How to tell if a number is divisible by 2
The rule
A number is divisible by 2 when its last digit is 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8. Those are exactly the even numbers.
How to check it
- Ignore every digit except the last one.
- Look at that last digit on its own.
- If it is 0, 2, 4, 6 or 8, the number divides by 2. If it is 1, 3, 5, 7 or 9, it does not.
Worked examples
Is 4620 divisible by 2?
4620 ends in 0
Yes. 4620 = 2 × 2310.
Is 1155 divisible by 2?
1155 ends in 5
No. 1155 is odd.
Is 39 874 divisible by 2?
39 874 ends in 4
Yes. The size of the number makes no difference at all.
Why only the last digit matters
Count in 2s and watch the last digit: 2, 4, 6, 8, 0, and then the same five over again. A multiple of 2 can never end in anything else.
Questions people ask
Is 0 divisible by 2?
Yes. 0 ÷ 2 = 0 with nothing left over, so 0 is an even number.
What about negative numbers?
The same rule works: −38 ends in 8, so it divides by 2. The minus sign changes nothing.
Is every number that ends in an even digit divisible by 2?
Yes, and there are no exceptions. That is what makes this rule the easiest of the set.