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Exercise 1329Number theory › Divisibility and gcdOlympiadAdded 5 Nov 2026

(n²)! is divisible by (n!)^(n+1)

#integrality#factorials#double counting#multinomial

Statement

Prove that (n2)!(n!)n+1\dfrac{(n^2)!}{(n!)^{n+1}} is an integer for every positive integer nn.

Hint

Count the number of ways to split n2n^2 people into nn unordered teams of nn people each.

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Solution

Idea. Interpret the quotient as the number of something, which is automatically an integer.

Counting. Let NN be the number of ways to partition a set of n2n^2 distinct objects into nn unlabelled groups of size nn. Line the n2n^2 objects up in a row in any of (n2)!(n^2)! orders, and cut the row into consecutive blocks of nn: this gives a partition. Each partition arises from exactly (n!)n⋅n!(n!)^n\cdot n! orderings: n!n! orders inside each of the nn groups, and n!n! orders in which the groups appear. Hence
N=(n2)!(n!)n⋅n!=(n2)!(n!)n+1.N=\frac{(n^2)!}{(n!)^n\cdot n!}=\frac{(n^2)!}{(n!)^{n+1}}.

Since NN is a number of objects, it is a positive integer.

Check. n=2n=2: 4!(2!)3=248=3\frac{4!}{(2!)^3}=\frac{24}8=3, the three ways to split four people into two pairs.

Remark. More generally (kn)!(n!)kk!\dfrac{(kn)!}{(n!)^kk!} is an integer.

Lesson. To prove that an expression is an integer, find a set of objects that it counts.