rsarashi wrote:If K is a common multiple of 75, 98, and 140, which of the following statements must be true?
|) k is divisible by 9.
||) k is divisible by 49.
|||) k is greater than 14,000.
A) || only
B) |||) only
C) | and || only
D) II and ||| only
E) |,||, and |||
OAD
---ASIDE--------------------------------------
A lot of integer property questions can be solved using prime factorization.
For questions involving divisibility, divisors, factors and multiples, we can say:
If N is divisible by k, then k is "hiding" within the prime factorization of N
Consider these examples:
24 is divisible by
3 because 24 = (2)(2)(2)
(3)
Likewise, 70 is divisible by
5 because 70 = (2)
(5)(7)
And 112 is divisible by
8 because 112 = (2)
(2)(2)(2)(7)
And 630 is divisible by
15 because 630 = (2)(3)
(3)(5)(7)
Similarly, for questions involving multiples, we can say:
If N is a multiple of k, then k is "hiding" within the prime factorization of N
Examples:
24 is a multiple of
3 <--> 24 = (2)(2)(2)
(3)
70 is a multiple of
5 <--> (2)
(5)(7)
330 is a multiple of
6 <--> 330 =
(2)(3)(5)(11)
-------NOW ONTO THE QUESTION------------------------------
K is a common multiple of 75, 98, and 140
75 = (
3)(
5)(
5). So, there is at least one
3 and two
5's hiding in the prime factorization of K
98 = (
2)(
7)(
7). So, there is at least one
2 and two
7's hiding in the prime factorization of K
140 = (
2)(
2)(
5)(
7). So, there are at least two
2's, one
5 and one
7 hiding in the prime factorization of K
So, K = (
2)(
2)(
3)(
5)(
5)(
7)(
7)(?)(?)(?)(?), where the ?'s represent other possible primes.
Now let's examine the statements....
|) k is divisible by 9.
9 = (
3)(
3)
Since we can't be sure that there are two 3's hiding in the prime factorization of K, we cannot be certain that K is divisible by 9
So, statement I is may NOT be true
ELIMINATE answer choices C and D
||) k is divisible by 49.
49 = (
7)(
7)
Since there are (at least) two 7's hiding in the prime factorization of K, we can be certain that K is divisible by 49
So, statement II is TRUE
ELIMINATE answer choice B
|||) k is greater than 14,000.
We already noted that K = (
2)(
2)(
3)(
5)(
5)(
7)(
7)(?)(?)(?)(?)
Since (
2)(
2)(
3)(
5)(
5)(
7)(
7) = 14,700, we know that K is AT LEAST as big as 14,700 .
So, we can be certain that K is greater than 14,000
So, statement III is TRUE
Answer: D
Cheers,
Brent