Divisor 15959

Prime Number:
Yes!
Divisibility test:
The "Alan H. Test"
Test Discovered by:
Matt Parker
Date:
11/11/2024

The "Alan H. Test" for Divisibility by 15959

To determine if any number is divisible by 15959, apply the "Alan H. Test":

  1. If your number ("X") has 9 digits or more, separate the last (smallest) 8 digits from the rest. This makes two smaller numbers, call them Left and Right (note: don't add in trailing zeros to L). If there are fewer than 9 digits, L = 0 and therefore R = X.
  2. Multiply L by 906 and add to R.
  3. Take that result and cross off its final digit (units). Take this new number and add 1596 times the digit you just crossed off. Call this final result "Y".
  4. Y will be much smaller than X, but we have preserved divisibility by 15959. That is, your original number is divisible by 15959 if (and only if) Y is. Now that it's much smaller, with basic knowledge of your 15959-times tables, it should be easy to visually see if Y is divisible by 15959. If the Y is still much larger than 15959, the above process can be repeated until it does reduce to within small multiples of 15959.

Easy!