k n ! = ( 2 × 3 × 5 × 7 ) 2 + 3 + 5 + 7
Given the equation above is true for integers k and n , what is the least possible value of n ?
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Why is this true?
The smallest n ! must be the number which has 7 1 7 as a factor.
We note that p 7 < p 5 < p 3 < p 2 , so when n ! has 7 1 7 as a factor, it also has 2 1 7 , 3 1 7 and 5 1 7 as factors. The excess powers of these prime factors are factors of k together with other primes less than n ! , so that the equation is satisfied.
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Right, so you would also have to explain why n ! will also be a multiple of 2 1 7 × 3 1 7 × 5 1 7 .
The expression suggests that n ! should have at least 1 7 factors of 2 , 3 , 5 , and 7 . Since 7 occurs relatively rarer than the other digits, then it has to be assured that n ! contains at least 1 7 factors of 7 .
Therefore, we have to find n such that the total factors of 7 from 1 to n amount to 1 7 . We can say that n may be equal to 1 7 × 7 = 1 1 9 if we consider every multiple of 7 occurring from 1 to n inclusive. However, we failed to consider the fact that 4 9 and 9 8 each contribute to two factors of 7 . Thus, we count 4 9 and 9 8 twice and the multiples included will only be 1 5 . Thus the answer, 1 5 × 7 = 1 0 5
There's a slightly more systematic way to solve this when the number we're looking for becomes larger.
Hint: Construct a function f : N → N to determine the highest power of x that divides n ! .
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k n ! = ( 2 × 3 × 5 × 7 ) 2 + 3 + 5 + 7 = ( 2 × 3 × 5 × 7 ) 1 7
The smallest n ! must be the smallest number which has 7 1 7 as a factor.
The power of 7 in n ! can be found with: p 7 = k = 1 ∑ ∞ ⌊ 7 k n ⌋ , where ⌊ ⌋ is the greatest integer function.
For p 7 = 1 7 , n = 1 0 5 .