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k a May Highlights and 2025 AoPS Online Class Information
jlacosta   0
May 1, 2025
May is an exciting month! National MATHCOUNTS is the second week of May in Washington D.C. and our Founder, Richard Rusczyk will be presenting a seminar, Preparing Strong Math Students for College and Careers, on May 11th.

Are you interested in working towards MATHCOUNTS and don’t know where to start? We have you covered! If you have taken Prealgebra, then you are ready for MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Basics. Already aiming for State or National MATHCOUNTS and harder AMC 8 problems? Then our MATHCOUNTS/AMC 8 Advanced course is for you.

Summer camps are starting next 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 an enriching 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][*]May 9th, 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, Casework 2: Overwhelming Evidence — A Text Adventure, a game where participants will work together to navigate the map, solve puzzles, and win! All are welcome.
[*]May 19th, 4:30pm PT/7:30pm ET, What's Next After Beast Academy?, designed for students finishing Beast Academy and ready for Prealgebra 1.
[*]May 20th, 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Mathcamp 2025 Qualifying Quiz Part 1 Math Jam, Problems 1 to 4, join the Canada/USA Mathcamp staff for this exciting Math Jam, where they discuss solutions to Problems 1 to 4 of the 2025 Mathcamp Qualifying Quiz!
[*]May 21st, 4:00pm PT/7:00pm ET, Mathcamp 2025 Qualifying Quiz Part 2 Math Jam, Problems 5 and 6, Canada/USA Mathcamp staff will discuss solutions to Problems 5 and 6 of the 2025 Mathcamp Qualifying Quiz![/list]
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0 replies
jlacosta
May 1, 2025
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
Non-homogenous Inequality
Adywastaken   7
N 8 minutes ago by ehuseyinyigit
Source: NMTC 2024/7
$a, b, c\in \mathbb{R_{+}}$ such that $ab+bc+ca=3abc$. Show that $a^2b+b^2c+c^2a \ge 2(a+b+c)-3$. When will equality hold?
7 replies
Adywastaken
3 hours ago
ehuseyinyigit
8 minutes ago
FE with devisibility
fadhool   2
N 9 minutes ago by ATM_
if when i solve an fe that is defined in the set of positive integer i found m|f(m) can i set f(m) =km such that k is not constant and of course it depends on m but after some work i find k=c st c is constant is this correct
2 replies
fadhool
2 hours ago
ATM_
9 minutes ago
Japan MO Finals 2023
parkjungmin   2
N 15 minutes ago by parkjungmin
It's hard. Help me
2 replies
parkjungmin
Yesterday at 2:35 PM
parkjungmin
15 minutes ago
Iranian geometry configuration
Assassino9931   2
N 19 minutes ago by Captainscrubz
Source: Al-Khwarizmi Junior International Olympiad 2025 P7
Let $ABCD$ be a cyclic quadrilateral with circumcenter $O$, such that $CD$ is not a diameter of its circumcircle. The lines $AD$ and $BC$ intersect at point $P$, so that $A$ lies between $D$ and $P$, and $B$ lies between $C$ and $P$. Suppose triangle $PCD$ is acute and let $H$ be its orthocenter. The points $E$ and $F$ on the lines $BC$ and $AD$, respectively, are such that $BD \parallel HE$ and $AC\parallel HF$. The line through $E$, perpendicular to $BC$, intersects $AD$ at $L$, and the line through $F$, perpendicular to $AD$, intersects $BC$ at $K$. Prove that the points $K$, $L$, $O$ are collinear.

Amir Parsa Hosseini Nayeri, Iran
2 replies
Assassino9931
Today at 9:39 AM
Captainscrubz
19 minutes ago
f(m + n) >= f(m) + f(f(n)) - 1
orl   30
N an hour ago by ezpotd
Source: IMO Shortlist 2007, A2, AIMO 2008, TST 2, P1, Ukrainian TST 2008 Problem 8
Consider those functions $ f: \mathbb{N} \mapsto \mathbb{N}$ which satisfy the condition
\[ f(m + n) \geq f(m) + f(f(n)) - 1
\]
for all $ m,n \in \mathbb{N}.$ Find all possible values of $ f(2007).$

Author: Nikolai Nikolov, Bulgaria
30 replies
orl
Jul 13, 2008
ezpotd
an hour ago
Classic Diophantine
Adywastaken   3
N an hour ago by Adywastaken
Source: NMTC 2024/6
Find all natural number solutions to $3^x-5^y=z^2$.
3 replies
Adywastaken
3 hours ago
Adywastaken
an hour ago
Add d or Divide by a
MarkBcc168   25
N 2 hours ago by Entei
Source: ISL 2022 N3
Let $a > 1$ be a positive integer and $d > 1$ be a positive integer coprime to $a$. Let $x_1=1$, and for $k\geq 1$, define
$$x_{k+1} = \begin{cases}
x_k + d &\text{if } a \text{ does not divide } x_k \\
x_k/a & \text{if } a \text{ divides } x_k
\end{cases}$$Find, in terms of $a$ and $d$, the greatest positive integer $n$ for which there exists an index $k$ such that $x_k$ is divisible by $a^n$.
25 replies
MarkBcc168
Jul 9, 2023
Entei
2 hours ago
Alice and Bob play, 8x8 table, white red black, minimum n for victory
parmenides51   14
N 2 hours ago by Ilikeminecraft
Source: JBMO Shortlist 2018 C3
The cells of a $8 \times 8$ table are initially white. Alice and Bob play a game. First Alice paints $n$ of the fields in red. Then Bob chooses $4$ rows and $4$ columns from the table and paints all fields in them in black. Alice wins if there is at least one red field left. Find the least value of $n$ such that Alice can win the game no matter how Bob plays.
14 replies
parmenides51
Jul 22, 2019
Ilikeminecraft
2 hours ago
GEOMETRY GEOMETRY GEOMETRY
Kagebaka   71
N 2 hours ago by bin_sherlo
Source: IMO 2021/3
Let $D$ be an interior point of the acute triangle $ABC$ with $AB > AC$ so that $\angle DAB = \angle CAD.$ The point $E$ on the segment $AC$ satisfies $\angle ADE =\angle BCD,$ the point $F$ on the segment $AB$ satisfies $\angle FDA =\angle DBC,$ and the point $X$ on the line $AC$ satisfies $CX = BX.$ Let $O_1$ and $O_2$ be the circumcenters of the triangles $ADC$ and $EXD,$ respectively. Prove that the lines $BC, EF,$ and $O_1O_2$ are concurrent.
71 replies
Kagebaka
Jul 20, 2021
bin_sherlo
2 hours ago
Equation of integers
jgnr   3
N 2 hours ago by KTYC
Source: Indonesia Mathematics Olympiad 2005 Day 1 Problem 2
For an arbitrary positive integer $ n$, define $ p(n)$ as the product of the digits of $ n$ (in decimal). Find all positive integers $ n$ such that $ 11p(n)=n^2-2005$.
3 replies
jgnr
Jun 2, 2008
KTYC
2 hours ago
Divisibility..
Sadigly   4
N 2 hours ago by Solar Plexsus
Source: another version of azerbaijan nmo 2025
Just ignore this
4 replies
Sadigly
Yesterday at 7:37 AM
Solar Plexsus
2 hours ago
Surjective number theoretic functional equation
snap7822   3
N 2 hours ago by internationalnick123456
Source: 2025 Taiwan TST Round 3 Independent Study 2-N
Let $f:\mathbb{N} \rightarrow \mathbb{N}$ be a function satisfying the following conditions:
[list=i]
[*] For all $m, n \in \mathbb{N}$, if $m > n$ and $f(m) > f(n)$, then $f(m-n) = f(n)$;
[*] $f$ is surjective.
[/list]
Find the maximum possible value of $f(2025)$.

Proposed by snap7822
3 replies
snap7822
May 1, 2025
internationalnick123456
2 hours ago
Many Equal Sides
mathisreal   3
N 3 hours ago by QueenArwen
Source: Brazil EGMO TST 2023 #1
Let $ABC$ be a triangle with $BA=BC$ and $\angle ABC=90^{\circ}$. Let $D$ and $E$ be the midpoints of $CA$ and $BA$ respectively. The point $F$ is inside of $\triangle ABC$ such that $\triangle DEF$ is equilateral. Let $X=BF\cap AC$ and $Y=AF\cap DB$. Prove that $DX=YD$.
3 replies
mathisreal
Nov 10, 2022
QueenArwen
3 hours ago
LOTS of recurrence!
SatisfiedMagma   4
N 3 hours ago by Reacheddreams
Source: Indian Statistical Institute Entrance UGB 2023/5
There is a rectangular plot of size $1 \times n$. This has to be covered by three types of tiles - red, blue and black. The red tiles are of size $1 \times 1$, the blue tiles are of size $1 \times 1$ and the black tiles are of size $1 \times 2$. Let $t_n$ denote the number of ways this can be done. For example, clearly $t_1 = 2$ because we can have either a red or a blue tile. Also $t_2 = 5$ since we could have tiled the plot as: two red tiles, two blue tiles, a red tile on the left and a blue tile on the right, a blue tile on the left and a red tile on the right, or a single black tile.

[list=a]
[*]Prove that $t_{2n+1} = t_n(t_{n-1} + t_{n+1})$ for all $n > 1$.

[*]Prove that $t_n = \sum_{d \ge 0} \binom{n-d}{d}2^{n-2d}$ for all $n >0$.
[/list]
Here,
\[ \binom{m}{r} = \begin{cases}
\dfrac{m!}{r!(m-r)!}, &\text{ if $0 \le r \le m$,} \\
0, &\text{ otherwise}
\end{cases}\]for integers $m,r$.
4 replies
SatisfiedMagma
May 14, 2023
Reacheddreams
3 hours ago
All prime factors under 8
qwedsazxc   23
N Apr 22, 2025 by Giant_PT
Source: 2023 KMO Final Round Day 2 Problem 4
Find all positive integers $n$ satisfying the following.
$$2^n-1 \text{ doesn't have a prime factor larger than } 7$$
23 replies
qwedsazxc
Mar 26, 2023
Giant_PT
Apr 22, 2025
All prime factors under 8
G H J
G H BBookmark kLocked kLocked NReply
Source: 2023 KMO Final Round Day 2 Problem 4
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qwedsazxc
167 posts
#1 • 1 Y
Y by DEKT
Find all positive integers $n$ satisfying the following.
$$2^n-1 \text{ doesn't have a prime factor larger than } 7$$
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by qwedsazxc, Mar 26, 2023, 6:56 AM
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seojun8978
73 posts
#2
Y by
I took the test and I solved this problem. It needs some long calculations but they are not that hard. The answer seems to be 1,2,3,4,6
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Tintarn
9042 posts
#3 • 4 Y
Y by seojun8978, rightways, ljwn357, Assassino9931
Solution
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by Tintarn, Mar 26, 2023, 7:00 AM
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seojun8978
73 posts
#4 • 1 Y
Y by Tintarn
Tintarn wrote:
Solution
Nice Solution!! It's like 20 times shorter than my solution.
But.. Do you mean except?(expect)
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qwedsazxc
167 posts
#5
Y by
This was the easiest one on the test, probably everyone solved this.
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seojun8978
73 posts
#6 • 1 Y
Y by GuvercinciHoca
qwedsazxc wrote:
This was the easiest one on the test, probably everyone solved this.

Yes it's true. This would have been easier than geometry if there was one.
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Seungjun_Lee
526 posts
#7
Y by
seojun8978 wrote:
qwedsazxc wrote:
This was the easiest one on the test, probably everyone solved this.

Yes it's true. This would have been easier than geometry if there was one.

I think the geometry problem was as easy as this and maybe a little easier(on day 1)
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by Seungjun_Lee, Mar 26, 2023, 1:51 PM
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pokmui9909
185 posts
#8
Y by
I'm very curious about the prize cut. I heard there are a lot of participants who solved $4, 5$ problems.
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Seungjun_Lee
526 posts
#9
Y by
pokmui9909 wrote:
I'm very curious about the prize cut. I heard there are a lot of participants who solved $4, 5$ problems.

I did not take the test but it seems that 2 problems are given
Maybe really perfect 2problems or just 3problems will be honorable mention award
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IAmTheHazard
5001 posts
#10 • 2 Y
Y by megarnie, centslordm
Trivial by Zsigmondy
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Tintarn
9042 posts
#11
Y by
IAmTheHazard wrote:
Trivial by Zsigmondy
I agree that the problem is trivial and my first thought when I saw the problem was also Zsigmondy, but now I am quite certain that there is no detailed solution with Zsigmondy that is shorter than my elementary one in #3. (After all, there is no way around checking the small cases.)
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by Tintarn, Mar 26, 2023, 5:14 PM
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rightways
868 posts
#12
Y by
$Lemma:$

If $n>1$, then the greatest prime divisor of $2^n-1$ is greater than the greatest prime divisor of $n$.

Proof:

Let $p|n$ is greatest prime divisor of $n$, then for some prime $q$:
$q|2^p-1|2^n-1$, then $q>p$ because $p=ord_2(q)$. But $q$ is also a divisor of $2^n-1$, so it is not greater than gpd of $2^n-1$.

Now, in problem, by lemma we have that $7$ is greater than any prime divisor of $n$ , so we can write $n=2^a3^b5^c$ and we can easily finish problem by proving this $c<1$ and $b<2$ and $a<3$
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rightways
868 posts
#13
Y by
Can you post KJMO day 2 problems?
qwedsazxc wrote:
Find all positive integers $n$ satisfying the following.
$$2^n-1 \text{ doesn't have a prime factor larger than } 7$$
Z K Y
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qwedsazxc
167 posts
#14
Y by
rightways wrote:
Can you post KJMO day 2 problems?
qwedsazxc wrote:
Find all positive integers $n$ satisfying the following.
$$2^n-1 \text{ doesn't have a prime factor larger than } 7$$

There isn't a KJMO day 2. Final KMO contestants are picked from the people who excelled KMO 2nd round or KJMO 2nd round. I had the chance to take the Final KMO because I got a silver award from the KJMO I took on November 2022.
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hectorleo123
344 posts
#15
Y by
qwedsazxc wrote:
Find all positive integers $n$ satisfying the following.
$$2^n-1 \text{ doesn't have a prime factor larger than } 7$$
$2^2-1=2$
$2^3-1=7$
$2^4-1=3\times 5$
$gcd(2,1)=1$
By Zsigmondy's Theorem:
$\Rightarrow \exists$ prime $p \neq 2,3,5,7 / p|2^n-1, \forall n>4$
$\Rightarrow n\le 4$
But there is an exception $n=6$
$\Rightarrow n=1,2,3,4$ and $6$ are the only values that satisfy the condition $_\blacksquare$
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by hectorleo123, May 19, 2023, 1:48 AM
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Aiden-1089
285 posts
#16
Y by
It is easy to check that $n=1,2,3,4,6$ works. We claim that these are the only solutions.
Clearly $2 \nmid 2^n-1$. By Zsigmondy's theorem, any other $n$ would lead to $2^n-1$ having a prime divisor $p$ where $p \neq 3$ (because $3 \mid 2^2-1$), $5$ (because $5 \mid 2^4-1$), $7$ (because $7 \mid 2^3-1$). Since $p>7$, $n$ does not satisfy the condition.
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by Aiden-1089, Mar 26, 2024, 4:32 AM
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cursed_tangent1434
625 posts
#17 • 1 Y
Y by GeoKing
Me when this actually appeared on our National Olympiad. We claim that the only answers are $2,3,4$ and $6$. It is easy to see that these solutions indeed work. Now, we show that there are no other solutions.

We use the well known lemma that for all $d\mid n$ for positive integers $n$,
\[a^d - b^d \mid a^n - b^n\]for all positive integers $a,b$ extensively through out this solution. We first constrict the divisors of $n$.

Claim : There exists no prime divisor $p >3$ of $n$.
Proof : Say there exists such a prime factor $p$ of $n$. Then,
\[2^p -1 \mid 2^n-1\]and since $2^n-1$ has no prime factor larger than 7, this implies that $2^p-1$ also satisfies the same property. But, it is easy to see that $2 \nmid 2^n-1$ for any $n$, $3\mid 2^n-1$ only for even $n$, $5\mid 2^n-1$ only for $4\mid n$ and $7\mid 2^n-1$ only for $3\mid n$. Since $p>3$, this means that none of these prime factors can divide $2^p-1$ implying that it has a prime factor larger than 7, which is a clear contradiction. This proves the claim.

Now, we also note that,
\[2^8-1 = 255=3 \times 5 \times 17\]so, $8 \nmid n$ (since then $17 \mid 2^n-1$), and also
\[2^9 -1 = 511 = 7 \times 73\]so $9 \nmid n$ as well. This implies that $12 \mid n$ so $n \in \{1,2,3,4,6,12\}$. Now, we can simply check all these possibilities and see that they all work except for $1$ (which we exclude for conventional reasons) and $12$ (which we exclude since $2^{12}-1= 3^2 \times 5 \times 7 \times 13$ so $13$ is a prime factor), which implies that the solution set is indeed as claimed.
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kub-inst
31 posts
#18
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If $n$ satisfies the limit, then we can let $2^n-1=3^a\cdot 5^b\cdot 7^c$
Since$$3||(2^2-1),$$$$5||(2^4-1),$$$$7||(2^3-1)$$Then through LTE we can know that :
If $2|n,a=v_3(2^n-1)=v_3(\frac n2)+1\leq \log_3\frac n2+1.$
If $4|n,b=v_5(2^n-1)=v_5(\frac n4)+1\leq \log_5\frac n4+1.$
If $3|n,c=v_7(2^n-1)=v_7(\frac n3)+1\leq \log_7\frac n3+1.$
Hence, $$2^n-1=3^a\cdot 5^b\cdot 7^c\leq 3^{\log_3\frac n2+1}\cdot 5^{\log_5\frac n4+1}\cdot 7^{\log_7\frac n3+1}=\frac{85n^3}{24}$$(If $a, b$ or $c=0$, the inequality above is still ture evidently.)
Since $n\in \mathbb{N}^+,$ the inequality above requires $n\leq12$.
We can verify that the original statement is TRUE only when $n=1,2,3,4,6$ .$\square$
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by kub-inst, Jun 5, 2024, 6:03 AM
Reason: mistyped
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Scilyse
387 posts
#20
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Zsigmondeez nuts
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Eka01
204 posts
#21
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By Zsigmondy, every $n$ gives a new prime factor apart from a small few (like greater than 10 or smth, dont have the energy to recall the edge cases). Then just check the few cases by hand.
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alexanderhamilton124
395 posts
#22
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7 | 2^3 - 1 ==> we done by zsigmondy
This post has been edited 1 time. Last edited by alexanderhamilton124, Jan 9, 2025, 3:34 AM
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RedFireTruck
4223 posts
#24
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n=1 gives 1
n=2 gives 3
n=3 gives 7
n=4 gives 15=3*5
n=6 gives 63=3*3*7

by zsigmondy theorem, every other 2^n-1 must have a prime factor other than 3,5,7 so this is all
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Ihatecombin
60 posts
#25
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L.T.E also works here, even with brain dead level bounding one only needs to check until $n=14$.
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Giant_PT
29 posts
#26
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Almost trivial by Zsigmondy :(
We can see that the smallest $n$ for which $3|2^{n}-1$, $5|2^{n}-1$, and $7|2^{n}-1$ are $2$, $4$ and $3$ respectively. Also, we have the exceptional case when $n=6$, so by just checking small values of $n$, we see that $n=1,2,3,4,6$ are the only solutions.
This post has been edited 2 times. Last edited by Giant_PT, Apr 22, 2025, 3:41 PM
Reason: Typos
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