Perfect Squares as Divisors of $1!\cdot 2! \cdot 3! \cdots 9!$

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SUMMARY

The discussion centers on determining the number of perfect square divisors of the product \(1! \cdot 2! \cdot 3! \cdots 9!\). Members castor28, lfdahl, kaliprasad, and Oxide provided correct solutions to this problem. The solutions involve analyzing the prime factorization of the factorial product and applying combinatorial techniques to count the perfect square divisors. The final count of perfect square divisors is derived from the exponents in the prime factorization.

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Here is this week's POTW:

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How many perfect squares are divisors of the product $1!\cdot 2! \cdot 3! \cdots 9!$?

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Congratulations to the following members for their correct solution!

1. castor28
2. lfdahl
3. kaliprasad
4. Oxide

Solution from Oxide:
By expanding out the product $$n=1! 2! \cdots 9!$$, we get $$2^8 3^7 4^6 5^5 6^4 7^3 8^2 9^1$$, which can be factored into primes as $$2^{30} 3^{13} 5^5 7^3$$. Since a perfect square that divides $$n$$ must be of the form $$2^a 3^b 5^c 7^d$$ where $$a,b,c,d$$ are even, we can choose $$a,b,c,d$$ from the following sets respectively:
$$\{0,2,\dots, 30\}$$
$$\{0,2,\dots,12\}$$
$$\{0,2,4\}$$
$$\{0,2\}$$
which gives us $$16 \cdot 7 \cdot 3 \cdot 2 = 672$$ perfect squares that divide $$n$$.

Alternate solution from castor28:
We factorize $n!=2^\alpha3^\beta5^\gamma7^\delta$ for $2\le n\le9$ as follows (note that each line is easily computed from the previous line):
$$
\begin{array}{c|r|r|r|r}
n!&\alpha&\beta&\gamma&\delta\\
\hline
2!&1&0&0&0\\
3!&1&1&0&0\\
4!&3&1&0&0\\
5!&3&1&1&0\\
6!&4&2&1&0\\
7!&4&2&1&1\\
8!&7&2&1&1\\
9!&7&4&1&1\\
\hline
\prod{n!}&30&13&5&3
\end{array}
$$
The square divisors of the product are of the form $2^x 3^y 5^z7^w$, with $x$, $y$, $z$, $w$ even and $(x,y,z,w)\le (30,13,5,3)$.
Since the number of even integers between $0$ and $k$ is $\left\lfloor\dfrac{k}{2}\right\rfloor+1$, the number of square divisors of the product is $16\times 7\times 3\times 2 = \bf 672$.
 

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