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Check Code Sensitivity

Age 14 to 16
Challenge Level Yellow star
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A stamp
Check codes are designed to pick up common errors such as transposing two digits or miscopying a single digit. A person types the code number into a machine which decides whether it is a valid code or not. If someone types in a US Postal Service Money Order number and makes a single error, just one mistake in one digit, will the machine pick up every error of this type? Will a machine always pick up an error in a single digit for an airline ticket number?

US Postal Service Money Order: This is an eleven digit number using digits 1,2,...9 where the sum of the first ten digits is congruent to the eleventh digit modulo 9. That is $a_1a_2\cdots a_{11}$ where $a_1+ \cdots +a_{10} \equiv a_{11}$ mod $9$.

Airline tickets: This number can be any length. It uses the digits 0 to 9 and the last digit is a check digit. The number formed by omitting the check digit must be congruent to the check digit modulo 7.
That is $a_1\cdots a_na_{n+1}$ where $a_1a_2\cdots a_n \equiv a_{n+1}$ mod 7.

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Prove that if a^2+b^2 is a multiple of 3 then both a and b are multiples of 3.

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a) A four digit number (in base 10) aabb is a perfect square. Discuss ways of systematically finding this number. (b) Prove that 11^{10}-1 is divisible by 100.

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The NRICH Project aims to enrich the mathematical experiences of all learners. To support this aim, members of the NRICH team work in a wide range of capacities, including providing professional development for teachers wishing to embed rich mathematical tasks into everyday classroom practice.

NRICH is part of the family of activities in the Millennium Mathematics Project.

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