You can determine if a number is divisible by 3 by adding up its digits. If the sum of the digits is divisible by 3, then the original number is also divisible by 3.
Example:
- Take the number 492.
- Add the digits: 4 + 9 + 2 = 15.
- 15 is divisible by 3, so the original number 492 is also divisible by 3.
To find out how many times a number is divisible by 3, you need to perform repeated division.
- Divide the original number by 3.
- If the result is a whole number, divide that number by 3 again.
- Continue dividing the result by 3 until you get a number that is not divisible by 3.
- The number of times you divided by 3 is how many times the original number was divisible by 3.
Example:
- Divide 492 by 3: 492 / 3 = 164
- Divide 164 by 3: 164 / 3 = 54 (with a remainder)
- Since 54 is divisible by 3, we can divide again: 54 / 3 = 18
- We can divide 18 by 3 again: 18 / 3 = 6
- Finally, 6 is divisible by 3: 6 / 3 = 2
Therefore, the number 492 is divisible by 3 a total of 5 times.
Important Note: This method will tell you how many times a number is divisible by 3 without a remainder. If you want to know how many times a number can be divided by 3, even if there's a remainder, you'll need to use a different method.
