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Number theory Difficulty 4.7 AIME Find the answer Philippines

Problem:

What is the largest positive integer kk such that 27!27! is divisible by 2k2^{k}?

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

Solution:

We need to find the largest kk such that 2k2^{k} divides 27!27!.

The exponent of 22 in 27!27! is given by:
272+274+278+2716+2732 \left\lfloor \frac{27}{2} \right\rfloor + \left\lfloor \frac{27}{4} \right\rfloor + \left\lfloor \frac{27}{8} \right\rfloor + \left\lfloor \frac{27}{16} \right\rfloor + \left\lfloor \frac{27}{32} \right\rfloor
Calculate each term:

272=13\left\lfloor \frac{27}{2} \right\rfloor = 13

274=6\left\lfloor \frac{27}{4} \right\rfloor = 6

278=3\left\lfloor \frac{27}{8} \right\rfloor = 3

2716=1\left\lfloor \frac{27}{16} \right\rfloor = 1

2732=0\left\lfloor \frac{27}{32} \right\rfloor = 0

Sum:
13+6+3+1+0=23 13 + 6 + 3 + 1 + 0 = 23

Therefore, the largest positive integer kk such that 27!27! is divisible by 2k2^{k} is k=23k = 23.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.