BREAKING: Target Test Prep releases Brand New 2026 On Demand GMAT prep course

Redeem

Target Test Prep · GMAT

Choose how you want to prepare

Learn live with an expert or move at your own pace. Every option includes the complete TTP study system.

★★★★★5.0559 reviews
GMATLiveTeach Starts Oct 17
Chris Peckover, Target Test Prep GMAT expert
LIVE ONLINE CLASSES

Get Ready for GMAT Test Day Faster with Live Online Classes

with Chris Peckover, 100th-Percentile GMAT Scorer

Oct 17 · Chris Peckover
Sat · 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM ET
Oct 20 · Chris Peckover
Tue, Thu · 8:00 to 10:00 PM ET
Oct 25 · Josh Braslow
Sun · 1:00 to 4:00 PM ET
Included
40 hours of live online classes + 6 months of TTP OnDemand
  • Attend the first class for free
  • Every class is recorded, so you never fall behind
View classes & enroll
Limited seats availableTarget Test Prep
EALiveTeachOnDemand 5 seats left Start anytime
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

Target Test Prep EA OnDemand

Self-paced EA prep. Study on your schedule.

Logan Thompson
EXECUTIVE ASSESSMENT

Sep 6 to Dec 6, 2026

with Logan Thompson

165+ EA score guarantee
$05-day trial no automatic billing
Schedule
Sun · 9:30 AM to 12:30 PM ET
Included
40 hours of live online classes plus six months of access to the complete TTP EA OnDemand course.
  • 165+ EA Score Guarantee
  • 4,100+ Quant, Verbal, and Integrated Reasoning practice questions
  • 400+ hours of in-depth video lessons
  • 3,000+ step-by-step video solutions
View EA class & enroll Start free 5-day trial
Limited cohort · enrollment openTrial includes full course accessTarget Test Prep
GMATOnDemand Start anytime
SELF-PACED MASTERCLASS

Target Test Prep GMAT OnDemand

Complete access from day one. Study on your schedule.

715+ score guarantee
$0to start then $127/mo
  • Personalized study plan and analytics
  • Thousands of lessons and practice questions

Compare the format, schedule, and included access before enrolling. Prices and seat counts shown reflect the supplied offer details.

Properties of perfect squares

Expert replies
by ayushiiitm » Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:08 pm
If the positive integer N is a perfect square, which of the following must be true?

I. The number of distinct factors of N is odd.
II. The sum of the distinct factors of N is odd.
III. The number of distinct prime factors of N is even.

Options are
I only
II only
I and II
I and III
I, II and III

My take:
N is a perfect square
statement 1 seems to satisfy
25=5, 36=6 (so for perfect square the factors are paired up, hence number of factors is odd)

Statement2and statement3 :
How to solve this? any property?

or is it by putting values and checking
Success is a journey.....enjoy every moment of it
Join the discussion
Source: — Problem Solving |

by tpr-becky » Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:44 pm
Your explanation for statement I does not consider all of the factors of the number- it only says distinct factors, not distinct prime factors

therefore if N=25 then the distinct factors are 1, 5, and 25 - and odd number and if N=36 then the distinct factors are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 36 - another odd number - same with 4 - therefore I believe sTatement #1 must be true.

Statement #2 - you can use teh above examples - 1+5+25 = odd, 1+2+3_4_6_9_12+18+36 is odd. - this therefore statement #2 seems to satisfy.

Statemtn 3 now talks about distinct prime factors - for 25 it is 1 prime factor(5), for 36 there is 2 and 3 - so this does not work.

is C the correct choice.
Becky
Master GMAT Instructor
The Princeton Review
Irvine, CA
Join the discussion

by ayushiiitm » Fri Jun 11, 2010 1:01 am
So we can solve it by putting in values...right?

No number property

neways Thanks Becky
Success is a journey.....enjoy every moment of it
Join the discussion

by tpr-becky » Fri Jun 11, 2010 5:38 am
Because this problem is so specific I would solve it by plugging in numbers - but since Stmt 1 and 2 always work then those are number properties. It just wouldn't be efficient to try to memorize all of the number problems for this exam.
Becky
Master GMAT Instructor
The Princeton Review
Irvine, CA
Join the discussion

by venmic » Sun Jan 15, 2012 11:46 pm
I have read in a post and on wiki that 1 need not be considered it can go in everything so not

So if N = 25 then the factors are 5,25 = so the number of factors are even in case of a perfect square

Sum of the factors is even too = 30

PLEASE explain

tpr-becky wrote:Your explanation for statement I does not consider all of the factors of the number- it only says distinct factors, not distinct prime factors

therefore if N=25 then the distinct factors are 1, 5, and 25 - and odd number and if N=36 then the distinct factors are 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 36 - another odd number - same with 4 - therefore I believe sTatement #1 must be true.

Statement #2 - you can use teh above examples - 1+5+25 = odd, 1+2+3_4_6_9_12+18+36 is odd. - this therefore statement #2 seems to satisfy.

Statemtn 3 now talks about distinct prime factors - for 25 it is 1 prime factor(5), for 36 there is 2 and 3 - so this does not work.

is C the correct choice.
Join the discussion

by Ian Stewart » Mon Jan 16, 2012 12:49 pm
venmic wrote:I have read in a post and on wiki that 1 need not be considered it can go in everything so not

So if N = 25 then the factors are 5,25 = so the number of factors are even in case of a perfect square

Sum of the factors is even too = 30

PLEASE explain
You certainly need to consider 1 when you count the divisors of a positive integer, so you may have gotten bad information from what you read. Perfect squares have an odd number of divisors. It's easy to see why this should be true. If you take a non-square, like 18, then all of the divisors are in pairs:

1, 18
2, 9
3, 6

If you take a perfect square, however, one divisor will not be in a pair (the square root of the number). For example, the divisors of 36 are

1, 36
2, 18
3, 12
4, 9
6

So perfect squares have an odd number of divisors, and all other numbers have an even number of divisors.

I've solved the rest of the question in the original post a few times elsewhere, but I'd point out that item II in the list (about the sum of a square's divisors) is irrelevant for the GMAT. It's not a property you'd ever want to memorize for the test, since it will never be tested, nor is it the kind of thing you could reasonably be asked to prove is true within two minutes. GMAT questions are never designed so that the only viable strategy is making a guess by picking a few numbers.
For online GMAT math tutoring, or to buy my higher-level Quant books and problem sets, contact me at ianstewartgmat at gmail.com

ianstewartgmat.com
Join the discussion

ayushiiitm wrote: ↑
Thu Jun 10, 2010 1:08 pm
If the positive integer N is a perfect square, which of the following must be true?

I. The number of distinct factors of N is odd.
II. The sum of the distinct factors of N is odd.
III. The number of distinct prime factors of N is even.

Options are
I only
II only
I and II
I and III
I, II and III

Solution:

Recall that the number of factors of a perfect square is odd (e.g., 1 has 1 factor, 4 has 3 factors, 9 has 3 factors, 16 has 5 factors, and so on). So statement I is true.

Another fact about the distinct factors of a perfect square is that their sum is odd. (e.g., the distinct factors of 4 are 1, 2, and 4, which sum to 7; the distinct factors of 9 are 1, 3, and 9, which sum to 13, and so on.) Thus, statement II is true.

Since 4 = 2^2 only has 1 distinct prime factor (namely 2), Statement III is not true.

Answer: C

Scott Woodbury-Stewart
Founder and CEO
[email protected]

Image

See why Target Test Prep is rated 5 out of 5 stars on BEAT the GMAT. Read our reviews

ImageImage
Join the discussion

Re: Properties of perfect squares

by Neha sharma » Mon Sep 21, 2020 6:03 am
The perfect square number has following properties

1. The number of distinct factors of a perfect square is ALWAYS ODD.
2. The sum of distinct factors of a perfect square is ALWAYS ODD
3. Perfect square always has even powers of its prime factors.

So 1 & 2 statement must be true
Imo-C
Join the discussion