1991 USAMO Problems/Problem 3
Problem
Show that, for any fixed integer the sequence is eventually constant.
[The tower of exponents is defined by . Also means the remainder which results from dividing by .]
Solution
Suppose that the problem statement is false for some integer . Then there is a least , which we call , for which the statement is false.
Since all integers are equivalent mod 1, .
Note that for all integers , the sequence is eventually becomes cyclic mod . Let be the period of this cycle. Since there are nonzero residues mod . . Since does not become constant mod , it follows the sequence of exponents of these terms, i.e., the sequence does not become constant mod . Then the problem statement is false for . Since , this is a contradiction. Therefore the problem statement is true.
Note that we may replace 2 with any other positive integer, and both the problem and this solution remain valid.
Alternate solutions are always welcome. If you have a different, elegant solution to this problem, please add it to this page.
Resources
1991 USAMO (Problems • Resources) | ||
Preceded by Problem 2 |
Followed by Problem 4 | |
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 | ||
All USAMO Problems and Solutions |