Question

When a positive integer x is divided by 5 the remainder is 1. When x is divided by 8, the remainder is 4. What is the smallest positive integer y, such that (x + y) divisible by 40? [MBA 2017]

A.3

B.4

C.9

D. 13

E. None

Answers

GPT-4o mini
To solve the problem, we need to find a positive integer \( x \) that satisfies the following congruences:

1. \( x \equiv 1 \mod 5 \)
2. \( x \equiv 4 \mod 8 \)

We'll solve for \( x \) that meets these criteria and then find \( y \) such that \( x + y \) is divisible by 40.

### Step 1: Find \( x \)

From the first congruence, we have:

\[
x = 5k + 1 \quad \text{for some integer } k
\]

Substituting this expression for \( x \) into the second congruence:

\[
5k + 1 \equiv 4 \mod 8
\]

Subtracting 1 from both sides gives:

\[
5k \equiv 3 \mod 8
\]

Now, we can find the multiplicative inverse of 5 modulo 8. The inverse \( m \) satisfies:

\[
5m \equiv 1 \mod 8
\]

Testing values, we find:

- \( m = 1: 5 \times 1 = 5 \not\equiv 1 \mod 8 \)
- \( m = 2: 5 \times 2 = 10 \equiv 2 \mod 8 \)
- \( m = 3: 5 \times 3 = 15 \equiv 7 \mod 8 \)
- \( m = 4: 5 \times 4 = 20 \equiv 4 \mod 8 \)
- \( m = 5: 5 \times 5 = 25 \equiv 1 \mod 8 \) (found the inverse!)

Multiplying both sides of \( 5k \equiv 3 \mod 8 \) by 5 gives:

\[
25k \equiv 15 \mod 8 \implies k \equiv 7 \mod 8
\]

Thus, \( k \) can be expressed as:

\[
k = 8m + 7 \quad \text{for some integer } m
\]

Substituting back for \( x \):

\[
x = 5(8m + 7) + 1 = 40m + 35 + 1 = 40m + 36
\]

So we have:

\[
x \equiv 36 \mod 40
\]

The smallest positive integer \( x \) satisfying both congruences is \( x = 36 \).

### Step 2: Find \( y \)

Now we need to find the smallest positive integer \( y \) such that \( x + y \) is divisible by 40:

\[
x + y \equiv 0 \mod 40
\]

Since \( x \equiv 36 \mod 40 \):

\[
36 + y \equiv 0 \mod 40 \implies y \equiv -36 \equiv 4 \mod 40
\]

The smallest positive integer \( y \) satisfying this is:

\[
y = 4
\]

### Conclusion

The smallest positive integer \( y \) such that \( (x + y) \) is divisible by 40 is:

\[
\boxed{4}
\]