Difference between revisions of "2017 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 20"

(Solution 2: Constructive counting)
(Solution 3: Solve out number of divisors, then use complimentary counting)
Line 9: Line 9:
 
Consider how to construct any divisor <math>D</math> of <math>21!</math>. First by Legendre's theorem for the divisors of a factorial (see here: http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/LegendresTheorem.shtml and here: [[Legendre's Formula]]), we have that there are a total of 18 factors of 2 in the number. <math>D</math> can take up either 0, 1, 2, 3,..., or all 18 factors of 2, for a total of 19 possible cases. In order for <math>D</math> to be odd, however, it must have 0 factors of 2, meaning that there is a probability of 1 case/19 cases= <math>\boxed{1/19, \space \text{B}}</math>
 
Consider how to construct any divisor <math>D</math> of <math>21!</math>. First by Legendre's theorem for the divisors of a factorial (see here: http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/LegendresTheorem.shtml and here: [[Legendre's Formula]]), we have that there are a total of 18 factors of 2 in the number. <math>D</math> can take up either 0, 1, 2, 3,..., or all 18 factors of 2, for a total of 19 possible cases. In order for <math>D</math> to be odd, however, it must have 0 factors of 2, meaning that there is a probability of 1 case/19 cases= <math>\boxed{1/19, \space \text{B}}</math>
  
==Solution 3: Solve out # of divisors, then use complimentary counting==
+
==Solution 3: Solve out number of divisors, then use complimentary counting==
  
 
Since there are 18 powers of two, we see that out of the total cases, 18/19 of them will be even, so only 1/19 of them will be odd (similar to solution 1, but solved the whole thing out...)
 
Since there are 18 powers of two, we see that out of the total cases, 18/19 of them will be even, so only 1/19 of them will be odd (similar to solution 1, but solved the whole thing out...)

Revision as of 16:57, 5 January 2020

Problem

The number $21!=51,090,942,171,709,440,000$ has over $60,000$ positive integer divisors. One of them is chosen at random. What is the probability that it is odd?

$\textbf{(A)}\ \frac{1}{21}\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ \frac{1}{19}\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \frac{1}{18}\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ \frac{1}{2}\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \frac{11}{21}$

Solution 1

We note that the only thing that affects the parity of the factor are the powers of 2. There are $10+5+2+1 = 18$ factors of 2 in the number. Thus, there are $18$ cases in which a factor of $21!$ would be even (have a factor of $2$ in its prime factorization), and $1$ case in which a factor of $21!$ would be odd. Therefore, the answer is $\boxed{\textbf{(B)} \frac 1{19}}$

Solution 2: Constructive counting

Consider how to construct any divisor $D$ of $21!$. First by Legendre's theorem for the divisors of a factorial (see here: http://www.cut-the-knot.org/blue/LegendresTheorem.shtml and here: Legendre's Formula), we have that there are a total of 18 factors of 2 in the number. $D$ can take up either 0, 1, 2, 3,..., or all 18 factors of 2, for a total of 19 possible cases. In order for $D$ to be odd, however, it must have 0 factors of 2, meaning that there is a probability of 1 case/19 cases= $\boxed{1/19, \space \text{B}}$

Solution 3: Solve out number of divisors, then use complimentary counting

Since there are 18 powers of two, we see that out of the total cases, 18/19 of them will be even, so only 1/19 of them will be odd (similar to solution 1, but solved the whole thing out...)

See Also

2017 AMC 10B (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 19
Followed by
Problem 21
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
2017 AMC 12B (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 15
Followed by
Problem 17
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

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