Today’s Puzzle:
They say at the end of the rainbow, there is a pot of gold that belongs to some leprechaun. Because this is a Find the Factors 1 to 14 puzzle, this pot of gold has some choice mathematical nuggets. For example, is 7 or 14 the common factor of 70 and 84? Don’t guess which one is the common factor for the puzzle. Use logic to eliminate one of those possibilities instead.
Likewise, both 6 and 9 are common factors of 18 and 54. And 4, 5, and 10 are all common factors of 20 and 40. Logic will narrow each possibility down to one possible factor!
I like that you also need to find the common factor of 126 and 36. I noticed a pattern with those clues. The pattern is limited to the multiplication facts given below, but I think it is still a pretty cool pattern.
Here’s the pattern I saw for 126 and 36:
- Since 9 is one of the factors, the sum of the digits of any of the products equals 9.
- 1 + 2 = 3. The sum of the first two numbers of the product in the first column equals the first part of the product in the second column.
- Obviously, both clues end in 6 so the last digit of their other factors will end with the same number, 4.
That should give you a good start in solving the puzzle!
Factors of 1609:
- 1609 is a prime number.
- Prime factorization: 1609 is prime.
- 1609 has no exponents greater than 1 in its prime factorization, so √1609 cannot be simplified.
- The exponent in the prime factorization is 1. Adding one to that exponent we get (1 + 1) = 2. Therefore 1609 has exactly 2 factors.
- The factors of 1609 are outlined with their factor pair partners in the graphic below.
How do we know that 1609 is a prime number? If 1609 were not a prime number, then it would be divisible by at least one prime number less than or equal to √1609. Since 1609 cannot be divided evenly by 2, 3, 5, 7, 11, 13, 17, 19, 23, 29, 31, or 37, we know that 1609 is a prime number.
More about the Number 1609:
1609² = 2588881. That’s a perfect square, followed by four 8’s, followed by a perfect square. OEIS.org reports that 1609² is the smallest perfect square with four 8’s in a row.
1609 is the sum of two squares:
40² + 3² = 1609.
1609 is the hypotenuse of a Pythagorean triple:
240-1591-1609, calculated from 2(40)(3), 40² – 3², 40² + 3².
Here’s another way we know that 1609 is a prime number: Since its last two digits divided by 4 leave a remainder of 1, and 40² + 3² = 1609 with 40 and 3 having no common prime factors, 1609 will be prime unless it is divisible by a prime number Pythagorean triple hypotenuse less than or equal to √1609. Since 1609 is not divisible by 5, 13, 17, 29, or 37, we know that 1609 is a prime number.