Does anyone know how to prove there is never a perfect square for N! when N > 2
Here's my attempt at this one......
Let's suppose that N! = p^2
And every square can be factored into a product of squared primes
Then....let's suppose that p is factored as (a1)2 * (a2)2 * (a3)2 * .....(an)2 where each term is a squared prime
And N! = 2 * 3 * 4 *......*N-2 * N-1 * N
So we have that........
2 * 3 * 4 *......*N-2 * N-1 * N = (a1)2 * (a2)2 * (a3)2 * .....(an)2
But some of the terms on the left side will not be perfect squares, while every term on the right hand side will be a perfect square
Thus.......the left side cannot be written solely as a product of perfect square primes
Thus.......N! is not a perfect square
Thank you CPhill
I posted the question but it did not post with my account credentials.