[Math] Find the smallest positive integer that ends in $17$, is divisible by $17$, and the sum of its digits is equal to $17$.

elementary-number-theorynumber theoryprime numbers

This is a very interesting word problem that I came across in an old textbook of mine. So I know its got something to do with primes and composities but other than that, the textbook gave no hints really and I'm really not sure about how to approach it. Any guidance hints or help would be truly greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance 🙂 So anyway, here the problem goes:

Find the smallest positive integer that ends in $17$, is divisible by $17$, and the sum of its digits is equal to $17$.

Best Answer

The number has to be $15317$. I give in to the temptation of posting my earlier comment as an answer. The number ends in $17$, so we have a starting point, the digit sum is $8$. We now need a digit sum of $9$, and the number appended on the left has to be divisible by $9$. Since $17$ and $9$ are coprime, $17$ x $9$ = $153$ is the smallest such number. Hence the answer to the original question is $15317$.

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