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jmc

prealgebra senior

Problem

What is the least perfect square with 3 different prime factors?
Solution
Suppose the 3 different prime factors are , , and . The prime powers in the prime factorization of a perfect square must have even exponents. Since the square must be as small as possible, we let the exponents all be 2, so the prime factorization is . We make the square as small as possible by letting the three primes be 2, 3, and 5, so we have
Final answer
900