Divisor 2861

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

The "Sofie Test" for Divisibility by 2861

To determine if any number is divisible by 2861, apply the "Sofie Test":

  1. If your number ("X") has 6 digits or more, separate the last (smallest) 5 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 6 digits, L = 0 and therefore R = X.
  2. Multiply L by 135 and subtract this from R.
  3. Take that result and cross off its final digit (units). Take this new number and subtract 286 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 2861. That is, your original number is divisible by 2861 if (and only if) Y is. Now that it's much smaller, with basic knowledge of your 2861-times tables, it should be easy to visually see if Y is divisible by 2861. If the Y is still much larger than 2861, the above process can be repeated until it does reduce to within small multiples of 2861.

Easy!