Maths : Basic Numeracy

Q 71 / 370

UPSC CSE Prelims 2024

How many consecutive zeros are there at the end of the integer obtained in the product
12×24×36×48×...×2550?

EXPLANATION

Correct Option

The number of consecutive zeros at the end of an integer is determined by the lowest power of 10 in its prime factorization. Since 10 = 2 × 5, this is equivalent to finding the minimum count between the prime factors 2 and 5. In products of this nature, the count of factor 2 is typically much higher than the count of factor 5. Therefore, the number of zeros is limited by the total count of the prime factor 5.

The given product is 12×24×36×48×...×2550. We need to identify terms that contribute factors of 5:

  • From 510: This term contributes 510 to the product.
  • From 1020: This term is (2×5)20=220×520, contributing 520.
  • From 1530: This term is (3×5)30=330×530, contributing 530.
  • From 2040: This term is (4×5)40=(22×5)40=280×540, contributing 540.
  • From 2550: This term is (52)50=5100, contributing 5100.

The total power of 5 in the product is the sum of the exponents from these terms:

10+20+30+40+100=200

Thus, the product contains 5200 as a factor. As the number of factors of 2 will be significantly higher than 200 in this product, the number of consecutive zeros at the end of the integer is 200.

Incorrect Options

  • Options (1) 50, (2) 55, and (3) 100 are incorrect. These values do not represent the cumulative contribution of the prime factor 5 from all relevant terms in the product. The detailed calculation, considering all multiples of 5 up to 25 and their respective exponents, yields a total power of 5 as 200.