Question 7
When divided by 7, the number 661 leaves a remainder of 3, and 4779 leaves a remainder of 5. Without calculating, can you say what remainders the following expressions will leave when divided by 7? Show the solution both algebraically and visually.
(i) 4779 + 661
(ii) 4779 - 661
We can find the remainder of a sum or difference by first finding the sum or difference of the individual remainders, and then finding the remainder of that result.
Step 1 — Understanding the given information
Let's represent the numbers using the division algorithm. This means expressing a number as a multiple of the divisor plus a remainder. We are given that when 661 is divided by 7, the remainder is 3. So, we can write 661 as: Here, is the quotient (the whole number result of the division).
We are also given that when 4779 is divided by 7, the remainder is 5. So, we can write 4779 as: Here, is the quotient.

Step 2 — Finding the remainder of 4779 + 661
Let's find the sum of the two numbers. We will substitute their expressions from Step 1. We can rearrange the terms by grouping the multiples of 7 and the remainders. We can factor out 7 from the first part. Now, we need to find the remainder of 8 when divided by 7. So, we can substitute this back into our expression. We can factor out 7 again. This shows that when is divided by 7, the remainder is 1.
Visually, we can add the remainders directly. We have a remainder of 5 from 4779 and a remainder of 3 from 661. Now, we find the remainder of 8 when divided by 7.
Step 3 — Finding the remainder of 4779 - 661
Let's find the difference between the two numbers. We will substitute their expressions from Step 1. We can rearrange the terms by grouping the multiples of 7 and the remainders. We can factor out 7 from the first part. This shows that when is divided by 7, the remainder is 2.
Visually, we can subtract the remainders directly. We have a remainder of 5 from 4779 and a remainder of 3 from 661. Since 2 is less than 7, the remainder is simply 2. If the result of subtracting remainders were negative (e.g., ), we would add 7 to it until it becomes a positive number less than 7 (e.g., ).
Answer
(i) The remainder of when divided by 7 is 1. (ii) The remainder of when divided by 7 is 2.
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