Olympiad Maths Prep

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Problem 140

AMC 10/12, early questions
Number theory Difficulty 3.6 Find the answer

Which of the following numbers is a perfect square?
(A) 14!15!2(B) 15!16!2(C) 16!17!2(D) 17!18!2(E) 18!19!2\textbf{(A)}\ \dfrac{14!15!}2\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ \dfrac{15!16!}2\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ \dfrac{16!17!}2\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ \dfrac{17!18!}2\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \dfrac{18!19!}2

Official solution

Note that for all positive nn, we have
n!(n+1)!2\dfrac{n!(n+1)!}{2}
    (n!)2(n+1)2\implies\dfrac{(n!)^2\cdot(n+1)}{2}
    (n!)2n+12\implies (n!)^2\cdot\dfrac{n+1}{2}
We must find a value of nn such that (n!)2n+12(n!)^2\cdot\dfrac{n+1}{2} is a perfect square. Since (n!)2(n!)^2 is a perfect square, we must also have n+12\frac{n+1}{2} be a perfect square.
In order for n+12\frac{n+1}{2} to be a perfect square, n+1n+1 must be twice a perfect square. From the answer choices, n+1=18n+1=18 works, thus, n=17n=17 and our desired answer is (D) 17!18!2\boxed{\textbf{(D)}\ \frac{17!18!}{2}}

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