Maths Olympiad Prep

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, 2015

Algebra Difficulty 1.2 Junior Find the answer Canada

If n=7n = 7, which of the following expressions is equal to an even integer?

Pick one

Solution

When n=7n=7, we have 9n=63n+8=15n2=49n(n2)=7(5)=358n=569n=63 \qquad n+8 = 15 \qquad n^2 = 49 \qquad n(n-2) = 7(5)=35 \qquad 8n = 56 Therefore, 8n8n is even.

We note that for every integer nn, the expression 8n8n is equal to an even integer, since 8 is even and the product of an even integer with any integer is even.

If nn were even, then in fact all five choices would be even. If nn is odd, only 8n8n is even.

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Source: CEMC, University of Waterloo, licensed CC-BY-NC-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.