2024 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 15

The following problem is from both the 2024 AMC 10A #15 and 2024 AMC 12A #9, so both problems redirect to this page.

Problem

Let $M$ be the greatest integer such that both $M+1213$ and $M+3773$ are perfect squares. What is the units digit of $M$ ?

$\textbf{(A) }1\qquad\textbf{(B) }2\qquad\textbf{(C) }3\qquad\textbf{(D) }6\qquad\textbf{(E) }8$

Solution 1

Let $M+1213=P^2$ and $M+3773=Q^2$ for some positive integers $P$ and $Q.$ We subtract the first equation from the second, then apply the difference of squares: $(Q+P)(Q-P)=2560.$ Note that $Q+P$ and $Q-P$ have the same parity, and $Q+P>Q-P.$

We wish to maximize both $P$ and $Q,$ so we maximize $Q+P$ and minimize $Q-P.$ It follows that $\begin{align*} Q+P&=1280, \\ Q-P&=2, \end{align*}$ from which $(P,Q)=(639,641).$

Finally, we get $M=P^2-1213=Q^2=3773\equiv1-3\equiv8\pmod{10},$ so the units digit of $M$ is $\boxed{\textbf{(E) }8}.$

~MRENTHUSIASM ~Tacos_are_yummy_1

Solution 2 (not rigorously proven)

Ideally, we would like for the two squares to be as close as possible. The best case is that they are consecutive squares (no square numbers in between them); however, since $M+1213$ and $M+3773$ (and thus their squares) have the same parity, they cannot be consecutive squares (which are always opposite parities). The best we can do is that $M+1213$ and $M+3773$ have one square in between them.

Let the square between $M+1213$ and $M+3773$ be $x^2$ . So, we have $M+1213 = (x-1)^2$ and $M+3773 = (x+1)^2$ . Subtracting the two, we have $(M+3773)-(M+1213) = (x+1)^2 - (x-1)^2$ , which yields $2560 = 4x$ , which leads to $x = 640$ . Therefore, the two squares are $639^2$ and $641^2$ , which both have units digit $1$ . Since both $1213$ and $3773$ have units digit $3$ , $M$ will have units digit $\boxed{\textbf{(E) }8}$ .

~i_am_suk_at_math_2 (parity argument editing by Technodoggo)

2024 AMC 10A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 14	Followed by Problem 16
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All AMC 10 Problems and Solutions

2024 AMC 12A (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 8	Followed by Problem 10
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25
All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

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2024 AMC 10A Problems/Problem 15

Contents

Problem

Solution 1

Solution 2 (not rigorously proven)

See also