Number theoryDifficulty 6.0National olympiadProve itRomania
For any non-zero natural number n consider the set A={n2,n2+1,n2+2,…,(n+1)2}. Find the numbers a,b,c∈A, a<b<c, knowing that b is the geometric mean of the numbers a and c.
Solution
From b2=ac it follows that ab=bc=yx, where x,y∈N∗,(x,y)=1 and x>y. Therefore, b=yax, c=a(yx)2. Since c=a(yx)2∈N∗ and (x,y)=1, it follows that y2a∈N∗, so a=py2, where p∈N∗. The numbers are a=py2, b=pxy, c=px2, where x,y∈N∗,x>y, p∈N∗. From a∈A follows that yp≥n and from c∈A follows that px≤n+1, hence p(x−y)≤1 and, since x−y≥1, it follows that 1≥p(x−y)≥p and, since p∈N∗, we deduce p=1. We obtain n≤y<x≤n+1, so y=n,x=n+1 and the solution a=n2, b=n(n+1), c=(n+1)2.
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Source: MathNet,
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