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2024 AMC 10B Problem 18

Problem 18 of 25IntermediateNumber Theory

How many different remainders can result when the 100100th power of an integer is divided by 125?125?

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Solution

Here 125=53125 = 5^3 and φ(125)=100.\varphi(125) = 100. If gcd(n,5)=1,\gcd(n, 5) = 1, Euler’s theorem gives n1001(mod125).n^{100} \equiv 1 \pmod{125}. And if nn is divisible by 5,5, then n100n^{100} carries a factor of 5100,5^{100}, hence of 125,125, so n1000(mod125).n^{100} \equiv 0 \pmod{125}. That leaves only two possible remainders, 00 and 1.1. Therefore, the answer is B.

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Concepts: Euler’s Totient Function · modular exponentiation · casework

Problem text and solution from the LIVE past-contest archive. See also the AoPS wiki page for community solutions.