Great question — this one has a neat
trick hiding inside it.
The problem asks for two-digit numbers that satisfy TWO conditions simultaneously:
1. They have an odd number of total factors.
2. The sum of all their factors is even.
Let's tackle each condition.
Condition 1: Odd number of factorsFactors always come in pairs. For example, for
12: (
1,
12), (
2,
6), (
3,
4). But for
perfect squares, the square root pairs with itself. For example, for
36: (
1,
36), (
2,
18), (
3,
12), (
4,
9), (
6,
6) — that unpaired
6 gives an odd count.
So only perfect squares have an odd number of factors. The two-digit perfect squares are:
16,
25,
36,
49,
64,
81 — that's
6 numbers.
Condition 2: Factor sum must be evenNow let's check if ANY of these have an even factor sum:
-
16:
1+
2+
4+
8+
16 =
31 (odd)
-
25:
1+
5+
25 =
31 (odd)
-
36:
1+
2+
3+
4+
6+
9+
12+
18+
36 =
91 (odd)
-
49:
1+
7+
49 =
57 (odd)
-
64:
1+
2+
4+
8+
16+
32+
64 =
127 (odd)
-
81:
1+
3+
9+
27+
81 =
121 (odd)
Every single one has an odd factor sum!
This is not a coincidence. For any
perfect square, every factor in the sum is odd an odd number of times.
Key Insight: Since perfect squares have an odd number of factors, and when you look at each factor's parity, the math always forces the total sum to be odd. (You can verify: an odd count of odd numbers always sums to odd.)So NO number can satisfy both conditions at once.Answer: A (0)