Divisibility Rules

A divisibility rule is a shorthand way of determining whether a given number is divisible by a fixed divisor without performing the division, usually by examining its digits. Although there are divisibility tests for numbers in any radix, and they are all different, this article presents rules and examples only for decimal numbers.

Divisibility rule for '2' : First, take any number (for this example it will be 376) and note the last digit in the number, discarding the other digits. Then take that digit (6) while ignoring the rest of the number and determine if it is divisible by 2. If it is divisible by 2, then the original number is divisible by 2.
Example:

1. 376 (The original number)
2. 37 6 (Take the last digit)
3. 6 ÷ 2 = 3 (Check to see if the last digit is divisible by 2)
4. 376 ÷ 2 = 188 (If the last digit is divisible by 2, then the whole number is divisible by 2)

( OR ) We can easily conclude a number divisible by '2' or not. By seeing the last digit of number if it  is even number (0,2,4,6,8). Then, the number is divisible by '2'.

Divisibility rule for '3' or '9 ': First, take any number (for this example it will be 492) and add together each digit in the number (4 + 9 + 2 = 15). Then take that sum (15) and determine if it is divisible by 3. The original number is divisible by 3 (or 9) if and only if the sum of its digits is divisible by 3
 (or 9). If a number is a multiplication of 3 consecutive numbers then that number is always divisible by 3. This is useful for when the number takes the form of (n × (n − 1) × (n + 1)).
Example:

1. 492 (The original number)
2. 4 + 9 + 2 = 15 (Add each individual digit together)
3. 15 is divisible by 3 at which point we can stop. Alternatively we can continue using the same method if the number is still too large:
4. 1 + 5 = 6 (Add each individual digit together)
5. 6 ÷ 3 = 2 (Check to see if the number received is divisible by 3)
6. 492 ÷ 3 = 164 (If the number obtained by using the rule is divisible by 3, then the whole number is divisible by 3)

Example:

1. 336 (The original number)
2. 6 × 7 × 8 = 336
3. 336 ÷ 3 = 112

Divisibility rule for '4' :The basic rule for divisibility by 4 is that if the number formed by the last two digits in a number is divisible by 4, the original number is divisible by 4^. this is because 100 is divisible by 4 and so adding hundreds, thousands, etc. is simply adding another number that is divisible by 4. If any number ends in a two digit number that you know is divisible by 4 (e.g. 24, 04, 08, etc.), then the whole number will be divisible by 4 regardless of what is before the last two digits.
Alternatively, one can simply divide the number by 2, and then check the result to find if it is divisible by 2. If it is, the original number is divisible by 4. In addition, the result of this test is the same as the original number divided by 4.
General rule and example

1. 2092 (The original number)
2. 20 92 (Take the last two digits of the number, discarding any other digits)
3. 92 ÷ 4 = 23 (Check to see if the number is divisible by 4)
4. 2092 ÷ 4 = 523 (If the number that is obtained is divisible by 4, then the original number is divisible by 4)

Example:

1. 1720 (The original number)
2. 1720 ÷ 2 = 860 (Divide the original number by 2)
3. 860 ÷ 2 = 430 (Check to see if the result is divisible by 2)
4. 1720 ÷ 4 = 430 (If the result is divisible by 2, then the original number is divisible by 4)

Divisibility rule for '5' : Divisibility by 5 is easily determined by checking the last digit in the number (475), and seeing if it is either 0 or 5. If the last number is either 0 or 5, the entire number is divisible by 5. If the last digit in the number is 0, then the result will be the remaining digits multiplied by 2. For example, the number 40 ends in a zero (0), so take the remaining digits (4) and multiply that by two (4 × 2 = 8). The result is the same as the result of 40 divided by 5(40/5 = 8).
If the last digit in the number is 5, then the result will be the remaining digits multiplied by two (2), plus one (1). For example, the number 125 ends in a 5, so take the remaining digits (12), multiply them by two (12 × 2 = 24), then add one (24 + 1 = 25). The result is the same as the result of 125 divided by 5 (125/5=25).
If the last digit is 0

1. 110 (The original number)
2. 11 0 (Take the last digit of the number, and check if it is 0 or 5)
3. 11 0 (If it is 0, take the remaining digits, discarding the last)
4. 11 × 2 = 22 (Multiply the result by 2)
5. 110 ÷ 5 = 22 (The result is the same as the original number divided by 5)

If the last digit is 5

1. 85 (The original number)
2. 8 5 (Take the last digit of the number, and check if it is 0 or 5)
3. 8 5 (If it is 5, take the remaining digits, discarding the last)
4. 8 × 2 = 16 (Multiply the result by 2)
5. 16 + 1 = 17 (Add 1 to the result)
6. 85 ÷ 5 = 17 (The result is the same as the original number divided by 5)

Divisibility rule for '6' : A number can be divisible by 6. If the number is divisible by '2' and '3'.
Example: 1,458: 1 + 4 + 5 + 8 = 18, so it is divisible by 3 and the last digit is even, hence the number is divisible by 6.

Divisibility rule for '7' : If you double the last digit and subtract it from the rest of the number and the answer is: 0, or divisible by 7.
Example:  i.672 (Double 2 is 4, 67-4=63, and 63÷7=9) Yes
                ii. 905 (Double 5 is 10, 90-10=80, and 80÷7=11 ) No
                                  OR
 Multiply each digit (from right to left) by the digit in the corresponding position in this pattern (from left to right): 1, 3, 2, -1, -3, -2 (repeating for digits beyond the hundred-thousands place). Then sum the results.
Example: 483595 - (4 × (-2)) + (8 × (-3)) + (3 × (-1)) + (5 × 2) + (9 × 3) + (5 × 1) = 7.
Divisibility rule for '8' : The last three digits are divisible by 8.
Example  i. 109816 (816÷8=102) Yes
               ii. 216302 (302÷8=37 ) No

Divisibility rule for '10' : The given number is divisible by '10' or not can easily predict by seeing last digit of the number. If it is '0' then, the number is divisible.

Divisibility rule for '11' : If you sum every second digit and then subtract all other digits and the answer is 0, or divisible by 11
Ex: i. 1364 ((3+4) -(1+6) = 0) Yes
     ii. 3729 ((7+9) -(3+2) = 11) Yes
     iii.25176 ((5+7) -(2+1+6) = 3) No

Divisibility rule for '13' : Multiply each digit (from right to left) by the digit in the corresponding position in this pattern (from left to right): -3, -4, -1, 3, 4, 1 (repeating for digits beyond the hundred-thousands place). Then sum the results.
Example : 30,747,912: (2 × (-3)) + (1 × (-4)) + (9 × (-1)) + (7 × 3) + (4 × 4) + (7 × 1) + (0 × (-3)) + (3 × (-4)) = 13.