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2010 AMC 10A Problem 24

Problem 24 of 25HarderNumber TheoryArithmetic

The number obtained from the last two nonzero digits of 90!90! is equal to n.n. What is n?n?

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Solution

The number of trailing zeroes in 90!90! is ⌊905⌋+⌊9025⌋=21.\left\lfloor\dfrac{90}{5}\right\rfloor+\left\lfloor\dfrac{90}{25}\right\rfloor=21. Let N=90!1021.N=\dfrac{90!}{10^{21}}. There are still more than two factors of 22 left after removing 1021,10^{21}, so N≡0(mod4).N\equiv0 \pmod4. Let AA be the product of factors of 90!90! not divisible by 5,5, and let BB be the product of the factors divisible by 5.5. Grouping residues modulo 2525 gives A≡1(mod25)A\equiv1\pmod{25} and B521≡−1(mod25).\dfrac{B}{5^{21}}\equiv-1\pmod{25}. Therefore 90!521≡−1(mod25).\dfrac{90!}{5^{21}}\equiv-1\pmod{25}. Since 221≡2(mod25),2^{21}\equiv2\pmod{25}, N=90!521⋅221N=\dfrac{90!}{5^{21}\cdot2^{21}} ≡−13\equiv-13 ≡12(mod25).\equiv12\pmod{25}. The number congruent to 0(mod4)0\pmod4 and 12(mod25)12\pmod{25} is 12(mod100),12\pmod{100}, so the last two nonzero digits form 12.12. Thus, A is the correct answer.
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Tagged: factorial · modular arithmetic · Chinese Remainder Theorem · trailing zeros

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