2005 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 22

Revision as of 20:27, 14 August 2010 by Tom-W-1 (talk | contribs) (Solution)

Problem

For how many positive integers n less than or equal to 24 is n! evenly divisible by 1 + 2 + ... + n?

Solution

Since $1 + 2 + \cdots + n = \frac{n(n+1)}{2}$, the condition is equivalent to having an integer value for $\frac{n!}{n(n+1)/2}$. This reduces, when $n\ge 1$, to having an integer value for $\frac{2(n-1)!}{n+1}$. This fraction is an integer unless $n+1$ is an odd prime. There are 8 odd primes less than or equal to 25, so there are $24 - 8 = \boxed{16}$ numbers less than or equal to 24 that satisfy the condition.

See Also