Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 4.6 AIME Prove it United States

Problem:
Find the largest number nn such that (2004!)!(2004!)! is divisible by ((n!)!)!((n!)!)!.

Solution

Solution:
For positive integers a,ba, b, we have
a!b!a!b!ab. a!\mid b!\quad \Leftrightarrow \quad a!\leq b!\quad \Leftrightarrow \quad a \leq b .
Thus,
((n!)!)!(2004!)!(n!)!2004!n!2004n6. ((n!)!)!\mid(2004!)!\Leftrightarrow(n!)!\leq 2004!\Leftrightarrow n!\leq 2004 \quad \Leftrightarrow \quad n \leq 6 .

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