1977 Canadian MO Problems/Problem 1
Problem
If prove that the equation
has no solutions in positive integers
and
Solution
Directly plugging and
into the function,
We now have a quadratic in
Applying the quadratic formula,
In order for both and
to be integers, the discriminant must be a perfect square. However, since
the quantity
cannot be a perfect square when
is an integer. Hence, when
is a positive integer,
cannot be.
Solution 2
Suppose there exist positive integers and
such that
.
Thus, , or
. Then in order for the original equation to be true,
would have to be a perfect square. Completing the square of
results in
. Thus,
is not a perfect square, and thus there is no
that satisfies
.
Solution 3
The given equation is or,
or,
.
For positive integers and
,
is an even number because it is divisible by
whereas
is an odd number (the product of two consecutive numbers is an odd number). Therefore,
and
both cannot be positive integers.
-ad1b314
Alternate Solutions?
Alternate solutions are always welcome. If you have a different, elegant solution to this problem, please add it to this page.
See also
1977 Canadian MO (Problems) | ||
Preceded by First question |
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • | Followed by Problem 2 |