Problem Solving

cpay3245 wrote: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

Here's one approach:

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,. . .

First we're told that 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.

Next we're told that 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.

Notice that, if we take any of these values, we need to add 4 to it so that 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