my first number theory problem....enjoy :D

Find out the smallest number which can be expressed as a product of 5 5 consecutive natural numbers and also is divisible by 100 100 .


The answer is 6375600.

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4 solutions

Rajat Bisht
Mar 29, 2015

( n ) ( n + 1 ) ( n + 3 ) ( n + 4 ) ( n + 5 ) (n)(n+1)(n+3)(n+4)(n+5) Can be written as ( n + 5 ) ! n ! \frac{(n+5)!}{n!} Now we have to find an expression which consists of alleast two 5 s 5's and two 2 s 2's From the expression the first think which clicks in mind is n + 5 n+5 should be a multiple of 5 as to obtain max no. of 5 s 5's in the expresssion) The second thing that strikes is that n + 5 n+5 should be an integral power (I think you get it why) So from these two conclusions we notice that 5 2 5^{2} gives us two 5 s 5's in the expression . implies n + 5 = 5 2 n+5=5^{2} n = 20 n=20 Now the no. comes out to be ( 20 + 5 ) ! 20 ! \frac{(20+5)!}{20!} a n s . = 6375600 ans.=6375600

CAN YOU PLEASE EXPLAIN ME IN A EASIER WAY. THOUGH YOUR SOLUTION IS REALLY GOOD . BUT I'M FINDING SOME DIFFICULTY IN UNDERSTANDING IT!!!!!!!

Abhisek Mohanty - 6 years, 2 months ago

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Please can u specify the step u doubt...it'll be easy then

Rajat Bisht - 6 years, 2 months ago
Ansh Bhatt
Mar 31, 2015

The number should be divisible by 100, which can be written as 2 * 2 * 5 * 5.when we take 5 consecutive numbers, we can not get two multiples of 5. So, the only possibility is that we include 25, 125, 625, etc. in those five numbers. We require the smallest number so it must be 21 * 22 * 23 * 24 * 25 = 6375600.

Nicely done :) thats what i had stated in step 2

Rajat Bisht - 6 years, 2 months ago

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there's nothing nice about this method. the thing is i don't know the formula that you have used, so i started from the basic. :P

Ansh Bhatt - 6 years, 2 months ago
Kunal Verma
Apr 1, 2015

T h e n u m b e r c a n b e w r i t t e n i n t h e f o r m : n ( n + 1 ) ( n + 2 ) ( n + 3 ) ( n + 4 ) F o r t h i s n u m b e r t o b e d i v i s i b l e b y 100 , i t m u s t b e d i v i s i b l e b y 2 2 a n d 5 2 b e c a u s e 100 = 2 2 × 5 2 i . e : i t m u s t b e d i v i s i b l e b y 4 a n d 25. W e t r y t o l o o k a t t h e f i r s t n u m b e r w h i c h c o n t a i n s 25 a s a f a c t o r a s 4 i s m o r e a b u n d a n t a n d w i l l d e f i n i t e l y d i v i d e o n e o f n ( n + 1 ) ( n + 2 ) ( n + 3 ) ( n + 4 ) N o w w e o b s e r v e t h a t s u c h a n u m b e r c a n o n l y c o n t a i n o n e 5 a s a f a c t o r u n l e s s 25 o r a n y o f i t s m u l t i p l e s a r e a f a c t o r t h e m s e l f . T h u s , t h e s m a l l e s t n f o r w h i c h 25 i s a f a c t o r i s w h e n n + 4 = 25 T h u s n = 21. T h u s t h e n u m b e r i s : 21 × 22 × 23 × 24 × 25 = 6375600 . The\quad number\quad can\quad be\quad written\quad in\quad the\quad form:-\\ \\ n(n+1)(n+2)(n+3)(n+4)\\ \\ For\quad this\quad number\quad to\quad be\quad divisible\quad by\quad 100,\\ it\quad must\quad be\quad divisible\quad by\quad { 2 }^{ 2 }\quad and\quad { 5 }^{ 2 }\\ because\quad 100\quad =\quad { 2 }^{ 2 }\quad \times \quad { 5 }^{ 2 }\\ \\ i.e:-\quad it\quad must\quad be\quad divisible\quad by\quad 4\quad and\quad 25.\\ \\ We\quad try\quad to\quad look\quad at\quad the\quad first\quad number\quad which\\ contains\quad 25\quad as\quad a\quad factor\quad as\quad 4\quad is\quad more\quad \\ abundant\quad and\quad will\quad definitely\quad divide\quad one\\ of\\ \\ n(n+1)(n+2)(n+3)(n+4)\\ \\ Now\quad we\quad observe\quad that\quad such\quad a\quad number\quad \\ can\quad only\quad contain\quad one\quad 5\quad as\quad a\quad factor\\ unless\quad 25\quad or\quad any\quad of\quad it's\quad multiples\quad are\\ a\quad factor\quad themself.\\ \\ Thus,\quad the\quad smallest\quad n\quad for\quad which\quad 25\quad is\\ a\quad factor\quad is\quad when\quad n+4\quad =\quad 25\\ \\ Thus\quad n\quad =\quad 21.\\ \\ Thus\quad the\quad number\quad is:-\\ 21\quad \times \quad 22\quad \times \quad 23\quad \times \quad 24\quad \times \quad 25\\ =\quad \boxed { 6375600 } .\\

Samuel Ayinde
Mar 28, 2015

I used a wrong approach in getting the answer. I need a better solution.

Since we only have 5 consecutive natural numbers, ONE and only ONE of them is a multiple of 5. And for the product to be divisible by 100, we need the multiple of 5 to also be divisible by 25. Now for whichever 5 consecutive numbers we take, there will be at least 2 even numbers so we can be sure that the product is divisible by 4. For the smallest possible product, we let the biggest number be 25 and we are done.

Noel Lo - 6 years, 2 months ago

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