2007 AMC 12A Problems/Problem 14
Problem
Let a, b, c, d, and e be distinct integers
What is 
?
Solutions
Solution 1
If 45 is expressed as a product of five distinct integer factors, the absolute value of the product of any four it as least 
, so no factor can have an absolute value greater than 5. Thus the factors of the given expression are five of the integers 
. The product of all six of these is 
, so the factors are -3, -1, 1, 3, and 5. The corresponding values of a, b, c, d, and e are 9, 7, 5, 3, and 1, and their sum is 25 (C).
Solution 2
The prime factorization of 
is 
. Therefore, the 5 distinct integer factors must have some negative numbers in them. Because there are two 
's in the prime factorization, one of them must be negative and the other positive. Because there is a 
, there must also be a 
to cancel the negatives out. The 5 distinct integer factors must be 
. The corresponding values of 
and 
are 
. and their sum is 
See also
| 2007 AMC 12A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | |
| Preceded by Problem 13 |
Followed by Problem 15 |
| 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 12 Problems and Solutions | |
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