Assume a is not divisible by 10. (otherwise the problem is trivial). <span>Define R(m) to be the remainder of a^m when divided by 10. </span> <span>R can take on one of 9 possible values, namely, 1,2,...,9. </span> <span>Now, consider R(1),R(2),......R(10). At least 2 of them must have the sames value (by the Pigeonhole Principle), say R(i) = R(j) ( j>i ) </span> <span>Then, a^j - a^i is divisible by 10.</span>
<span>You can check all the rates on the number line by finding the quotient between the top rate and the bottom rate given and make sure that all of your quotients are equal to the given rate. </span>