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Difficulty: 4/102020 IOQM 2020 (Q6)

What is the least positive integer by which should be multiplied so that the product is a perfect square?

Guide / Hint

Hint 1: Express composite bases 4 and 6 in terms of their prime factors 2 and 3.

Hint 2: Find the prime factorization of the entire number by summing the exponents of 2, 3, and 5.

Hint 3: For the product to be a perfect square, each prime factor must have an even exponent. Identify which exponents are odd.

Solution

Let the number be .
We find the prime factorization of by breaking down composite bases and :

Substitute these back into the expression for :

Combine the exponents for each prime base:

For a number to be a perfect square, all exponents in its prime factorization must be even integers.

  • Exponent of is (even, needs no factors).

  • Exponent of is (odd, needs to be multiplied by ).

  • Exponent of is (odd, needs to be multiplied by ).

Thus, the least positive integer by which must be multiplied is:

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