Art of Problem Solving
AoPS Online
Math texts, online classes, and more
for students in grades 5-12.
Visit AoPS Online ‚
Books for Grades 5-12 Online Courses
Beast Academy
Engaging math books and online learning
for students ages 6-13.
Visit Beast Academy ‚
Books for Ages 6-13 Beast Academy Online
AoPS Academy
Small live classes for advanced math
and language arts learners in grades 2-12.
Visit AoPS Academy ‚
Find a Physical Campus Visit the Virtual Campus

2005 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 15

Problem

How many positive cubes divide $3! \cdot 5! \cdot 7!$ ?

$\textbf{(A) } 2\qquad \textbf{(B) } 3\qquad \textbf{(C) } 4\qquad \textbf{(D) } 5\qquad \textbf{(E) } 6$

Solution 1

$3! \cdot 5! \cdot 7! = (3\cdot2\cdot1) \cdot (5\cdot4\cdot3\cdot2\cdot1) \cdot (7\cdot6\cdot5\cdot4\cdot3\cdot2\cdot1) = 2^{8}\cdot3^{4}\cdot5^{2}\cdot7^{1}$

Therefore, a perfect cube that divides $3! \cdot 5! \cdot 7!$ must be in the form $2^{a}\cdot3^{b}\cdot5^{c}\cdot7^{d}$ where $a$, $b$, $c$, and $d$ are nonnegative multiples of $3$ that are less than or equal to $8, 5, 2$ and $1,$ respectively.

So:

$a\in\{0,3,6\}$ ($3$ possibilities)

$b\in\{0,3\}$ ($2$ possibilities)

$c\in\{0\}$ ($1$ possibility)

$d\in\{0\}$($1$ possibility)

So the number of perfect cubes that divide $3! \cdot 5! \cdot 7!$ is $3\cdot2\cdot1\cdot1 = \boxed{\textbf{(E) }6}$

Solution 2

$3! \cdot 5! \cdot 7! = (3\cdot2\cdot1) \cdot (5\cdot4\cdot3\cdot2\cdot1) \cdot (7\cdot6\cdot5\cdot4\cdot3\cdot2\cdot1)$

In the expression, we notice that there are 3 $3's$, 3 $2's$, and 3 $1's$. This gives us our first 3 cubes: $3^3$, $2^3$, and $1^3$.

However, we can also multiply smaller numbers in the expression to make bigger expressions. For example, $(2 \cdot 2) \cdot 4 \cdot 4=4 \cdot 4 \cdot 4 = 4^3$ (one 2 comes from the $3!$, and the other from the $5!$). Using this method, we find:

$(3 \cdot 2) \cdot (3 \cdot 2) \cdot 6 = 6^3$

and

$(3 \cdot 4) \cdot (3 \cdot 4) \cdot (2 \cdot 6) = 12^3$

So, we have 6 cubes total: $1^3 ,2^3, 3^3, 4^3, 6^3,$ and $12^3$ for a total of $\boxed{\textbf{(E) }6}$ cubes

See also

2005 AMC 10A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 14 		Followed by
Problem 16
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25
All AMC 10 Problems and Solutions

The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions. AMC logo.png

Retrieved from "https://artofproblemsolving.com/wiki/index.php?title=2005_AMC_10A_Problems/Problem_15&oldid=167661"