Nothing changes

Logic Level 5

0 0 0 0 ? = 80000 \Large \underbrace{0 \quad 0 \quad 0 \quad \ldots \quad 0}_{\text{?}} = 80000

If you are only allowed to use the digit 0 and the mathematical operators like addition, subtraction, multiplication, division, exponents, factorials, multifactorials and parenthesis. What is the minimum number of 0's that I need to get the number 80000 exactly?

Details and Assumptions :

  • As an explicit example, 80000 = 0 ! × 80000 = 0 ! + 0 ! + 0 ! + + 0 ! 80 thousand 0 s 80000= 0! \times80000= \underbrace{0!+0!+0!+\ldots+0!}_{\text{80 thousand } 0's} . So it's possible to get the number 80000 with eighty thousand 0's.

  • You may want to familiarize yourself with multifactorial notations first.


The answer is 4.

This section requires Javascript.
You are seeing this because something didn't load right. We suggest you, (a) try refreshing the page, (b) enabling javascript if it is disabled on your browser and, finally, (c) loading the non-javascript version of this page . We're sorry about the hassle.

1 solution

Pi Han Goh
Jun 28, 2015

I'm going to prove that 4 4 is minimum. Obviously one 0 is impossible because no matter how many factorials to you "assign" it, you will still get 1. Similarly, if we use two 0's, we get ( 0 ! + 0 ! ) = 2 (0! + 0!) = 2 , no matter how many factorials to you "assign" it, you will still get 2.

Now if there three 0's, the only possible beginning step is ( 0 ! + 0 ! + 0 ! ) ! (0! + 0! + 0!)! which is divisible by 6, so no matter how many factorials you assign to it, it will always be divisible by 6. But 80000 is not divisible by 6. So three 0's is impossible too. We are left to show that four 0's is possible.

[ [ ( 0 ! + 0 ! + 0 ! + 0 ! ) ! ! ] ! ! ! ] ! ( 30 ) = [ [ 4 ! ! ] ! ! ! ] ! ( 30 ) = [ [ 2 × 4 ] ! ! ! ] ! ( 30 ) = [ 8 ! ! ! ] ! ( 30 ) = [ 2 × 5 × 8 ] ! ( 30 ) = [ 80 ] ! ( 30 ) = 20 × 50 × 80 = 80000 \Large {\begin{aligned} && \Bigg [ \bigg[ \quad(0! +0! + 0! + 0!)!! \quad \bigg]!!! \quad \Bigg ]!^{(30)} \\ & = & \Bigg [ \bigg[ \quad 4!! \quad \bigg]!!! \quad \Bigg ]!^{(30)} \\ & = & \Bigg [ [ 2 \times 4 ]!!! \quad \Bigg ]!^{(30)} \\ & = & \Bigg [ \quad 8 !!! \quad \Bigg ]!^{(30)} \\ & = & \Bigg [ \quad 2\times 5 \times 8 \quad \Bigg ]!^{(30)} \\ & = & \Bigg [ \quad 80 \quad \Bigg ]!^{(30)} \\ & = & 20 \times50\times80 = 80000 \end{aligned} }

My thought process is that basically a mulitfactorial of a number is the product of terms of an arithmetic progression (A.P.). So we just need to find a few A.P terms such that their product is 80000, which is 20 × 50 × 80 20\times50\times80 . Repeat the process again. How do we get 80? It's a product of another few terms of an A.P, in this case 80 = 2 × 5 × 8 80 = 2\times 5\times 8 . And how do we get 8 8 ? It's 2 × 4 2 \times 4 .

Moderator note:

You should specify that (30) isn't really the number 30, but it is 30 factorials. That wasn't immediately obvious to me.

OH MY GOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Noel Lo - 5 years, 11 months ago

Oh, I didn't know about multifactorials and got 20 as the answer!

Swapnil Das - 5 years, 11 months ago

This is probably the most brutal problem I've ever seen

e_e

Jeremy Bansil - 5 years, 11 months ago

Very nicely done. I proved it can be done in 16 zeros with only (0!) (I didn't know about multi-factorials). For simplification, setting each "number" down to the number of zeros "spent" on it based on: (0!) = 1 + (0!) = 2 + (0!) = 3.

(2x2x2)(3^2+1)^4 = 80000

Seth Parker - 5 years, 10 months ago

0 pending reports

×

Problem Loading...

Note Loading...

Set Loading...