Digits and Divisibility - Practice

This math unit begins with developing an understanding of determining the ones digit in products and exponents, starting with calculations involving small bases and progressively tackling larger bases and exponent values. Initially, students practice recognizing cyclical patterns of ones digits in small numbers raised to multiple powers. The unit progresses to include larger base numbers, where students continue to discern ones digit patterns through repeated multiplication and exponentiation, moving towards understanding the effects of varying power sizes on the final digits. Midway through the unit, the focus shifts towards prime factorization. Here, skills are honed in identifying whether an integer is a factor of another, using prime factorization to understand and check commonality between numbers, leading to an appreciation of greatest common factors. Concluding topics return to digit solving but with increased complexity: students work with both large and small exponents, exploring how exponent multiplication affects the ones digit when the exponents are identical or different. These exercises deepen conceptual understanding of patterns in ones digits within the framework of modular arithmetic and number theory, solidifying students' skills in pattern recognition and exponent manipulation.