# Math Help - 4x5 integer table

1. ## Tricky Integer Table

Twenty different positive integers are written in a 4 X 5 table. Any two neighbours (numbers in cells with a common side) have a common divisor greater than 1. If n is the largest number in the table, find the smallest possible value of n.

2. ## Re: 4x5 integer table

I present you with the following solution.

Spoiler:

Let $m$ the minimum such $n$. I came up with the following upper bound: $m \leq 26$ with the following solution to the puzzle

$\begin{bmatrix}3 & 6 & 15 & 25 & 5 \\24 & 9 & 18 & 20 & 10\\21 & 12 & 26 & 8 & 4\\7 & 14 & 22 & 16 & 2\end{bmatrix}$

If we inspect this table, we see that it satisfies the conditions for divisibility and the upper bound is correct. Now, if a prime $p$ appears explicitly in the table, its neighbors must be divisible by that prime. If the prime appears in the interior, its neighbors must be at least the sizes $2p, 3p, 4p, 5p$. If it appears on an edge, the neighbors are at least $2p, 3p, 4p$. If it appears in a corner the neighbors are at least $2p, 3p$. Using the lowest of these upper bounds $3p$, in an optimal solution we must have that $3p \leq 25$, or $p \leq 26/3 \leq 9$. That is, the only explicit primes in this table are at most $2,3,5$ and $7$. No other primes can appear explicitly in the table. As we can see, up to 26, the only numbers that do not appear in this table are $1, 11, 13, 17, 19$ and $23$. Since these numbers are not allowed in an optimal solution, the solution I provided must be optimal. Therefore $m = 26$.