A little difference

Determine the value of the expression below: ( 6 ! + 5 ! ) × ( 4 ! + 3 ! ) × ( 2 ! + 1 ! ) ( 6 ! 5 ! ) × ( 4 ! 3 ! ) × ( 2 ! 1 ! ) . \frac{(6! + 5!) \times (4! + 3!) \times (2! + 1!)}{(6! - 5!) \times (4! - 3!) \times (2! - 1!)}.

Note: The " ! ! " symbol is the factorial operation, but there's a clever shortcut for solving this that entirely avoids multiplying out the factorials!

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10 solutions

Chew-Seong Cheong
Dec 14, 2017

Relevant wiki: Factorials Problem Solving - Basic

P = ( 6 ! + 5 ! ) × ( 4 ! + 3 ! ) × ( 2 ! + 1 ! ) ( 6 ! 5 ! ) × ( 4 ! 3 ! ) × ( 2 ! 1 ! ) Note that n ! = n ( n 1 ) ( n 2 ) × 3 × 2 × 1 = ( 6 × 5 ! + 5 ! ) × ( 4 × 3 ! + 3 ! ) × ( 2 × 1 ! + 1 ! ) ( 6 × 5 ! 5 ! ) × ( 4 × 3 ! 3 ! ) × ( 2 × 1 ! 1 ! ) n ! = n ( n 1 ) ! = 5 ! ( 6 + 1 ) 5 ! ( 6 1 ) × 3 ! ( 4 + 1 ) 3 ! ( 4 1 ) × 1 ! ( 2 + 1 ) 1 ! ( 2 1 ) = 7 5 × 5 3 × 3 1 = 7 \begin{aligned} P & = \frac {(6!+5!) \times (4!+3!) \times (2!+1!)}{(6!-5!) \times (4!-3!) \times (2!-1!)} & \small \color{#3D99F6} \text{Note that }n! = n(n-1)(n-2)\cdots \times 3\times 2\times 1 \\ & = \frac {(6\times 5!+5!) \times (4 \times 3!+3!) \times (2 \times 1!+1!)}{(6\times 5!-5!) \times (4\times 3!-3!) \times (2\times 1!-1!)} & \small \color{#3D99F6} \implies n! = n(n-1)! \\ & = \frac {\cancel{5!}(6+1)}{\cancel{5!}(6-1)} \times \frac {\cancel{3!}(4+1)}{\cancel{3!}(4-1)} \times \frac {\cancel{1!}(2+1)}{\cancel{1!}(2-1)} \\ & = \frac 7{\cancel{5}} \times \frac {\cancel{5}}{\cancel{3}} \times \frac {\cancel{3}}1 \\ & = \boxed{7} \end{aligned}

Moderator note:

Just to clarify what's going on with the steps, consider the 6 ! + 5 ! 6! + 5! term in the numerator. Expand just the 6 ! 6! part:

1 × 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 + 5 ! 1 \times 2 \times 3 \times 4 \times 5 \times 6 + 5!

We can then "crush back together" the terms from 1 to 5, leaving out the 6:

5 ! × 6 + 5 ! 5! \times 6 + 5!

and factor out the 5 ! 5!

5 ! ( 6 + 1 ) 5! (6 + 1)

All the other terms undergo a similar process.

You forgot to add an ''Equal sign'' in the first line of your solution.

Munem Shahriar - 3 years, 5 months ago

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Thanks. I have added it.

Chew-Seong Cheong - 3 years, 5 months ago

Elegant manner! Did the same way.

Peter van der Linden - 3 years, 5 months ago

I did it the same way!

Zain Majumder - 3 years, 5 months ago

I also did the same way

Shivam Pandey - 3 years, 5 months ago

Why do the second terms in the parenthesis factor out, but not the first?

John Stewart - 3 years, 5 months ago

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6 ! = 1 × 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 × 6 6! = 1\times 2 \times 3 \times 4 \times 5 \times 6 , 5 ! = 1 × 2 × 3 × 4 × 5 5! = 1\times 2 \times 3 \times 4 \times 5 , 6 ! = 6 × 5 ! \implies 6! = 6\times 5!

Chew-Seong Cheong - 3 years, 5 months ago

I solved this the same way.

A Former Brilliant Member - 3 years, 5 months ago

For those of us that don't math... Your solution explains nothing. Anyone want to explain how this solution works?

Aaron Ellis - 3 years, 5 months ago

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If you notice, all the factors in the numerator can be written as ( n ! + ( n 1 ) ! ) (n! + (n - 1)!) , and in the denominator, ( n ! ( n 1 ) ! ) (n! - (n - 1)!) .

n ! = n ( n 1 ) ( n 2 ) ( n 3 ) × 3 × 2 × 1 n! = n (n - 1) (n - 2) (n - 3) \cdots \times 3 \times 2 \times 1 . And we can write that n ! = n × ( n 1 ) ! n! = n \times (n - 1)! , because we still have n ( n 1 ) ( n 2 ) ( n 3 ) × 3 × 2 × 1 n (n - 1) (n - 2) (n - 3) \cdots \times 3 \times 2 \times 1 . So we can rewrite the factors in the numerator and in the denominator:

n × ( n 1 ) ! + ( n 1 ) ! = ( n 1 ) ! ( n + 1 ) For the numerator n × ( n 1 ) ! ( n 1 ) ! = ( n 1 ) ! ( n 1 ) For the denominator \begin{aligned} n \times (n - 1)! + (n - 1)! = (n - 1)! (n + 1) & &\color{#3D99F6}\text{For the numerator} \\ n \times (n - 1)! - (n - 1)! = (n - 1)! (n - 1) & &\color{#3D99F6}\text{For the denominator} \end{aligned} .

Now lets demonstrate this in the first factors: ( 6 ! + 5 ! ) ( 6 ! 5 ! ) \frac{(6! + 5!)}{(6! - 5!)} . You can see that n = 6 n = 6 . So we have:

( 6 1 ) ! × ( 6 + 1 ) ( 6 1 ) ! × ( 6 1 ) = 5 ! × 7 5 ! × 5 \frac{(6 - 1)! \times (6 + 1)}{(6 - 1)! \times (6 - 1)} = \frac{\cancel{5!} \times 7}{\cancel{5!} \times 5}

And so on, hope you can now understand Chew's solution.

A Former Brilliant Member - 3 years, 5 months ago

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Great job, Benjamin! Maybe you can submit this is a solution? That will benefit others too!

Agnishom Chattopadhyay - 3 years, 5 months ago

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@Agnishom Chattopadhyay Thanks, someone already put a note on this solution.

A Former Brilliant Member - 3 years, 5 months ago

Same smart

Zokp 25 - 3 years, 5 months ago

I wouldn't have bothered to include the 1! factors.

Richard Desper - 3 years, 5 months ago

So I saw that 6! + 5! Was the same as 5!×2×6 because 6! Is like tacking on a "×6" to the end of 5!. That's what I did to all the terms in the numerator. In the denominator I saw that by subtracting out the 5! That only leaves 6. Not 6!, just 6. So I canceled the sixes in the numerator and denominator, which left me with 2(5!) X 2(3!) X 2(1!). So I divided by 2 to get rid of all those twos and parentheses. Using the same trick I did previously for the denominator, I canceled everything except 3x4x5, which equals 60. ( 2x1=2! So cancel that out by dividing.) Obviously I did something wrong, as apparent by the solution posted but also by the fact that 60 wasn't a choice. Can some1 please help me find the flaw in this logic? It would be appreciated.

epicdragon2104 Dunphy - 3 years, 5 months ago

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You are correct saying that 6 ! 6! is 6 × 5 ! 6 \times 5! , but your error is saying that 6 ! + 5 ! 6! + 5! is the same as 5 ! × 2 × 6 5! \times 2 \times 6 , because 6 ! + 5 ! 6! + 5! can be written as 6 × 5 ! + 5 ! 6 \times 5! + 5! . Let's say that x = 5 ! x = 5! . So we have 6 x + x = 6 x + x = 7 x 6 \ast x + x = 6x + x = 7x . Or, 7 × 5 ! 7 \times 5! . So your mistake was saying 2 × 6 × 5 ! 2 \times 6 \times 5! instead of saying 7 × 5 ! 7 \times 5! . In the denominator, we have 6 ! 5 ! 6! - 5! , that can be written as 6 × 5 ! 5 ! 6 \times 5! - 5! . Let's say again that x = 5 ! x = 5! . So we have 6 x x = 5 x 6x - x = 5x . Or, 5 × 5 ! 5 \times 5! .

A Former Brilliant Member - 3 years, 5 months ago

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That makes sense. Thank you for helping me!

epicdragon2104 Dunphy - 3 years, 5 months ago

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@Epicdragon2104 Dunphy You're welcome. I'm glad that I could help you :)

A Former Brilliant Member - 3 years, 5 months ago

I'm sorry if I'm missing something obvious, but how does 5! x 6 + 5! 'factor out' to 5!(6+1)? I get the first part, but try as I might, I just can't make the next step make sense. It looks to me like one 5! (which is 120, right?) is being left, while the other is suddenly becoming 1 (and the second 5! in the denominator, too). I'd love if someone could explain this bit to me.

Nick Doody - 3 years, 5 months ago

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If you write 5 ! ( 6 + 1 ) 5!(6 + 1) , you are multiplying 5 ! 5! by everything that are inside of parentheses. 5 ! ( 6 + 1 ) = 5 ! × 6 + 5 ! × 1 = 5 ! × 6 + 5 ! 5!(6+1) = 5! \times 6 + 5! \times 1 = 5! \times 6 + 5! . Hope you can now understand Chew's solution!

A Former Brilliant Member - 3 years, 5 months ago

This problem has higher numbers so that no-one can brute force. Nice solution Chew sir!

Mahdi Raza - 1 year ago
Munem Shahriar
Dec 14, 2017

Relevant wiki: Factorials Problem Solving - Basic

( 6 ! + 5 ! ) ( 4 ! + 3 ! ) ( 2 ! + 1 ! ) ( 6 ! 5 ! ) ( 4 ! 3 ! ) ( 2 ! 1 ! ) = 5 ! ( 6 + 1 ) × 3 ! ( 4 + 1 ) × 1 ! ( 2 + 1 ) 5 ! ( 6 1 ) × 3 ! ( 4 1 ) × 1 ! ( 2 1 ) = 7 × 5 × 3 5 × 3 = 7 \dfrac{(6! + 5!) (4! + 3!) (2! + 1!)}{(6! - 5!) (4! - 3!) (2! - 1!)} = \dfrac{5!(6+1) \times 3!(4+1) \times 1!(2+1)}{5!(6-1) \times 3!(4-1) \times 1!(2-1)} = \dfrac{7 \times 5 \times 3}{5 \times 3} = \boxed{7}

The key here is to be able to pull out the common factors. Nice and clean!

Agnishom Chattopadhyay - 3 years, 5 months ago

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Thanks. :)

Munem Shahriar - 3 years, 5 months ago
Rocco Dalto
Dec 31, 2017

( 6 ! + 5 ! ) × ( 4 ! + 3 ! ) × ( 2 ! + 1 ! ) ( 6 ! 5 ! ) × ( 4 ! 3 ! ) × ( 2 ! 1 ! ) = \dfrac{(6! + 5!) \times (4! + 3!) \times (2! + 1!)}{(6! - 5!) \times (4! - 3!) \times (2! - 1!)} = 5 ! ( 7 ) × 3 ! ( 5 ) × 1 ! ( 3 ) 5 ! ( 5 ) × 3 ! ( 3 ) × 1 ! ( 1 ) = \dfrac{5! (7) \times 3! (5) \times 1! (3)}{5! (5) \times 3! (3) \times 1! (1)} = 7 × 5 × 3 5 × 3 × 1 = 7 . \dfrac{7 \times 5 \times 3}{5 \times 3 \times 1} = \boxed{7}.

In general, ( n + 1 ) ! + n ! = ( n + 2 ) n ! (n+1)! + n! = (n+2)\cdot n! and ( n + 1 ) ! n ! = n n ! (n+1)! - n! = n\cdot n! .

Thus, 6 ! + 5 ! = 7 5 ! 6! + 5! = 7\cdot 5! and 6 ! 5 ! = 5 5 ! 6! - 5! = 5\cdot 5! . The fraction simplifies to 7 5 ! × 5 3 ! × 3 × 1 ! 5 5 ! × 3 3 ! × 1 × 1 ! = 7 × 5 × 3 5 × 3 × 1 = 7 . \frac{7\cdot 5! \times 5\cdot 3! \times 3\times 1!}{5\cdot 5! \times 3\cdot 3! \times 1\times 1!} = \frac{7\times 5\times 3}{5\times 3\times 1} = \boxed{7}.

  1. Multiply all of the top terms together.
  2. Add them.
  3. Multiply all of the bottom terms.
  4. Add them.
  5. Divide the numerator by the denominator to get 7.

That yields the correct result, of course. Only it is not quite the approach the problem is asking for, quote: "but there's a clever shortcut for solving this that entirely avoids multiplying out the factorials!".

Your approuch though reminds me of a bitter truth: Quite often I've wasted time finding an "elegant" solution to a problem, when "just doing it" the boring long way actually would've been faster (though not as much fun!). :)

Martin Ramsch - 3 years, 4 months ago

I tried out just the first fraction or part of the expression and saw the answer was 7/5. So then i thought the pattern repeats. The biggest number that's a factorial gets one added to it and turns into a numerator of a new fraction. The denominator of that fraction is the smaller number with the factorial. So it's 7/5 * 5/3 * 3/1, which is 7.

( 6 ! + 5 ! ) ( 4 ! + 3 ! ) ( 2 ! + 1 ! ) ( 6 ! 5 ! ) ( 4 ! 3 ! ) ( 2 ! 1 ! ) \frac{(6!+5!)(4!+3!)(2!+1!)}{(6!-5!)(4!-3!)(2!-1!)} = 5 ! ( 6 + 1 ) 3 ! ( 4 + 1 ) ( 2 + 1 ) 5 ! ( 6 1 ) 3 ! ( 4 1 ) ( 2 1 ) \frac{5!(6+1)3!(4+1)(2+1)}{5!(6-1)3!(4-1)(2-1)} = 7 5 3 5 3 1 \frac{7·5·3}{5·3·1} =7

XiaoLin Chiam
Jan 6, 2018

Slow solution: (840×30×3)/(600×18×1)

O.K. this took me a while, but here is how I went through it: ( 6 ! 5 ! ) × ( 4 ! 3 ! ) = 30 ( 4 ! ) 2 120 ( 3 ! ) 2 5 ( 4 ! ) 2 + 20 ( 3 ! ) 2 (6!-5!)\times(4!-3!)=30(4!)^{2}-120(3!)^{2}-5(4!)^{2}+20(3!)^{2} if you foil it. Which then simplifies to: 25 ( 4 ! ) 2 100 ( 3 ! ) 2 . 25(4!)^{2}-100(3!)^{2}. I did the same thing with the numerator but since all the operations in the parenthesis are addition it is the same except with all plus signs: 30 ( 4 ! ) 2 + 120 ( 3 ! ) 2 + 5 ( 4 ! ) 2 + 20 ( 3 ! ) 2 . 30(4!)^{2}+120(3!)^{2}+5(4!)^{2}+20(3!)^{2}. That then simplifies to 35 ( 4 ! ) 2 + 140 ( 3 ! ) 2 . 35(4!)^{2}+140(3!)^{2}. Then you can quickly say that ( 2 ! 1 ! ) (2!-1!) is easily 1, and ( 2 ! + 1 ! ) (2!+1!) is 3. So the fraction is now ( 35 ( 4 ! ) 2 + 140 ( 3 ! ) 2 × 3 ( 25 ( 4 ! ) 2 100 ( 3 ! ) 2 . \dfrac{(35(4!)^{2}+140(3!)^{2}\times3}{(25(4!)^{2}-100(3!)^{2}}. Then by painstakingly multiplying I found out that ( 4 ! ) 2 (4!)^{2} is 576, and ( 3 ! ) 2 (3!)^{2} is 36. So now the fraction is [ 35 ( 576 ) + 140 ( 36 ) ] × 3 25 ( 576 ) 100 ( 36 ) . \dfrac{[35(576)+140(36)]\times3}{25(576)-100(36)}. This equals ( 20160 + 5040 ) 3 14400 3600 \dfrac{(20160+5040)3}{14400-3600} = 25200 × 3 10800 \dfrac{25200\times3}{10800} which equals 75600 10800 \dfrac{75600}{10800} and that is 7.

You are correct, but there's a shortcut that makes the problem easier. If you don't figure it out, check out Chew's solution!

A Former Brilliant Member - 3 years, 5 months ago

\frac {(n+1)! + n!}{(n+1)!-n!} = \frac {n+2}{n}

Before latex code, put \ ( without a space between "\" and "(" and after finishing it, put )

MegaMoh . - 2 years ago

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