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HMMT February

Algebra Difficulty 4.6 AIME Find the answer

For how many integers nn between 1 and 2005, inclusive, is 2⋅6⋅10⋯(4n−2)2 \cdot 6 \cdot 10 \cdots(4 n-2) divisible by n!n!?

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

Solution

Note that 2⋅6⋅10⋯(4n−2)=2n⋅1⋅3⋅5⋯(2n−1)=2n⋅1⋅2⋅3⋯2n2⋅4⋅6⋯2n=1⋅2⋅3⋯2n1⋅2⋅3⋯n\begin{aligned} 2 \cdot 6 \cdot 10 \cdots(4 n-2) & =2^{n} \cdot 1 \cdot 3 \cdot 5 \cdots(2 n-1) \\ & =2^{n} \cdot \frac{1 \cdot 2 \cdot 3 \cdots 2 n}{2 \cdot 4 \cdot 6 \cdots 2 n} \\ & =\frac{1 \cdot 2 \cdot 3 \cdots 2 n}{1 \cdot 2 \cdot 3 \cdots n} \end{aligned} that is, it is just (2n)!/n(2 n)!/ n !. Therefore, since (2n)!/(n!)2=(2nn)(2 n)!/(n!)^{2}=\binom{2 n}{n} is always an integer, the answer is 2005.

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