True or False?
For any positive integer , there exist a natural number with digits, none of which is even, such that .
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We proceed by induction. For K = 1 , we see that N = 5 satisfies the given requirements. Now, suppose that the n -digit number N = a n a n − 1 … a 2 a 1 is divisible by 5 n . We will prove that there exists an odd digit a n + 1 such that a n + 1 a n a n − 1 … a 2 a 1 is divisible by 5 n + 1 .
Since 5 n ∣ a n a n − 1 … a 2 a 1 , we can write a n a n − 1 … a 2 a 1 in the form 5 n k , where k is some positive integer. Next, we see that
a n + 1 a n a n − 1 … a 2 a 1 = 1 0 n a n + 1 + a n a n − 1 … a 2 a 1 = 1 0 n a n + 1 + 5 n k = 5 n ( 2 n a n + 1 + k ) .
Our problem, then, reduces to finding an odd digit a n + 1 such that 2 n a n + 1 + k ≡ 0 ( m o d 5 ) . Noting that 2 n ≡ ± 1 , ± 2 ( m o d 5 ) , we can reduce this congruence to ± a n + 1 ≡ − k ( m o d 5 ) or ± 2 a n + 1 ≡ − k ( m o d 5 ) . In all four cases, we can see that there exists a non-negative integer i less than 5 such that a n + 1 ≡ i ( m o d 5 ) . (For the -1 case, we merely divide by -1. For the ± 2 cases, we manipulate the RHS of the congruence until it is even, then divide both sides by ± 2 , which preserves the modulo since g cd ( 2 , 5 ) = 1 . )
If i is odd, we take a n + 1 = i , which will make a n + 1 a n a n − 1 … a 2 a 1 divisible by 5 n + 1 . If i is even, we take a n + 1 = i + 5 , which will achieve the same result.
Our inductive step is complete, so for all positive integers K , there exists an N with K odd digits such that 5 K ∣ N . ■