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2020/21 AHSMC Part 1 Problem 15

Problem 15 of 16

The number of integers xx between 1010 and 9999 (inclusive) which have the property that the remainder when x3x^3 is divided by 100100 is equal to the cube of the units digit of xx is

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Solution

If x=10a+bx = 10a + b then x3=1000a3+300a2b+30ab2+b3x^3 = 1000a^3 + 300a^2b + 30ab^2 + b^3. The remainder when x3x^3 is divided by 100100 is equal to the cube b3b^3 of the units digit of xx if and only if 100100 is a divisor of 30ab230ab^2 and b3<100b^3 < 100, which means that 1010 is a divisor of ab2ab^2 and b≤4b \le 4. This happens when a∈{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9}a \in \{1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9\} and b=0b = 0, or if a=5a = 5 and b∈{2,4}b \in \{2,4\}. Therefore there are 1111 integers in total. The answer is (B).