Algebra – How to Deal with Factorials

Let’s discuss the basics of factorials today. Once we do, we will see that most factorial expressions can be easily solved using a single method: taking common!

First of all, what is ()?

…

Let’s take some examples:

 (mind you, it is not 0)

and so on…

Look carefully. Do you see any relation between 3! and 4!? Sure. 3! Appears in 4! too.

Similarly, 2! is also a part of 3! as well as 4!

As a general note, we can say that:

and so on…

We can write n! in many different ways. We use whatever suits us best in the question. How does knowing this help us solve questions? Let’s see:

Question: If  and  is a positive integer, how many distinct values can  take?

(A) 0

(B) 1

(C) 2

(D) 3

(E) Infinite

Solution: We need to solve this equation to find out the values of  which satisfy it. But how do we solve equations with factorials in them?

It looks rather complicated, right? It is not, actually! Let’s use what we have just learned. We need to separate the factorials from the rest of the equation. To do that, we need to take something common. The left hand side has 

We know that 

and 

The equation becomes: 

The product of two factors  and  must be 0 so at least one of them must be 0. Notice that factorial of a number cannot be 0 so the other factor i.e.  must be 0.

 can take two values: 10 and – 10

But it is given to us that  is a positive integer so only 10 is acceptable.

Hence, there is only 1 value which satisfies this equation.

Answer (B)

Remember, when dealing with multiple factorials, all you can do is take something common. But then, that may be all you need to do!