1996 AMC 12 Problem 29

Attempt Problem 29 of the 1996 AMC 12 below, then check your answer against the professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 1996 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.

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29.

If nn is a positive integer such that 2n2n has 2828 positive divisors and 3n3n has 3030 positive divisors, then how many positive divisors does 6n6n have?

3232

3434

3535

3636

3838

Answer: C
Concepts:divisor functionprime factorization
Difficulty rating: 2150
Small Hint:

Write n=2a3bqn=2^a3^bq, where qq is relatively prime to 66, and let tt be the number of divisors of qq

Big Hint:

Use the two divisor-count equations to restrict tt to a divisor of both 2828 and 3030

Solution:

Write n=2a3bqn=2^a3^bq with gcd(q,6)=1,\gcd(q,6)=1, and let t=τ(q).t=\tau(q). Then (a+2)(b+1)t=28,(a+1)(b+2)t=30. \begin{aligned} (a+2)(b+1)t&=28,\\ (a+1)(b+2)t&=30. \end{aligned} Hence tt is 11 or 2.2. Checking the factor pairs of 14,1514,15 gives no solution when t=2.t=2. Checking those of 28,3028,30 when t=1t=1 gives the unique solution a=5,b=3.a=5,b=3. Therefore τ(6n)=(a+2)(b+2)t=75=35, \begin{aligned} \tau(6n)&=(a+2)(b+2)t\\ &=7\cdot5=35, \end{aligned} so the correct answer is C.

← Problem 28#28
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