Counting a Factorials Factors

Find the number of perfect cubes that are factors of 3 ! 5 ! 7 ! 3!\cdot 5!\cdot 7! .

Source: Amc
6 5 4 7 8

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2 solutions

Mahdi Raza
Jun 1, 2020
  • 3 ! 5 ! 7 ! = 2 8 3 4 5 2 7 1 3! \cdot 5! \cdot 7! = 2^8 \cdot 3^4 \cdot 5^2 \cdot 7^1
  • A cube will be of the form 2 3 a 3 3 b 5 3 c 7 3 d 2^{3a} \cdot 3^{3b} \cdot 5^{3c} \cdot 7^{3d} , where each power is less than the exponents of the expressions { a { 0 , 1 , 2 } 3 b { 0 , 1 } 2 c { 0 } 1 d { 0 } 1 3 2 1 1 = 6 \begin{cases} a \in \{0, 1, 2\} \implies \boxed{3} \\ b \in \{0, 1\} \implies \boxed{2} \\ c \in \{0\} \implies \boxed{1} \\ d \in \{0\} \implies \boxed{1} \end{cases} \quad \quad \implies \quad 3 \cdot 2 \cdot 1 \cdot 1 = \boxed{6}

I find 7 7 . 1 3 , 2 3 , 2 6 , 3 3 , 6 3 , 1 2 3 , 2 4 3 1^3, 2^3, 2^6, 3^3, 6^3, 12^3, 24^3 . 1 1 is a perfect cube.

Chew-Seong Cheong - 1 year ago

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2 4 3 = 2 9 3 3 24^3 = 2^9 \cdot 3^3 . Thus 24^3 will not count since it exceeds 2^8. @Chew-Seong Cheong , am i right?

Mahdi Raza - 1 year ago

The problem asks how many perfect cubes can be evenly divided into 3!⋅5!⋅7!.

First we find the prime factorization of 3!⋅5!⋅7!

3!⋅5!⋅7!=2x2x2x2x2x2x2x2x3x3x3x3x5x5x7

Then we find the amount of combinations that make perfect cubes. A cube has to have a prime factorization with exponents that are multiples of three.

The possible values of the exponent in the exponent with base 2 are 0,3, and 6

The possible values of the exponent in the exponent with base 3 are 0,3

The only possible value of the exponent in the exponent with base 5 is 0

The only possible value of the exponent in the exponent with base 7 is 0

So there 6 \boxed{6} perfect cubes that are factors 3!⋅5!⋅7!

All the perfect cubes are 1, 8, 27, 64, 216, 1728

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