Math Problem Statement

Think of a natural number, multiply it by 13, draw the last digit of the obtained number, multiply this number by 7, draw the last digit of the result and get 21. What numbers were you thinking of?

Solution

Let's break down the problem step by step:

  1. You start by thinking of a natural number, let's call it nn.
  2. Multiply nn by 13: 13n13n
  3. Draw the last digit of 13n13n, which we'll denote as d1d_1. So: d1=last digit of 13nd_1 = \text{last digit of } 13n
  4. Multiply d1d_1 by 7: 7d17d_1
  5. Draw the last digit of 7d17d_1, which gives us d2d_2. So: d2=last digit of 7d1d_2 = \text{last digit of } 7d_1
  6. Finally, we are told that this last digit d2d_2 is 1. In other words: d2=1d_2 = 1

We need to determine what value of nn satisfies this condition.

Step 1: Determine Possible Values of d1d_1

The last digit of 13n13n is based on the multiplication of 13 with nn, so let's check the last digits of multiples of 13:

  • 13×0=013 \times 0 = 0 (last digit 0)
  • 13×1=1313 \times 1 = 13 (last digit 3)
  • 13×2=2613 \times 2 = 26 (last digit 6)
  • 13×3=3913 \times 3 = 39 (last digit 9)
  • 13×4=5213 \times 4 = 52 (last digit 2)
  • 13×5=6513 \times 5 = 65 (last digit 5)
  • 13×6=7813 \times 6 = 78 (last digit 8)
  • 13×7=9113 \times 7 = 91 (last digit 1)
  • 13×8=10413 \times 8 = 104 (last digit 4)
  • 13×9=11713 \times 9 = 117 (last digit 7)

So, d1d_1 could be 0, 3, 6, 9, 2, 5, 8, 1, 4, or 7.

Step 2: Check 7d17d_1 and the Last Digit of the Result

Now, we multiply each possible d1d_1 by 7 and check the last digit:

  • 7×0=07 \times 0 = 0 (last digit 0)
  • 7×3=217 \times 3 = 21 (last digit 1)
  • 7×6=427 \times 6 = 42 (last digit 2)
  • 7×9=637 \times 9 = 63 (last digit 3)
  • 7×2=147 \times 2 = 14 (last digit 4)
  • 7×5=357 \times 5 = 35 (last digit 5)
  • 7×8=567 \times 8 = 56 (last digit 6)
  • 7×1=77 \times 1 = 7 (last digit 7)
  • 7×4=287 \times 4 = 28 (last digit 8)
  • 7×7=497 \times 7 = 49 (last digit 9)

From this, we see that only when d1=3d_1 = 3, the last digit of 7d17d_1 is 1, which is the condition given in the problem.

Step 3: Find nn

Since d1=3d_1 = 3, we know that the last digit of 13n13n is 3. From the list of possible last digits of multiples of 13, this happens when n=1n = 1.

Conclusion:

The number you were thinking of is n=1n = 1.

Would you like more details, or do you have any other questions?


Here are five follow-up questions to think about:

  1. What would happen if you changed the multiplier from 13 to another number?
  2. Can this process work with numbers larger than 1?
  3. What would be the last digit if you used 11 instead of 7 in the second multiplication?
  4. Can you generalize this problem for any multiplier?
  5. What if the final digit were something other than 1—how would that affect the process?

Tip: Pay close attention to patterns in number properties, such as last digits, which can simplify complex multiplication problems.

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Math Problem Analysis

Mathematical Concepts

Modular Arithmetic
Number Theory

Formulas

13n (mod 10)
7d1 (mod 10)

Theorems

Modulus operation
Last digit properties in multiplication

Suitable Grade Level

Grades 8-10