Divisor 21943

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

The "Lex Test" for Divisibility by 21943

To determine if any number is divisible by 21943, apply the "Lex Test":

  1. If your number ("X") has 11 digits or more, separate the last (smallest) 10 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 11 digits, L = 0 and therefore R = X.
  2. Multiply L by 4382 and add to R.
  3. Take that result and cross off its final digit (units). Take this new number and add 6583 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 21943. That is, your original number is divisible by 21943 if (and only if) Y is. Now that it's much smaller, with basic knowledge of your 21943-times tables, it should be easy to visually see if Y is divisible by 21943. If the Y is still much larger than 21943, the above process can be repeated until it does reduce to within small multiples of 21943.

Easy!