snfuenza wrote:
Bunuel wrote:
Bunuel wrote:
For prime numbers x and y, x^3*y^5=z^4. How many positive factors does positive integer z have?
A. One
B. Two
C. Three
D. Four
E. Five
OFFICIAL SOLUTION:Notice that z^4 is a perfect square, thus it must have odd number of factors. Since z^4 equals to x^3*y^5, then x^3*y^5 must also have odd number of factors.
Now, if x and y are
different primes, then the number of factors of x^3*y^5 will be (3 + 1)(5 + 1) = 24, which is not odd. Therefore x and y MUST be the same prime.
In this case x^3*y^5 = x^3*x^5 = x^8 = z^4.
x^8 = z^4;
x^2 = z.
Since x is prime, then the number of factors of z is (2 + 1) = 3.
Answer: C.
Bunuel, can you elaborate on why z^4 must have an odd number of factors, because it is a combination of prime numbers?
Thanks.
Finding the Number of Factors of an Integer:
First make prime factorization of an integer \(n=a^p*b^q*c^r\), where \(a\), \(b\), and \(c\) are prime factors of \(n\) and \(p\), \(q\), and \(r\) are their powers.
The number of factors of \(n\) will be expressed by the formula \((p+1)(q+1)(r+1)\).
NOTE: this will include 1 and n itself.
Example: Finding the number of all factors of 450: \(450=2^1*3^2*5^2\)
Total number of factors of 450 including 1 and 450 itself is \((1+1)*(2+1)*(2+1)=2*3*3=18\) factors.
BACK TO YOUR QUESTION:In case of a perfect square, say for \(6^2 = 2^2*3^2\), the powers of primes will be always even, so when counting the number of factors we'd have \((even + 1)(even + 1) = (2 + 1)(2 + 1) = 3*3 = odd*odd = odd\).
Tips about the perfect square:
1. The
number of distinct factors of a perfect square is ALWAYS ODD.
The reverse is also true: if a number has the odd number of distinct factors then it's a perfect square;
2. The
sum of distinct factors of a perfect square is ALWAYS ODD. The reverse is NOT always true: a number may have the odd sum of its distinct factors and not be a perfect square. For example: 2, 8, 18 or 50;
3. A perfect square ALWAYS has an
ODD number of Odd-factors, and
EVEN number of Even-factors.
The reverse is also true: if a number has an ODD number of Odd-factors, and EVEN number of Even-factors then it's a perfect square. For example: odd factors of 36 are 1, 3 and 9 (3 odd factor) and even factors are 2, 4, 6, 12, 18 and 36 (6 even factors);
4. Perfect square always has
even powers of its prime factors.
The reverse is also true: if a number has even powers of its prime factors then it's a perfect square. For example: \(36=2^2*3^2\), powers of prime factors 2 and 3 are even.
Hope it helps.