Last visit was: 19 Nov 2025, 12:42 It is currently 19 Nov 2025, 12:42
Close
GMAT Club Daily Prep
Thank you for using the timer - this advanced tool can estimate your performance and suggest more practice questions. We have subscribed you to Daily Prep Questions via email.

Customized
for You

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History

Track
Your Progress

every week, we’ll send you an estimated GMAT score based on your performance

Practice
Pays

we will pick new questions that match your level based on your Timer History
Not interested in getting valuable practice questions and articles delivered to your email? No problem, unsubscribe here.
Close
Request Expert Reply
Confirm Cancel
User avatar
Bunuel
User avatar
Math Expert
Joined: 02 Sep 2009
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 105,390
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 99,977
Products:
Expert
Expert reply
Active GMAT Club Expert! Tag them with @ followed by their username for a faster response.
Posts: 105,390
Kudos: 778,343
 [10]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
9
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
freedom128
Joined: 30 Sep 2017
Last visit: 01 Oct 2020
Posts: 939
Own Kudos:
1,356
 [2]
Given Kudos: 402
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40
GPA: 3.8
Products:
GMAT 1: 720 Q49 V40
Posts: 939
Kudos: 1,356
 [2]
2
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
User avatar
GMATWhizTeam
User avatar
GMATWhiz Representative
Joined: 07 May 2019
Last visit: 14 Oct 2025
Posts: 3,380
Own Kudos:
2,141
 [3]
Given Kudos: 69
Location: India
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41
GMAT 2: 760 Q51 V40
Expert
Expert reply
GMAT 2: 760 Q51 V40
Posts: 3,380
Kudos: 2,141
 [3]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
2
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
avatar
SonamRa
Joined: 05 Jan 2020
Last visit: 26 Jan 2022
Posts: 27
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 44
Location: India
GMAT 1: 670 Q49 V33
GMAT 1: 670 Q49 V33
Posts: 27
Kudos: 8
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
3 to the power 444 would have last digit as 1, while 4 to the power 333 would have last digit i.e unit place 4, so when we add both the unit digit of addition will be 5, so it will be divisible by 5 and the remainder will be 0

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
Archit3110
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 18 Aug 2017
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 8,422
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 243
Status:You learn more from failure than from success.
Location: India
Concentration: Sustainability, Marketing
GMAT Focus 1: 545 Q79 V79 DI73
GMAT Focus 2: 645 Q83 V82 DI81
GPA: 4
WE:Marketing (Energy)
GMAT Focus 2: 645 Q83 V82 DI81
Posts: 8,422
Kudos: 4,982
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
use cyclicity rule we determine unit digit
3^444; 1 and 4^333; 4
unit sum ; 5
and when divided by 5 ; remainder would be 0
IMO A

What is the remainder when 3^444+4^333 is divided by 5?

A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
E. 4
User avatar
exc4libur
Joined: 24 Nov 2016
Last visit: 22 Mar 2022
Posts: 1,684
Own Kudos:
1,447
 [1]
Given Kudos: 607
Location: United States
Posts: 1,684
Kudos: 1,447
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Quote:
What is the remainder when 3^444 + 4^333 is divided by 5?

(A) 0
(B) 1
(C) 2
(D) 3
(E) 4

cyclicity of 3: {3,9,7,1} multiple of 4
units digits 3^444: 444/4 = last number of cycle = {1}

cyclicity of 4: {4,6} multiple of 2
units digits 4^333: 333/2 = first number of cycle = {4}

units digits of 3^444 + 4^333 = {1+4} = {5}
a number with units digit of 5 is div by 5, so remainder is 0

Ans (A)
User avatar
Kinshook
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 03 Jun 2019
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,794
Own Kudos:
5,510
 [1]
Given Kudos: 161
Location: India
GMAT 1: 690 Q50 V34
WE:Engineering (Transportation)
Products:
GMAT 1: 690 Q50 V34
Posts: 5,794
Kudos: 5,510
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
3^4 = 81 leaves remainder 1 when divided by 5
3^444= (3^4)^111 will leave a remainder of 1 when divided by 5
(5-1)^333 will leave a remainder of (-1)^333 = -1 when divided by 5
3^444 + 4^333 will leave a remainder of 1-1=0 when divided by 5

IMO A

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
unraveled
Joined: 07 Mar 2019
Last visit: 10 Apr 2025
Posts: 2,720
Own Kudos:
2,258
 [1]
Given Kudos: 763
Location: India
WE:Sales (Energy)
Posts: 2,720
Kudos: 2,258
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
What is the remainder when \(3^444+4^333\) is divided by 5?

A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
E. 4

Cyclicity of 3 is 4 and that of 4 is 2.
\(3^{444}+4^{333}\) = \(3^{4k}+4^{2k' + 1}\) where k and k' are positive integers
\(3^{4k}\) would have 1 as unit digit and \(4^{2k' + 1}\) would have 4 as unit digit.

On adding \(3^{4k}\) and \(4^{2k' + 1}\) it would have 5 as unit digit which is divisible by 5.

Hence remainder is 0.

Answer A.
avatar
shubhamjha22
avatar
Current Student
Joined: 11 Dec 2016
Last visit: 11 May 2025
Posts: 27
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 60
Location: India
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41
GPA: 3
GMAT 1: 740 Q50 V41
Posts: 27
Kudos: 12
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
3^444= 9^222
Last digit of 9^(even number)= 9

Similarly last digit of 4^(odd number)= 4
therefore last digit of 4^333= 4

now R(9/5) + R(4/5)= R98/5)= 3
User avatar
Jawad001
Joined: 14 Sep 2019
Last visit: 10 Nov 2022
Posts: 217
Own Kudos:
152
 [1]
Given Kudos: 31
Posts: 217
Kudos: 152
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
What is the remainder when 3^444+4^333 is divided by 5?

A. 0
B. 1
C. 2
D. 3
E. 4

3 has a cycle of 4
3^1 =3
3^(2 )= 9
3^3 = 7
3^4 = 1

4 has a cycle of 2
4^1 = 4
4^2 = 6
4^3 = 4

Now,3^444+4^333
= 3^(111)*4+4^(83*4+1)
= 1(Unit digit of 3 at cycility of 4) + 4(Unit digit of 4 at cycility of 1)
= 1 + 4
= 5
Therefore, remainder of 5/5 =0
Answer: A
avatar
viktorfdez
Joined: 26 Aug 2019
Last visit: 17 Jan 2022
Posts: 7
Own Kudos:
4
 [1]
Given Kudos: 1
GMAT 1: 580 Q44 V28
GMAT 1: 580 Q44 V28
Posts: 7
Kudos: 4
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
The best way to solve this problem is by decomposing the exponents from the base, that is:

3^444 = (3^4)^100 * (3^4)^10 * (3^4)^1
4^333 = (4^3)^100 * (4^3)^10 * (4^3)^1

According to this, the answer is A since the units digits of the sum is 0.
User avatar
lacktutor
Joined: 25 Jul 2018
Last visit: 23 Oct 2023
Posts: 659
Own Kudos:
1,396
 [1]
Given Kudos: 69
Posts: 659
Kudos: 1,396
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
What is the remainder when \(3^{444} + 4^{333}\) is divided by 5?

\(3^{444} + 4^{333} = 9^{222} + 4^{333}\)

—> \(( 10–1)^{222} + (5–1)^{333} = 10m + 1 + 5n —1 = 5*(2m +1)\)

The remainder is zero

The answer is A.

Posted from my mobile device
User avatar
CrackverbalGMAT
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 03 Oct 2013
Last visit: 19 Nov 2025
Posts: 4,844
Own Kudos:
Given Kudos: 225
Affiliations: CrackVerbal
Location: India
Expert
Expert reply
Posts: 4,844
Kudos: 8,945
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Any number that has 5 or 0 as its units digit is divisible by 5. As such, any number that has any other digit in the units place will give a remainder of 1 or 2 or 3 or 4 when divided by 5. Remember, the biggest remainder you can get when you divide any number by 5, is 4, while the smallest is 0.

The cyclicity of units digit of numbers ending with 3, is 4 – any number ending with 3 will always end with 3,9,7 or 1 depending on the exponent to which it is raised.
If the exponent is a multiple of 4, the units digit will always be 1. In our case, \(3^{444}\) will definitely end with 1.

The cyclicity of units digit of numbers ending with 4, is 2 – any number ending with 4 will always end with 4 or 6. If the power is odd, the number will have 4 as the units digit and if the power is even, the units digit will be 6.
In our case, \(4^{333}\) will have 4 as the units digit since the power is odd.

Therefore, \(3^{444}\) +\( 4^{333}\) gives us a number ending with 5 which means we have a multiple of 5. The remainder when this number is divided by 5, will be ZERO.

The correct answer option is A.

Hope that helps!
User avatar
GmatKnightTutor
User avatar
Major Poster
Joined: 31 Jan 2020
Last visit: 01 Nov 2025
Posts: 5,228
Own Kudos:
1,568
 [1]
Given Kudos: 18
Posts: 5,228
Kudos: 1,568
 [1]
1
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Well, people, this one can be a pain to solve. There are a lot of little steps along the way, even if you know the concept, to trip up on. Yuck.

Fundamentally, you first need to understand that when you increase the powers of the numbers 3 or 4, they begin to show a pattern when it comes to their last digit

3 to the power 1, 2, 3 ,4 becomes 3, 9, 27, 81 ....something ending with 3... something ending with 9 and the pattern continues on and on.... Endless last digit blocks of 3, 9, 7, 1

4 to the power 1, 2, 3 becomes 4, 16, 64.... something ending with 6... and the pattern continues.... Endless last digit blocks of 4, 6

Once you know this the rest is just calm calculation.

What's the last digit of 3 to the power 444 ---> 444/4 leaves you with a remainder of 0 --- meaning you are at the 4th "house" on the block. That 4th house ends in a 1.

Similarly, to find the last digit of 4 to the power 333, just divide 333/2. You don't even have to solve it. Recognize it will not evenly divide and therefore it will have to be an Odd House ending in 4.

Now that we know both the last digits, we can simply add them before dividing by 5.

And guess what? 1 + 4 divided by 5 leaves a remainder of 0!
User avatar
bumpbot
User avatar
Non-Human User
Joined: 09 Sep 2013
Last visit: 04 Jan 2021
Posts: 38,588
Own Kudos:
Posts: 38,588
Kudos: 1,079
Kudos
Add Kudos
Bookmarks
Bookmark this Post
Hello from the GMAT Club BumpBot!

Thanks to another GMAT Club member, I have just discovered this valuable topic, yet it had no discussion for over a year. I am now bumping it up - doing my job. I think you may find it valuable (esp those replies with Kudos).

Want to see all other topics I dig out? Follow me (click follow button on profile). You will receive a summary of all topics I bump in your profile area as well as via email.
Moderators:
Math Expert
105390 posts
Tuck School Moderator
805 posts