Divisor 9851

Prime Number:
Yes!
Divisibility test:
The "Henk Vinke Test"
Test Discovered by:
Matt Parker
Date:
11/11/2024

The "Henk Vinke Test" for Divisibility by 9851

To determine if any number is divisible by 9851, apply the "Henk Vinke Test":

  1. If your number ("X") has 5 digits or more, separate the last (smallest) 4 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 5 digits, L = 0 and therefore R = X.
  2. Multiply L by 149 and add to R.
  3. Take that result and cross off its final digit (units). Take this new number and subtract 985 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 9851. That is, your original number is divisible by 9851 if (and only if) Y is. Now that it's much smaller, with basic knowledge of your 9851-times tables, it should be easy to visually see if Y is divisible by 9851. If the Y is still much larger than 9851, the above process can be repeated until it does reduce to within small multiples of 9851.

Easy!