Divisor 21559

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

The "Mauve Test" for Divisibility by 21559

To determine if any number is divisible by 21559, apply the "Mauve Test":

  1. If your number ("X") has 8 digits or more, separate the last (smallest) 7 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 8 digits, L = 0 and therefore R = X.
  2. Multiply L by 3376 and subtract this from R.
  3. Take that result and cross off its final digit (units). Take this new number and add 2156 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 21559. That is, your original number is divisible by 21559 if (and only if) Y is. Now that it's much smaller, with basic knowledge of your 21559-times tables, it should be easy to visually see if Y is divisible by 21559. If the Y is still much larger than 21559, the above process can be repeated until it does reduce to within small multiples of 21559.

Easy!