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2011/12 AHSMC Part 1 Problem 12

Problem 12 of 16

The sum of twenty positive integers, not necessarily different, is 462462. The largest possible value of greatest common divisor of these numbers is

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Solution

Let x1x_1, …, x20x_{20} be the given numbers. If dd is the greatest common divisor of these numbers then x1+⋯+x20=d(x1d+⋯+x20d)=462=21⋅22. x_1 + \cdots + x_{20} = d\left(\frac{x_1}{d} + \cdots + \frac{x_{20}}{d}\right) = 462 = 21 \cdot 22. The value d=22d = 22 is obtained if x1=⋯=x19=dx_1 = \cdots = x_{19} = d and x20=2dx_{20} = 2d. For each ii, xid≥1\frac{x_i}{d} \ge 1. Hence d≤46220=23.1d \le \frac{462}{20} = 23.1. Since dd divides 462462, the largest value for dd is indeed 2222. The answer is (B).