possible values of n are 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 38, 45, 52, 59, 66, 73, etc.

So, we can see that n could equal 31, or 66, or an infinite number of other values.

Important: Since the Least Common Multiple of 7 and 5 is 35, we can conclude that if we list the possible values of n, each value will be 35 greater than the last value.
So, n could equal 31, 66, 101, 136, and so on.

Check the answer choices....

Answer choice A: If we add 3 to any of these possible n-values, the sum is NOT a multiple of 35.
ELIMINATE A

Answer choice B: if we take ANY of these possible n-values, and add 4, the sum will be a multiple of 35.

So, the smallest value of k is 4 such that k+n is a multiple of 35.

Answer = B

Cheers,
Brent

When positive integer n is divided by 5, the remainder is 1. When n is divided by 7, the remainder is 3. What is the smallest positive integer k such that k+n is a multiple of 35?

A) 3
B) 4
C) 12
D) 32
E) 35

We can find the value of n first by just strategically find values that when divided by 5 have a reminder of 1. For example, since the remainder is 1 when n is divided by 5, n will be a [(multiple of 5) + 1] and thus must be one of the following numbers:

1, 6, 11, 16, 21, 26, 31, ...

Now we have to find out which of these numbers when divided by 7, have a remainder of 3.

1/7 = 0 remainder 1

6/7 = 0 remainder 6

11/7 = 0 remainder 6

6/7 = 1 remainder 4

16/7 = 2 remainder 2

21/7 = 3 remainder 0

26/7 = 3 remainder 5

31/7 = 4 remainder 3

We can see that 31 is the smallest value of n that satisfies the requirement. So we must determine the value of k such that k + n is a multiple of 35. Obviously, since 4 + 31 = 35 and 35 is a multiple of 35, then the smallest positive integer value of k is 4.

Answer:B