1) How many zeroes does 66! end in when written in base 12?
I think that this is an easier way to express the question.
66!=k*12^n k is a positive integer and so is n. Find the largest value of n
12=2*2*3
We have the factors 1 to 66
half of those are divisable by 2 that is 33 of them
So now I will divide those ones by 2 and I get the numbers 1 to 33
ok , 16 of those are divisable by 2
So I will divide those by 2 again and I get the numbers 1 to 16
8 of these will be divisable by 2
Divide these by 2 again and I get the numbers 1 to 8
4 of these will be divisable by 2
Divide these by 2 again and I get the numbers 1 to 4
2 of these will be divisable by 2
Divide these by 2 again and I get the numbers 1 to 2
1 of these will be divisable by 2
33+16+8+4+2+1 = 64
So the highest power of 2 that goes into 66! is 2^64
so
mod(66!,2^64) = 0
mod(66!,4^32) = 0
Now I need to look for the highest power of 3 that will go into 66!
We have the factors 1 to 66
One third of those are divisable by 3 that is 22 of them
So now I will divide those ones by 3 and I get the numbers 1 to 22
ok , 7 of those are divisable by 3
So now I will divide those ones by 3 and I get the numbers 1 to 7
ok , 2 of those are divisable by 3
So I will divide those by 3 again and I get the numbers 1 to 2
0 of these will be divisable by 2
22+7+2= 31
So the highest power of 3 that goes into 66! is 3^31
mod(66!,3^31) = 0
mod(66!,12^31) = 0
So it looks to me like there will be 31 zeros.