29/12/2019 Midy's theorem - Wikipedia

Midy's theorem
In mathematics, Midy's theorem, named after French mathematician E. Midy,[1][2] is a statement
about the decimal expansion of fractions a/p where p is a prime and a/p has a repeating decimal
expansion with an even period (sequence A028416 in the OEIS). If the period of the decimal
representation of a/p is 2n, so that

then the digits in the second half of the repeating decimal period are the 9s complement of the
corresponding digits in its first half. In other words,

For example,

Contents
Extended Midy's theorem
Midy's theorem in other bases
Proof of Midy's theorem
Corollary
Notes
References
External links

Extended Midy's theorem

If k is any divisor of the period of the decimal expansion of a/p (where p is again a prime), then
Midy's theorem can be generalised as follows. The extended Midy's theorem[3] states that if the
repeating portion of the decimal expansion of a/p is divided into k-digit numbers, then their sum is a

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multiple of 10k − 1.

For example,

has a period of 18. Dividing the repeating portion into 6-digit numbers and summing them gives

Similarly, dividing the repeating portion into 3-digit numbers and summing them gives

Midy's theorem in other bases

Midy's theorem and its extension do not depend on special properties of the decimal expansion, but
work equally well in any base b, provided we replace 10k − 1 with bk − 1 and carry out addition in base
b.

For example, in octal

In duodecimal (using inverted two and three for ten and eleven, respectively)

Proof of Midy's theorem

Short proofs of Midy's theorem can be given using results from group theory. However, it is also
possible to prove Midy's theorem using elementary algebra and modular arithmetic:

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Let p be a prime and a/p be a fraction between 0 and 1. Suppose the expansion of a/p in base b has a
period of ℓ, so

where N is the integer whose expansion in base b is the string a1a2...aℓ.

Note that b ℓ − 1 is a multiple of p because (b ℓ − 1)a/p is an integer. Also bn−1 is not a multiple of p for
any value of n less than ℓ, because otherwise the repeating period of a/p in base b would be less than ℓ.

Now suppose that ℓ = hk. Then b ℓ − 1 is a multiple of bk − 1. (To see this, substitute x for bk; then
bℓ = xh and x − 1 is a factor of xh − 1. ) Say b ℓ − 1 = m(bk − 1), so

But b ℓ − 1 is a multiple of p; bk − 1 is not a multiple of p (because k is less than ℓ ); and p is a prime; so

m must be a multiple of p and

is an integer. In other words,

Now split the string a1a2...a ℓ into h equal parts of length k, and let these represent the integers
N0...Nh − 1 in base b, so that

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To prove Midy's extended theorem in base b we must show that the sum of the h integers Ni is a
multiple of bk − 1.

Since bk is congruent to 1 modulo bk − 1, any power of bk will also be congruent to 1 modulo bk − 1. So

which proves Midy's extended theorem in base b.

To prove the original Midy's theorem, take the special case where h = 2. Note that N0 and N1 are both
represented by strings of k digits in base b so both satisfy

N0 and N1 cannot both equal 0 (otherwise a/p = 0) and cannot both equal bk − 1 (otherwise a/p = 1),
so

and since N0 + N1 is a multiple of bk − 1, it follows that

Corollary
From the above,

is an integer

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Thus

And thus for

For and is an integer

and so on.

Notes
1. Leavitt, William G. (June 1967). "A Theorem on Repeating Decimals" (http://digitalc
ommons.unl.edu/mathfacpub/48/). The American Mathematical Monthly.
Mathematical Association of America. 74 (6): 669–673. doi:10.2307/2314251 (http
s://doi.org/10.2307%2F2314251).
2. Kemeny, John. "The Secret Theorem of M. E. Midy = Casting In Nines" (http://johnk
emeny.com/blog/?p=393). Retrieved 27 November 2011.
3. Bassam Abdul-Baki, Extended Midy's Theorem (http://www.abdulbaki.org/math/Mid
ys_Theorem.pdf), 2005.

References
Rademacher, H. and Toeplitz, O. The Enjoyment of Mathematics: Selections from
Mathematics for the Amateur. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, pp. 158–
160, 1957.
E. Midy, "De Quelques Propriétés des Nombres et des Fractions Décimales
Périodiques". College of Nantes, France: 1836.
Ross, Kenneth A. "Repeating decimals: a period piece". Math. Mag. 83 (2010), no. 1,
33–45.

External links
Weisstein, Eric W. "Midy's Theorem" (http://mathworld.wolfram.com/MidysTheorem.
html). MathWorld.

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