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smc

number theory senior

Problem

Let be the set of all positive integer divisors of How many numbers are the product of two distinct elements of
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
The prime factorization of is . Thus, we choose two numbers and where and , whose product is , where and . Notice that this is similar to choosing a divisor of , which has divisors. However, some of the divisors of cannot be written as a product of two distinct divisors of , namely: , , , and . The last two cannot be written because the maximum factor of containing only s or s (and not both) is only or . Since the factors chosen must be distinct, the last two numbers cannot be so written because they would require or . The first two would require and , respectively. This gives candidate numbers. It is not too hard to show that every number of the form , where , and are not both or , can be written as a product of two distinct elements in . Hence the answer is .
Final answer
C