Browse · MATH
Printjmc
number theory intermediate
Problem
A teenager is someone who is 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18 or 19 years old. The product of the ages of a particular group of teenagers is 705,600. What is the mean of their ages in years? Express your answer as a decimal to the nearest tenth.
Solution
Of the teenage ages, 13, 17, and 19 are prime; , , , and . The prime factorization of 705,600 is . Since , 2 people must be 14 years old (which takes care of ). Similarly, since , 2 people must be 15 years old (which takes care of ). remains, which means that 1 person is 16. Therefore, the mean of the ages is years.
Final answer
14.8