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Number theory Difficulty 4.8 AIME Prove it United States

Problem:
Prove that for every positive integer nn, there is an integer xx such that x217x^{2}-17 is divisible by 2n2^{n}.

Solution

Solution:
We prove this by induction on nn.

If n=1,2n=1,2, or 33, then x=1x=1 works.

Suppose that x217x^{2}-17 is divisible by 2n2^{n} and n3n \geq 3. We seek to find yy such that y217y^{2}-17 is divisible by 2n+12^{n+1}. Let
x217=k2n. x^{2}-17=k \cdot 2^{n} \text{.}
If kk is even, we are done since x217x^{2}-17 is divisible by 2n+12^{n+1}. If kk is odd, k=2m+1k=2 m+1, we have
(x+2n1)217=x2+2x2n1+22(n1)17=x217+x2n+22n2=(2m+1)2n+x2n+22n2=2n(x+1)+2n+1(m+2n3) \begin{aligned} \left(x+2^{n-1}\right)^{2}-17 & =x^{2}+2 \cdot x \cdot 2^{n-1}+2^{2(n-1)}-17 \\ & =x^{2}-17+x \cdot 2^{n}+2^{2 n-2} \\ & =(2 m+1) \cdot 2^{n}+x \cdot 2^{n}+2^{2 n-2} \\ & =2^{n}(x+1)+2^{n+1}\left(m+2^{n-3}\right) \end{aligned}
Since xx is obviously odd and n3n \geq 3, this is a multiple of 2n+12^{n+1}, and y=x+2n1y=x+2^{n-1} works.

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