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k a June Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
4 hours ago
Congratulations to all the mathletes who competed at National MATHCOUNTS! If you missed the exciting Countdown Round, you can watch the video at this link. Are you interested in training for MATHCOUNTS or AMC 10 contests? How would you like to train for these math competitions in half the time? We have accelerated sections which meet twice per week instead of once starting on July 8th (7:30pm ET). These sections fill quickly so enroll today!

[list][*]MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics
[*]MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced
[*]AMC 10 Problem Series[/list]
For those interested in Olympiad level training in math, computer science, physics, and chemistry, be sure to enroll in our WOOT courses before August 19th to take advantage of early bird pricing!

Summer camps are starting this month at the Virtual Campus in math and language arts that are 2 - to 4 - weeks in duration. Spaces are still available - don’t miss your chance to have a transformative summer experience. There are middle and high school competition math camps as well as Math Beasts camps that review key topics coupled with fun explorations covering areas such as graph theory (Math Beasts Camp 6), cryptography (Math Beasts Camp 7-8), and topology (Math Beasts Camp 8-9)!

Be sure to mark your calendars for the following upcoming events:
[list][*]June 5th, Thursday, 7:30pm ET: Open Discussion with Ben Kornell and Andrew Sutherland, Art of Problem Solving's incoming CEO Ben Kornell and CPO Andrew Sutherland host an Ask Me Anything-style chat. Come ask your questions and get to know our incoming CEO & CPO!
[*]June 9th, Monday, 7:30pm ET, Game Jam: Operation Shuffle!, Come join us to play our second round of Operation Shuffle! If you enjoy number sense, logic, and a healthy dose of luck, this is the game for you. No specific math background is required; all are welcome.[/list]
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0 replies
jlacosta
4 hours ago
0 replies
k i Adding contests to the Contest Collections
dcouchman   1
N Apr 5, 2023 by v_Enhance
Want to help AoPS remain a valuable Olympiad resource? Help us add contests to AoPS's Contest Collections.

Find instructions and a list of contests to add here: https://artofproblemsolving.com/community/c40244h1064480_contests_to_add
1 reply
dcouchman
Sep 9, 2019
v_Enhance
Apr 5, 2023
k i Zero tolerance
ZetaX   49
N May 4, 2019 by NoDealsHere
Source: Use your common sense! (enough is enough)
Some users don't want to learn, some other simply ignore advises.
But please follow the following guideline:


To make it short: ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE IF POSTING!
If you don't have common sense, don't post.


More specifically:

For new threads:


a) Good, meaningful title:
The title has to say what the problem is about in best way possible.
If that title occured already, it's definitely bad. And contest names aren't good either.
That's in fact a requirement for being able to search old problems.

Examples:
Bad titles:
- "Hard"/"Medium"/"Easy" (if you find it so cool how hard/easy it is, tell it in the post and use a title that tells us the problem)
- "Number Theory" (hey guy, guess why this forum's named that way¿ and is it the only such problem on earth¿)
- "Fibonacci" (there are millions of Fibonacci problems out there, all posted and named the same...)
- "Chinese TST 2003" (does this say anything about the problem¿)
Good titles:
- "On divisors of a³+2b³+4c³-6abc"
- "Number of solutions to x²+y²=6z²"
- "Fibonacci numbers are never squares"


b) Use search function:
Before posting a "new" problem spend at least two, better five, minutes to look if this problem was posted before. If it was, don't repost it. If you have anything important to say on topic, post it in one of the older threads.
If the thread is locked cause of this, use search function.

Update (by Amir Hossein). The best way to search for two keywords in AoPS is to input
[code]+"first keyword" +"second keyword"[/code]
so that any post containing both strings "first word" and "second form".


c) Good problem statement:
Some recent really bad post was:
[quote]$lim_{n\to 1}^{+\infty}\frac{1}{n}-lnn$[/quote]
It contains no question and no answer.
If you do this, too, you are on the best way to get your thread deleted. Write everything clearly, define where your variables come from (and define the "natural" numbers if used). Additionally read your post at least twice before submitting. After you sent it, read it again and use the Edit-Button if necessary to correct errors.


For answers to already existing threads:


d) Of any interest and with content:
Don't post things that are more trivial than completely obvious. For example, if the question is to solve $x^{3}+y^{3}=z^{3}$, do not answer with "$x=y=z=0$ is a solution" only. Either you post any kind of proof or at least something unexpected (like "$x=1337, y=481, z=42$ is the smallest solution). Someone that does not see that $x=y=z=0$ is a solution of the above without your post is completely wrong here, this is an IMO-level forum.
Similar, posting "I have solved this problem" but not posting anything else is not welcome; it even looks that you just want to show off what a genius you are.

e) Well written and checked answers:
Like c) for new threads, check your solutions at least twice for mistakes. And after sending, read it again and use the Edit-Button if necessary to correct errors.



To repeat it: ALWAYS USE YOUR COMMON SENSE IF POSTING!


Everything definitely out of range of common sense will be locked or deleted (exept for new users having less than about 42 posts, they are newbies and need/get some time to learn).

The above rules will be applied from next monday (5. march of 2007).
Feel free to discuss on this here.
49 replies
ZetaX
Feb 27, 2007
NoDealsHere
May 4, 2019
Channel name changed
Plane_geometry_youtuber   10
N 2 minutes ago by Yiyj
Hi,

Due to the search handle issue in youtube. My channel is renamed to Olympiad Geometry Club. And the new link is as following:

https://www.youtube.com/@OlympiadGeometryClub

Recently I introduced the concept of harmonic bundle. I will move on to the conjugate median soon. In the future, I will discuss more than a thousand theorems on plane geometry and hopefully it can help to the students preparing for the Olympiad competition.

Please share this to the people may need it.

Thank you!
10 replies
Plane_geometry_youtuber
Yesterday at 9:31 PM
Yiyj
2 minutes ago
1 x 3 pieces in a 3 x 25 board,m max no of pieces placed
parmenides51   1
N 19 minutes ago by TheBaiano
Source: Lusophon 2018 CPLP P6
In a $3 \times 25$ board, $1 \times 3$ pieces are placed (vertically or horizontally) so that they occupy entirely $3$ boxes on the board and do not have a common point.
What is the maximum number of pieces that can be placed, and for that number, how many configurations are there?

original formulation
1 reply
parmenides51
Sep 13, 2018
TheBaiano
19 minutes ago
smallest a so that S(n)-S(n+a) = 2018, where S(n)=sum of digits
parmenides51   3
N 39 minutes ago by TheBaiano
Source: Lusophon 2018 CPLP P3
For each positive integer $n$, let $S(n)$ be the sum of the digits of $n$. Determines the smallest positive integer $a$ such that there are infinite positive integers $n$ for which you have $S (n) -S (n + a) = 2018$.
3 replies
parmenides51
Sep 13, 2018
TheBaiano
39 minutes ago
Ducks can play games now apparently
MortemEtInteritum   35
N 2 hours ago by pi271828
Source: USA TST(ST) 2020 #1
Let $a$, $b$, $c$ be fixed positive integers. There are $a+b+c$ ducks sitting in a
circle, one behind the other. Each duck picks either rock, paper, or scissors, with $a$ ducks
picking rock, $b$ ducks picking paper, and $c$ ducks picking scissors.
A move consists of an operation of one of the following three forms:

[list]
[*] If a duck picking rock sits behind a duck picking scissors, they switch places.
[*] If a duck picking paper sits behind a duck picking rock, they switch places.
[*] If a duck picking scissors sits behind a duck picking paper, they switch places.
[/list]
Determine, in terms of $a$, $b$, and $c$, the maximum number of moves which could take
place, over all possible initial configurations.
35 replies
1 viewing
MortemEtInteritum
Nov 16, 2020
pi271828
2 hours ago
2017 IGO Advanced P3
bgn   18
N 2 hours ago by Circumcircle
Source: 4th Iranian Geometry Olympiad (Advanced) P3
Let $O$ be the circumcenter of triangle $ABC$. Line $CO$ intersects the altitude from $A$ at point $K$. Let $P,M$ be the midpoints of $AK$, $AC$ respectively. If $PO$ intersects $BC$ at $Y$, and the circumcircle of triangle $BCM$ meets $AB$ at $X$, prove that $BXOY$ is cyclic.

Proposed by Ali Daeinabi - Hamid Pardazi
18 replies
bgn
Sep 15, 2017
Circumcircle
2 hours ago
Own made functional equation
JARP091   1
N 3 hours ago by JARP091
Source: Own (Maybe?)
\[
\text{Find all functions } f : \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R} \text{ such that:} \\
f(a^4 + a^2b^2 + b^4) = f\left((a^2 - f(ab) + b^2)(a^2 + f(ab) + b^2)\right)
\]
1 reply
JARP091
May 31, 2025
JARP091
3 hours ago
Euler line of incircle touching points /Reposted/
Eagle116   6
N 3 hours ago by pigeon123
Let $ABC$ be a triangle with incentre $I$ and circumcentre $O$. Let $D,E,F$ be the touchpoints of the incircle with $BC$, $CA$, $AB$ respectively. Prove that $OI$ is the Euler line of $\vartriangle DEF$.
6 replies
Eagle116
Apr 19, 2025
pigeon123
3 hours ago
Parallel lines on a rhombus
buratinogigle   1
N 3 hours ago by Giabach298
Source: Own, Entrance Exam for Grade 10 Admission, HSGS 2025
Given the rhombus $ABCD$ with its incircle $\omega$. Let $E$ and $F$ be the points of tangency of $\omega$ with $AB$ and $AC$ respectively. On the edges $CB$ and $CD$, take points $G$ and $H$ such that $GH$ is tangent to $\omega$ at $P$. Suppose $Q$ is the intersection point of the lines $EG$ and $FH$. Prove that two lines $AP$ and $CQ$ are parallel or coincide.
1 reply
buratinogigle
5 hours ago
Giabach298
3 hours ago
Orthocenter lies on circumcircle
whatshisbucket   90
N 3 hours ago by bjump
Source: 2017 ELMO #2
Let $ABC$ be a triangle with orthocenter $H,$ and let $M$ be the midpoint of $\overline{BC}.$ Suppose that $P$ and $Q$ are distinct points on the circle with diameter $\overline{AH},$ different from $A,$ such that $M$ lies on line $PQ.$ Prove that the orthocenter of $\triangle APQ$ lies on the circumcircle of $\triangle ABC.$

Proposed by Michael Ren
90 replies
whatshisbucket
Jun 26, 2017
bjump
3 hours ago
Polish MO Finals 2014, Problem 4
j___d   3
N 4 hours ago by ariopro1387
Source: Polish MO Finals 2014
Denote the set of positive rational numbers by $\mathbb{Q}_{+}$. Find all functions $f: \mathbb{Q}_{+}\rightarrow \mathbb{Q}_{+}$ that satisfy
$$\underbrace{f(f(f(\dots f(f}_{n}(q))\dots )))=f(nq)$$for all integers $n\ge 1$ and rational numbers $q>0$.
3 replies
j___d
Jul 27, 2016
ariopro1387
4 hours ago
S(an) greater than S(n)
ilovemath0402   1
N 4 hours ago by ilovemath0402
Source: Inspired by an old result
Find all positive integer $n$ such that $S(an)\ge S(n) \quad \forall a \in \mathbb{Z}^{+}$ ($S(n)$ is sum of digit of $n$ in base 10)
P/s: Original problem
1 reply
ilovemath0402
4 hours ago
ilovemath0402
4 hours ago
Hagge-like circles, Jerabek hyperbola, Lemoine cubic
kosmonauten3114   0
4 hours ago
Source: My own
Let $\triangle{ABC}$ be a scalene oblique triangle with circumcenter $O$ and orthocenter $H$, and $P$ ($\neq \text{X(3), X(4)}$, $\notin \odot(ABC)$) a point in the plane.
Let $\triangle{A_1B_1C_1}$, $\triangle{A_2B_2C_2}$ be the circumcevian triangles of $O$, $P$, respectively.
Let $\triangle{P_AP_BP_C}$ be the pedal triangle of $P$ with respect to $\triangle{ABC}$.
Let $A_1'$ be the reflection in $P_A$ of $A_1$. Define $B_1'$, $C_1'$ cyclically.
Let $A_2'$ be the reflection in $P_A$ of $A_2$. Define $B_2'$, $C_2'$ cyclically.
Let $O_1$, $O_2$ be the circumcenters of $\triangle{A_1'B_1'C_1'}$, $\triangle{A_2'B_2'C_2'}$, respectively.

Prove that:
1) $P$, $O_1$, $O_2$ are collinear if and only if $P$ lies on the Jerabek hyperbola of $\triangle{ABC}$.
2) $H$, $O_1$, $O_2$ are collinear if and only if $P$ lies on the Lemoine cubic (= $\text{K009}$) of $\triangle{ABC}$.
0 replies
kosmonauten3114
4 hours ago
0 replies
Incenter perpendiculars and angle congruences
math154   84
N 4 hours ago by zuat.e
Source: ELMO Shortlist 2012, G3
$ABC$ is a triangle with incenter $I$. The foot of the perpendicular from $I$ to $BC$ is $D$, and the foot of the perpendicular from $I$ to $AD$ is $P$. Prove that $\angle BPD = \angle DPC$.

Alex Zhu.
84 replies
math154
Jul 2, 2012
zuat.e
4 hours ago
Tangency of circles with "135 degree" angles
Shayan-TayefehIR   4
N 4 hours ago by Mysteriouxxx
Source: Iran Team selection test 2024 - P12
For a triangle $\triangle ABC$ with an obtuse angle $\angle A$ , let $E , F$ be feet of altitudes from $B , C$ on sides $AC , AB$ respectively. The tangents from $B , C$ to circumcircle of triangle $\triangle ABC$ intersect line $EF$ at points $K , L$ respectively and we know that $\angle CLB=135$. Point $R$ lies on segment $BK$ in such a way that $KR=KL$ and let $S$ be a point on line $BK$ such that $K$ is between $B , S$ and $\angle BLS=135$. Prove that the circle with diameter $RS$ is tangent to circumcircle of triangle $\triangle ABC$.

Proposed by Mehran Talaei
4 replies
Shayan-TayefehIR
May 19, 2024
Mysteriouxxx
4 hours ago
Quadratic residues in a given interval
cyshine   22
N Apr 26, 2025 by Ilikeminecraft
Source: Brazilian Math Olympiad, Problem 2
Find the number of integers $ c$ such that $ -2007 \leq c \leq 2007$ and there exists an integer $ x$ such that $ x^2 + c$ is a multiple of $ 2^{2007}$.
22 replies
cyshine
Nov 2, 2007
Ilikeminecraft
Apr 26, 2025
Quadratic residues in a given interval
G H J
Source: Brazilian Math Olympiad, Problem 2
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cyshine
236 posts
#1 • 2 Y
Y by Davi-8191, Adventure10
Find the number of integers $ c$ such that $ -2007 \leq c \leq 2007$ and there exists an integer $ x$ such that $ x^2 + c$ is a multiple of $ 2^{2007}$.
Z K Y
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TTsphn
1313 posts
#2 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Consider the quadric :
$ x^2\equiv c (\mod 2^k)$ where $ c \equiv 1 (\mod 2)$
If $ k\geq 3$ then the equation has solution if and only if :
$ c\equiv 1 (\mod 8)$
You can prove by induction.
Z K Y
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hjbrasch
428 posts
#3 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Clearly, $ c=0$ fulfills the property, so let $ c$ non-zero from now on. Write a candidate as $ c=2^{n}m$ with $ 0\leq n$ and an odd $ m\in\mathbb{Z}$. From $ |c|\leq 2007$ we get $ n\leq 10$ and from $ x^2\equiv-c\bmod{2^{2007}}$ we get $ n$ even, i.e. $ c=2^{2t}m$ with $ 0\leq t\leq 5$ and $ |m|\leq\frac{2007}{2^{2t}}$. Therefore, we have $ y^2=-m\bmod{2^{2007-2t}}$ with $ y=\frac{x}{2^t}$ odd.

In general, we observe $ (1+2x)^2=1+4x(x+1)\equiv 1\bmod{8}$ and for $ k\geq 3$ we have ${ ((\mathbb{Z}/2^k\mathbb{Z}})^*)^2\simeq ((\mathbb{Z}/2\mathbb{Z})\times (\mathbb{Z}/2^{k-2}\mathbb{Z}))^2\simeq \mathbb{Z}/2^{k-3}\mathbb{Z}$, i.e. $ y^2\equiv -m\bmod{2^{2007-2t}}\Longleftrightarrow m\equiv -1\bmod{8}$ and the solution set is

$ \{-1+8r|-250\leq r\leq 251\}\cup\\
\{-4+32r|-62\leq r\leq 62\}\cup\\
\{-16+128r|-15\leq r\leq 15\}\cup\\
\{-64+512r|-3\leq r\leq 4\}\cup\\
\{0,-256,-256+2048,-1024\}$
Z K Y
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Brazilian Guy
2 posts
#4 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
Counting all the solutions, we discover that there are $ 669$ solutions (if I'm not wrong). This number is exactely $ 2007/3$. Is there a simple way to discover that the answer is $ 2007/3$? Well, if we consider $ n=2007$ and we make $ n\longrightarrow \infty$, I think the number of solutions tend to $ \frac{1}{8}\cdot 2\cdot n(1+\frac{1}{4}+\frac{1}{16}+\frac{1}{64}+\cdots )=\frac{n}{3}$. Is this correct?
Z K Y
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cyshine
236 posts
#5 • 1 Y
Y by Adventure10
If I'm not mistaken, the answer is $ 670$. But you're right about it being roughly $ n/3$.

I'm curious about the general case, i.e., what are the $ p$-th power residues$ {}\bmod p^m$? That is, what are the numbers $ 0\leq c < p^m$ such that the congruence $ x^p \equiv c \pmod{p^m}$ has solution?

I know how to solve it for $ p = 3$. I didn't think about the other cases, though.
Z K Y
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littletush
761 posts
#6 • 2 Y
Y by Adventure10, Mango247
the general result:
$x^2$ can be congruent to any number congurent to $1$ modulo $8$.
it's not difficult to prove,by induction on $k$,where the modulo is $2^k$.
Z K Y
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AwesomeYRY
579 posts
#7 • 4 Y
Y by Mango247, Mango247, Mango247, endless_abyss
Lemma: Mod $2^n$, an odd number is a quadratic residue if and only if it is $\equiv 1 \pmod{8}$,
Proof: Firstly, this is necessary because $(2k+1)^2 = 4k(k+1)+1 \equiv 1 \pmod{8}$.

This is sufficient as well, we will show that there are at least $2^{n-3}$ distinct odd quadratic residues. Consider odds $x,y < 2^{n-2}$. I claim that $x^2\equiv y^2 \pmod{2^{n}} \Longrightarrow x\equiv y \pmod{2^n}$.

Consider two cases:

Case 1, $v_2(x-y)=1$,
\[v_2(x^2-y^2) = v_2(x-y)+v_2(x+y) < 1 + (n-1) = n, \text{ a fail }\]Case 2, $v_2(x+y)=1$, then we have $v_2(x-y)\geq n-1$, and $y-x < 2^{n-2} \Longrightarrow y\equiv x \pmod{2^n}$.

Since there are $2^{n-3}$ odds less than $2^{n-2}$, we are done $\square$.

We now answer extract.

Case 1: For odd c, we choose one of the 502 values
\[-2007,-1999,\ldots 1993, 2001\]
Case 2: For $2\mid x \Longrightarrow 4\mid x$, we scale down the range to [-501,501]. We then choose one of the 125 from
\[-495, -487, \ldots 489, 497\]
Case 3: For $4\mid x \Longrightarrow 16\mid x$, we scale down the c-range to [-125,125] and choose of the 31 values.
\[-119,-111,\ldots 113,121\]
Case 4: For $8\mid x \Longrightarrow 64\mid x$, we scale down the c-range to [-31,31]. From here we can choose any of 8 choices
\[-31, -23,-15,-7,1,9,17,25\]Next scale down brings us to [-7,7], from here we can choose four values, -7, 0,1,4.

Thus, in total we have 502+125+31+8+4=670 values of $c$ that work.
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IAmTheHazard
5005 posts
#8
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The key claim is the following characterization of quadratic residues modulo $2^n$:

Claim: For $n \geq 3$, if $\nu_2(a)\leq n-3$, $a$ is a nonzero quadratic residue modulo $2^n$ if and only if $\tfrac{a}{\nu_2(a)} \equiv 1 \pmod{8}$ and $\nu_2(a)$ is even.
Proof: I will first prove that if $a$ is odd, then $a$ is a quadratic residue modulo $2^n$ if and only if $a \equiv 1 \pmod{8}$. Note that if $a$ is a quadratic residue modulo $2^n$ for $n\geq 3$, it must be a quadratic residue modulo $8$ as well, so any odd quadratic residues mod $2^n$ must be 1 mod $8$. Thus, we only have to prove that every $a \equiv 1 \pmod{8}$ works. This is by induction on $n$, with the base case of $n=3$ being obvious.
I will prove that if $a$ is an odd quadratic residue $\pmod{2^n}$, then both $a$ and $a+2^n$ are quadratic residues $\pmod{2^{n+1}}$. Pick $x$ such that $x^2 \equiv a \pmod{2^n}$. Then mod $2^n$, we have $(2^{n-1}+x)^2 \equiv a \pmod{2^n}$, but $(2^{n-1}+x)^2 \not \equiv x^2 \pmod{2^{n+1}}$. Thus one of $x^2,(2^{n-1}+x)^2$ is $a$ mod $2^{n+1}$, and the other is $a+2^n$.
Now suppose $2^{k}b$ is a quadratic residue mod $2^n$. Clearly $k$ is even, so pick $y$ such that $(2^{k/2}y)^2 \equiv b \pmod{2^n}$, where $b$ is odd (and therefore $y$ is odd). Then $y^2 \equiv b \pmod{2^{n-k}}$. We have that $b$ is odd and $k \leq n-3$, $n-k \geq 3$, hence by the above result we require $b\equiv 1 \pmod{8}$. $\blacksquare$

It remains to perform the answer extraction, which we will do by considering $\nu_2(a)$. Letting $f(n)$ denote the number of integers in $[-n,n]$ which are $1 \pmod{8}$, we can find that the answer is $f(2007)+f(501)+f(125)+f(31)+f(7)+f(2)+1$, where the $+1$ at the end corresponds to $0$ working. It is easy to compute this quantity as $670$. $\blacksquare$
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HamstPan38825
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#9 • 1 Y
Y by Funcshun840
The key claim is the following:

Claim. All $a \equiv 1 \pmod 8$ are the only odd quadratic residues mod $2^n$ for any $n \geq 3$.

Proof. Obviously the condition is restrictive. To show that they all work, it suffices to show that there are $2^{n-3}$ quadratic residues mod $2^n$. But observe that the order of $5$ mod $2^n$ is $2^{n-2}$ by a simple LTE computation. Hence, all powers of this quasi-generator $5^{2a}$ for $0 \leq a < 2^{n-3}$ are distinct quadratic residues, which suffices. $\blacksquare$

Now for obvious reasons, $n$ is a quadratic residue if and only if $n = 2^k \cdot n'$ for $n' \equiv 1 \pmod 8$ and $k$ even. A computation yields the number of such numbers as $670$.
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pi271828
3372 posts
#10
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The problem is simply finding all QR's in between $-2007$ and $2007$. It suffices to find only the odds, because then we can just add an even power of $2$. We will prove that a odd number is a QR iff it is 1 $\pmod 8$ using induction. Notice that an odd QR must be $1 \pmod 8$. Assume that this is true for $2^n$. If $a$ is a QR $\pmod{2^n}$, let $x^2 \equiv a \pmod{2^n}$. This implies that $x^2 = a, a+2^n \pmod{2^{n+1}}$. Notice we only have to worry about the latter case. Assume that $x^2 = a+2^n$. Notice that now $(2^{n-1} - x)^2 = x^2 \pmod{2^n}$. If $(2^{n-1}-x)^2 = a \pmod{2^{n+1}}$, we are done with the induction. If $(2^{n-1}-x)^2 = a+2^n \pmod{2^{n+1}}$ which implies that $x$ is even, which is a contradiction. Now we know the answer is all numbers where the odd part is $1 \pmod 8$. The answer readily follows.
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huashiliao2020
1292 posts
#11
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Used 30% hint

It suffices to find the # of QR from -2007 to 2007 mod 2^2007. The key is to see that alll $a \equiv 1 \pmod 8$ are the only odd QR mod 2^n; this follows from knowing 1 mod 8 being the upper bound, and to show there are 2^{n-3} of these such QR, from computing using LTE, ord_{2^n}5=2^{n-2} this implies 5^{2k} has distinct QRs for $k\in[0,2^{n-3})\in\mathbb{Z}$, since if there were two equal values the sequence would be periodic, but any periodic sequence must go over 1, and yet 1 hasn't occurred yet, meaning they're distinct QRs.
It follows that n is a QR iff $n=2^{2i}j$ for $j\equiv1\pmod8$ as the general answer; in particular, computation gives the answer of 670.

Remark. This is indeed generalizable by the technique we used.
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by huashiliao2020, Sep 2, 2023, 5:31 AM
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john0512
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#12
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Claim: For $n\geq 3$, an odd positive integer $0\leq r\leq 2^n-1$ is a quadratic residue if and only if $r$ is 1 mod 8. The only if direction is trivial since the only odd quadratic residue mod 8 is 1.

For the other direction, use induction. This is clearly true for $n$ up to 4. Then, suppose that $$8a+1\equiv k^2\pmod{2^n}$$We claim that we either have $$8a+1\equiv k^2\pmod{2^{n+1}}$$or $$8a+1\equiv (2^{n-1}-k)^2\pmod{2^{n+1}}.$$Suppose that the first condition is NOT true. Then, we must have $$k^2\equiv 2^{n}+8a+1\pmod{2^{n+1}}.$$Thus, $$(2^{n-1}-k)^2\equiv 2^{2n-2}-k2^n+k^2$$$$\equiv 8a+1+2^n(1-k).$$Since $k$ is odd, this is just $8a+1$ mod $2^{n+1}$, hence proven.

Claim 2: Suppose that $1\leq r\leq 2^n-1$ is an even residue mod $n$. Then, $r$ is a quadratic residue if and only if the $v_2$ of $r$ is odd and the largest odd divisor of $r$ is a quadratic residue. Clearly, the $v_2$ being odd is necessary.

Let $r=2^{2k}q$, so $q$ is the odd part. Since $r$ and $q$ differ by a square factor, one is a quadratic residue if and only if the other is, hence shown.

Thus, the answer is simply 0 in addition to any residues whose $v_2$ is even and odd part is 1 mod 8. The answer is then $670.$
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dolphinday
1329 posts
#13
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This question is basically asking for the number of quadratic residues $2^{2007}$ that are between $-2007$ and $2007$.

Claim: A number is an odd QR of $2^n$ if and only if it is $\equiv 1\pmod{8}$.

Taking the square of $(2k + 1)$ we get $(4k(k + 1)) + 1$ which is obviously always $1\pmod{8}$.

Now to prove that all numbers $1\pmod{8}$ work, we can prove that there at least $2^{n-3}$ QRs $\pmod{2^n}$.

Since the order of $5\pmod{2^n}$ is $2^{n-2}$ by LTE, there are $2^{n-3}$ odd QRs that take the form $5^{2a}\pmod{2^{n}}$.

It is clear from here that all quadratic residues take the form $2^k$ multiplied by some number $1\pmod{8}$, or is equal to $0$.

Doing casework on $k$, there are $502 + 125 + 31 + 8 + 3 + 1 = 670$.
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OronSH
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#14
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First, if $c$ is odd then we will show that everything that works is $c \equiv -1 \pmod 8.$ Suppose $a^2 \equiv b^2 \pmod{2^{2007}}$ with $a,b$ odd. Then $(a+b)(a-b) \equiv 0 \pmod{2^{2007}},$ and since one of $a+b,a-b$ is $2 \pmod{4}$ we have either $a \equiv \pm b \pmod{2^{2006}}.$ Thus, all odds from $1$ to $2^{2005}-1$ have distinct residues, so there are at least $2^{2004}.$ However, notice that $a^2 \equiv 1 \pmod{8},$ so these $2^{2004}$ residues must precisely be the ones that are $1 \pmod{8}.$ Thus, we get that if $c$ is odd we have $x^2 \equiv -c \pmod{2^{2007}},$ so $c \equiv -1 \pmod 8$ and clearly these must all work.

Next if $c$ is even then we have $4 \mid c$ since we must have $4 \mid x^2.$ Then, letting $c_1=\frac c4$ and $x_1=\frac x2$ we get $2^{2005} \mid x_1^2+c_1.$ If $c_1$ is odd, then our argument from above still works since $2^{2005}$ is large enough, and if not, we just repeat this part.

Now for the answer extraction, we count the number of $c \equiv -1 \pmod 8$ from $-2007$ to $2007,$ then from $-501$ to $501,$ then from $-125$ to $125,$ then from $-31$ to $31,$ then from $-7$ to $7,$ then from $-1$ to $1,$ and finally add $1$ for $0.$ We get $502+125+31+8+2+1+1=670$ is the answer.
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Shreyasharma
684 posts
#15
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Hard.

The question is asking for how QR behave modulo $2^n$. The key idea is to notice that even and odd $x$ behave differently, and hence it makes sense to split into cases.

Claim: For odd $x$, if $x^2 \equiv c \pmod{2^n}$, then we have $c \equiv 1 \pmod{8}$.

Proof. Proceed with induction. The base cases of $k = \{1, 2, 3, 4\}$ are easily managed. Then assume the induction holds till some $n = k -1$. Then take some odd $x$. We are given that $x^2$ modulo $2^{k-1}$, is congruent to $1$ modulo $8$. Clearly then modulo $2^k$ we have $x^2$ leaves a residue of the form $(x^2 \text{ modulo } 2^{k-1}) + m2^{k-1}$ for some $m$. Now taking modulo $8$ we reach the claimed conclusion. $\blacksquare$

Thus we must necessarily have all QRs congruent to $1$ modulo $8$.

Claim: All $c$ congruent to $1$ modulo $8$ are QRs modulo $2^n$.

Proof. There are $2^{n-3}$ such $c$. It suffices to show that there are at least $2^{n-3}$ QRs generated by odd $x$, implying the claim. To see that this must hold note that we can take $5$ as a quasi generator, with order $2^{n-2}$. Then each $5^{2m}$ generates a distinct residue, produced by some odd $x = 5^m$. $\blacksquare$

Now for even $c$, note that as $4 \mid x^2$ we must have $4 \mid c$. Now do casework on $\frac{c}{4}$. If we have $\frac{c}{4}$ is even then we reduce it by a factor of $4$ once more, else we can compute the number of odd residues modulo $2^{n-2}$. In this way we can recurse to find, the number of odd QR's modulo $2^{n}$ is given by the sum of odd QRs congruent to $1$ modulo $8$ for $2^{n-2}$, $2^{n-4}$ and so on.

Now to answer extract there are exactly $502 + 125 + 31 + 8 + 3 + 1 = \boxed{670}$ QRs in the given range.
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peppapig_
280 posts
#16 • 1 Y
Y by dolphinday
I claim that there are $670$ possible values of $c$. Note that the problem is simply asking for all values $c$ such that $-c$ is a possible quadratic residue mod $2^{2007}$. Using this, we will solve the problem as follows.

1. For every quadratic residue $p\equiv x^2 \mod 2^{2007}$ such that $p<2^{2007}$, $\nu_2(p)$ is even.
In order to prove this, suppose that $\nu_2(x)=k$ and let $x=(2^k)q$, where $q$ is odd. If we square $x$, we get $(2^{2k})q^2$. We now have a few cases.

If $2k<2007$, then in order to get the quadratic residue value $p$, we would have to subtract some nonnegative number of $2^{2007}$'s. If $x^2$ is already less than $2^{2007}$, then $\nu_2(p)=2k$, proving our claim. If $x^2$ is greater than $2^{2007}$, note that then $x^2-2^{2007}n$ for any positive integer $n$ would be $(2^{2k})(q^2-2^{2007-2k}n)$, and since $2k<2007$, this implies that $q^2-2^{2007-2k}n$ is odd. This gives that $\nu_2(p)=2k$, proving our claim.

Finally, if $2k>2007$, $p$ is simply $0$, which is even. Therefore, if $p<2^{2007}$ is a quadratic residue of $2^{2007}$, then $\nu_2(p)$ must be even.

2. Every odd quadratic residue $p<2^{2007}$ is $1$ mod $8$.
Note that all squares are $1$ mod $8$ and $2^{2007}$ is a multiple of $8$, proving our claim.

3. Every odd $p<2^{2007}$ such that $p\equiv 1 \mod 8$ is a quadratic residue mod $2^{2007}$.
We can prove this by proving that by squaring the odd numbers from $1$ to $2^{2005}-1$, inclusive, we get $2^{2004}$ different modulos mod $2^{2007}$. We can prove this through contradiction.

Assume for the sake of contradiction, for distinct odd integers $x\neq y$ and $x,y<2^{2005}$, $x^2\equiv y^2$ mod $2^{2007}$. This would mean that
\[x^2-y^2=(x-y)(x+y)\equiv 0 \mod 2^{2007}.\]Since $x$ and $y$ are both odd, one of $(x+y)$ and $(x-y)$ must be $2$ mod $4$ while the other is $0$ mod $4$ (this can be proved by taking cases mod $4$). However, note that since $x,y<2^{2005}$, we have that $\max(\nu_2(x+y))+1=2006$ and $\max(\nu_2(x-y))+1=2005$, meaning that $\max(\nu_2((x+y)(x-y)))=2006$, which is less than $2007$, a contradiction. Therefore every odd $p<2^{2007}$ such that $p\equiv 1 \mod 8$ is a quadratic residue mod $2^{2007}$.

4. For some integer $p<2^{2007}$ such that $\nu_2(p)=2k$ and $p=2^{2k}q$, $p$ is a quadratic residue mod $2^{2007}$ if and only if $q$ is $1$ mod $8$.
Note that since $p<2^{2007}$, we have that $2^{2k}<2^{2007}$ and therefore $2^{2k}\mid2^{2007}$. Using this, we realize that if $x^2\equiv p \mod 2^{2007}$, then we must have that $\nu_2(x)=k$. Letting $x=2^ky$ for some odd integer $y$, we get that
\[2^{2k}q=p\equiv x^2\equiv2^{2k}y^2\mod2^{2007}\iff q\equiv y^2\mod2^{2007-2k}.\]We now take this in cases. Clearly, if $2k\leq 2004$, the equation is equivalent to $q$ being equivalent to $y^2$ mod some multiple of $8$. Since $y^2$ is odd, it must be $1$ mod $8$, implying that $q$ is $1$ mod $8$, proving our claim. Otherwise, if $2k=2006$, we have that since $p<2^{2007}$, $q$ must be $1$ mod $8$, proving our claim. Therefore, for some integer $p<2^{2007}$ such that $\nu_2(p)=2k$ and $p=2^{2k}q$, if $p$ is a quadratic residue mod $2^{2007}$, then $q$ is $1$ mod $8$.

Now for the other direction, note that since $q$ is $1$ mod $8$, there exists an integer $y$ such that $y^2\equiv q\mod 2^{2007}$ by (3). Using this, note that
\[(2^ky)^2\equiv (2^{2k})y^2\equiv 2^{2k}q \equiv p \mod 2^{2007},\]meaning that $p$ is a quadratic residue mod $2^{2007}$, finishing our claim.

5. Finishing.
Combining the last four claims, we see that the only $c$ satisfies the problem conditions if and only if the power of $2$ factor of $-c$ mod $2^{2007}$ has an even exponent and the odd factor is $1$ mod $8$. Using this and taking cases by $\nu_2(-c)$, we get a total of $503+125+31+8+2+1$, or $670$ possible values for $c$, finishing the problem.
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by peppapig_, Mar 13, 2024, 3:40 PM
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AlanLG
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#17
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:coolspeak: Claim. the odd quadractic residues$\pmod {2^k}$ are the $1\pmod 8$

Every odd square $\pmod {2^k}$ is $1\pmod 8$
This clearly true; note that there are $2^{k-3}$ numbers that are $1\pmod 8$, so there are at most $2^{k-3}$ quadratic residues

Every $1\pmod 8$ is a odd square
We first gonna prove that $\operatorname{ord}_{2^k}(5)=2^{k-2}$, this follows by LTE as
$$k=\nu_2(5^{\operatorname{ord}{2^k}(5)}-1)=\nu_2(5-1)+\nu_2(5+1)+\nu_2(\operatorname{ord}{2^k}(5))-1$$The even power of $5$ covers all the numbers $1\pmod 8$, then there are at least $\frac{\operatorname{ord}_{2^k}(5)}{2}=2^{k-3}$ $\text{distinct}$ quadratic residues.
So this two sets are the same, as desired.

Now, we want to count all quadratic residues, which are equivalent to all $x$ with $\nu_2(x)$ even and with odd part being $1\pmod 8$ some computation gives the answer is $670$.
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joshualiu315
2534 posts
#18
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Rephrase the problem as follows. Find the quadratic residues of $2^{2007}$.

We will find a general form for $2^n$: realize that we only need to compute odd quadratic residues, as we can tack on $2^{2k}$ onto any given odd quadratic residue to create an even one.


Claim 1: All odd quadratic residues $c$ must satsify $c \equiv 1 \pmod{8}$.

Proof: Let $x=2k+1$. We have

\[x^2 = (2k+1)^2 = 4k(k+1)+1 \equiv c \equiv 1 \pmod{8},\]
as desired. $\square$


Claim 2: All numbers $c \equiv 1 \pmod{8}$ are odd quadratic residues.

Proof: We will use $5$ as a generator. Let $o$ be the order of $5$ modulo $2^n$. Then,

\[5^o - 1 \equiv 0 \pmod{2^n} \iff \nu_2(5^o-1) \ge n.\]
Lifting the Exponent gives

\[\nu_2(5^o-1) = \nu_2(5-1) + \nu_2(o) \ge n \implies o = 2^{n-2}.\]
This means that every $5^{2a}$ generates a unique quadratic residue, and there are at least $2^{n-3}$ of them. $\square$

Remark: LTE applies here for $p=2$ since the condition $4 \mid x-y$ is satisfied.


At this point, casework on the number of appended powers of $2$ yields $\boxed{670}$ as our answer.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by joshualiu315, Feb 12, 2024, 8:14 PM
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shendrew7
799 posts
#19
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We first note that an odd integer is a quadratic residue modulo $2^n$ (where $n \ge 3$) iff it is $1 \pmod 8$. This follows by induction - if there exists a value of $x=k$ with $x^2 \equiv m \pmod{2^n}$, we use $x=k+2^n$ and $x=k+2^{n-1}$ to generate the residues $m$ and $m+2^n$. Also notice that a residue modulo $2^{n+1}$ must be a residue modulo $2^n$, so we cannot gain new residues.

Now we investigate the case when $c$ is even. If $v_2(c)$ is odd, then $v_2(x^2+c)$ is bounded as we won't have $v_2(x^2) = v_2(c)$. Otherwise, we let $x=2^{v_2(c)/2} \cdot y$ to get
\[2^{2007} \mid x^2+c = 2^{v_2(c)}(y^2 + o),\]
where $o$ now must be odd, so $o \equiv 7 \pmod 8$. In conclusion, $c$ must be of the form $(8i+7) \cdot 2^{2j}$ or 0, giving us $\boxed{670}$ possibilities. $\blacksquare$
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megarnie
5611 posts
#20 • 1 Y
Y by MS_asdfgzxcvb
Solved a while ago but forgot to post

Claim: For any positive integer $n\ge 3$, a positive integer $r<2^n$ is a quadratic residue $\pmod{2^n}$, iff $r\equiv 1\pmod 8$.
Proof: Clearly if $r\not\equiv 1\pmod 8$, then any positive integer $r\pmod{2^n}$ is not $1\pmod 8$ and thus cant be perfect square. So $r\equiv 1\pmod 8$.

Now we show that there are exactly $2^{n-3}$ odd quadratic residues $\pmod{2^n}$. Clearly there must be at most $\frac{2^n }{8} = 2^{n-3}$ of them.

Suppose odd $1\le a,b< 2^{n-2}$ satisfy $a^2 \equiv b^2 \pmod{2^n}$, and $a\ne b$.

Then we have \[n\le \nu_2(a^2 - b^2) = \nu_2(a-b) + \nu_2(a+b)\]Now, $a-b$ and $a+b$ have a difference of $2b$, so exactly one of them is not a multiple of $4$. Thus either $2^{n-1}\mid a-b$ or $2^{n-1}\mid a+b$, both of which are absurd.

There are exactly $2^{n-3}$ odd numbers between $1$ and $2^{n-2}$, so we have exactly $2^{n-3}$ odd QRs $\pmod{2^n}$. This proves that everything $1\pmod 8$ is a QR $\pmod{2^n}$. $\square$

Thus, if $m = 2^k \cdot t$, where $t$ is odd, then $m$ is a QR iff $k$ is even and $t\equiv 1\pmod 8$.


Now we answer extract, where $n=2007$. The problem condition is equivalent to $x=-c$ being a QR $\pmod{2^{2007}}$, where $-2007\le x\le 2007$.

Let $f(x) = \frac{x}{\nu_2(x)}$.

If $\nu_2(x) = 0$, then we have $f(x)\in \{-2007, -1999, \ldots, 2001\}$, which is in total $502$ numbers.

If $\nu_2(x) = 2$, then we have $f(x)\in \{-495, -487, \ldots, 497\}$, which is in total $125$ numbers.

If $\nu_2(x) = 4$, then we have $f(x)\in \{-119, -111, \ldots, 121\}$, which is in total $31$ numbers.

If $\nu_2(x) = 6$, then we have $f(x)\in \{-31, -23, \ldots, 25\}$, which is in total $8$ numbers.

If $\nu_2(x) = 8$, then we have $f(x)\in \{-7,1\}$, which is in total $2$ numbers.

If $\nu_2(x) = 10$, then we have $f(x) = 1$.

Clearly if $x\ne 0$, $\nu_2(x) > 10 $ is not possible.

If $x=0$, then we have $1$ value of $x$.

Counting up, the answer is \[502 + 125 + 31 + 8 + 2 + 1 + 1 = \boxed{670}\]
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ihategeo_1969
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#21
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Main Claim: For $n \ge 3$, we have $a$ is an odd QR $\bmod$ ${2^n}$ iff $a \equiv 1 \pmod 8$.
Proof: One direction is obvious as $1$ i only odd QR $\bmod 8$. For the other direction see that if $x$, $y$ odd then \[x^2 \equiv y^2 \pmod {2^n} \iff x \equiv \pm y \pmod {2^{n-1}}\]See that this gives us that there exactly $2^{n-3}$ odd QRs, which means all $1 \pmod 8$ numbers are QRs. $\square$

Let $2^rb$ is a QR where $b$ is odd, then it is equivalent that $b \equiv 1 \pmod 8$ and $r$ is even.

Now do a little computation and see that answer is $\boxed{670}$.
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cursed_tangent1434
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#22
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We claim that the answer is $\boxed{670}$ which is the number of integers of the form $2^{2r}\cdot a$ for some non-negative integer $r$ and $a \equiv 7 \pmod{8}$ (or $a=0$). We shall first show that all $c$ for which such an integer $x$ exists must be of the prescribed form.

If $c=0$ it is clear that $x=2^{1004}$ satisfies the desired constraints so in what follows we consider $c \ne 0$. Further, if $\nu_2(c)$ is odd it is clear that $\nu_2(x^2) \ne \nu_2(c)$ so
\[\nu_2(x^2+c) = \min(2\nu_2(x),\nu_2(c)) \le \nu_2(c) < 2007\]since $|c| \le 2007 < 2^{2007}$. This is a clear contradiction which implies that $\nu_2(c)$ is even. Thus, $c$ must be of the form $2^{2r}a$ for some odd integer $a$.

Now, as noted before if $\nu_2(x^2) \ne \nu_2(c)$ we have a contradiction so this implies that $\nu_2(x)=r$. So we can write $x^2=2^{2r}y^2$ for some odd integer $y$. Plugging this expressions into the desired divisibility we have,
\[2^{2007} \mid x^2+c=2^{2r}(y^2+a)\]so we have that $2^{1997}\mid2^{2007-2r} \mid y^2+a$ as $r \le 10$ since $|c| \le 2007$.

Now, note that $a \not \equiv 1 \pmod{4}$ since then $y^2+t \in \{2,3\} \pmod{4}$ which implies that the right-hand side is not even divisible by 4. Thus, we must have $a \equiv 3 \pmod{4}$ and we can write $a=4k+s$ for some integer $k$. Further, we can write $y=2z+1$ for some integer $z$. Plugging this relations into the given divisibility we have,
\[2^{1997} \mid y^2+a=(2z+1)^2+(4k+3) = 4(z(z+1)+k+1) \]which implies that $k$ must be odd. Thus, $a=4k+3=4(2l+1)+3=8l+7$ which implies that $a \equiv 7 \pmod{8}$ as desired.

We now show that all integers $c$ of the aforementioned forms indeed do satisfy the given condition. We do this via induction, showing that there exists a positive integer $x_i$ such that $2^{i+2}\mid x_i^2 + c$ for each odd $c \equiv 7 \pmod{8}$ for all $i\ge 1$ which solves the problem.

The base case is immediate since $x_1=1$ makes $x_1^2+c = c+1 \equiv 0 \pmod{8}$. Now, say there exists some positive integer $x_i$ such that $2^{i+2}\mid x_i^2 + c$ for some $i \ge 1$. Now, if $2^{i+3}\mid x_i^2 + c$ we let $x_{i+1}=x_i$. Else, let $x_{i+1}=x_i+2^{i}$. Note,
\[x_{i+1}^2 +c = (x_i+2^{i+1})^2 +c = (x_i^2+c) + 2^{i+2}+2^{2i+2} \equiv (x_i^2+c) + 2^{i+2} \pmod{2^{i+3}}\]since $2i+2 \ge i+3$ for all $i \ge 1$. Now, since $2^{i+2}\mid x_i^2 + c$ but $2^{i+3}\nmid x_i^2 + c$ we have that $x_i^2 + c \equiv 2^{i+2} \pmod{2^{i+3}}$ which implies that $2^{i+3}\mid x_{i+1}^2 + c$ as desired. This completes the induction, and we are done.
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Ilikeminecraft
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We are computing when $-c$ is a quadratic residue modulo $2^{2007}.$ We will look at modulo $2^n.$ I claim that the odd quadratic residues modulo are values $k\equiv1\pmod8.$

We prove this with induction. For the first 3 powers, this is trivially true. Assume that if $n\leq k,$ these are the only odd quadratic residues. Assume $k\geq2$

For $n = k + 1,$ we have that any value that is $3, 5, 7\pmod8$ aren't a perfect square. Let $a \equiv 1\pmod 8.$ Let $a\equiv l^2\pmod{2^k}.$ We have that:
\begin{itemize}
\item $(l + 2^{k})^2 \equiv l^2 + l2^{k + 1} + 2^{2k}\equiv l^2\pmod{2^{k + 1}}$
\item $(l + 2^{k - 1})^2 \equiv l^2 + 2^kl + 2^{2k - 2}.$ However, since $2k - 2 \geq k + 1,$ $(l + 2^{k - 1})^2 \equiv l^2 + 2^k \equiv a\pmod{2^{k + 1}}$
\end{itemize}
Thus, $2^{2k}q$ are all quadratic residues, where $k\in\mathbb N, q\equiv1\pmod8.$ If $k = 0,$ the solves are $\{-2007, \ldots, 2001\},$ with $502$ solutions. If $k = 1,$ the solves are $125.$ By continuing, the answer is $502 + 125 + 31 + 8 + 2 + 1 + 1 = \boxed{670}$
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