GMAT Practice Question: The value of (sqrt((8!))+sqrt((9!)))^2 is an integer. What is the greatest integer n...
Question
The value of (sqrt((8!))+sqrt((9!)))^2 is an integer. What is the greatest integer n such that 2^n is a factor of (sqrt((8!))+sqrt((9!)))^2 ?
- 3
- 6
- 8
- 11
- 14
Topics: factorials, divisibility, prime factorization, exponents, number theory
Solution
Step 1
We first expand the square of a sum using the formula (a+b)^2 = a^2 + 2ab + b^2.
(sqrt(8!)+sqrt(9!))^2 = 8! + 9! + 2sqrt(8! 9!)
Step 2
We then simplify the factorial expressions and the square root term by recognizing that 9! = 9 8! and using factorial decomposition.
9! = 9 8! sqrt(8! 9!) = sqrt(9 (8!)^2) = 3 8!
Step 3
Next we combine like terms by factoring out 8! from each term.
8! + 9 8! + 2 3 8! = (1 + 9 + 6) 8! = 16 8!
Step 4
We now express 16 8! in prime-factor form to find the exponent of 2. We use prime factorization of 8!.
16 8! = 2^4 8! = 2^4 (2^7 odd) = 2^11 odd
Answer
D
