Maths Olympiad Prep

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, 2016

Geometry Difficulty 4.4 AIME Prove it United States

Problem:

What is the smallest possible perimeter of a triangle whose side lengths are all squares of distinct positive integers?

Solution

Solution:

There exist a triangle with side lengths 424^{2}, 525^{2}, 626^{2}, which has perimeter 7777. If the sides have lengths a2a^{2}, b2b^{2}, c2c^{2} with 0<a<b<c0 < a < b < c, then a2+b2>c2a^{2} + b^{2} > c^{2} by the triangle inequality. Therefore (b1)2+b2a2+b2>c2(b+1)2(b-1)^{2} + b^{2} \geq a^{2} + b^{2} > c^{2} \geq (b+1)^{2}. Solving this inequality gives b>4b > 4. If b6b \geq 6, then a2+b2+c262+72>77a^{2} + b^{2} + c^{2} \geq 6^{2} + 7^{2} > 77. If b=5b = 5, then c7c \geq 7 is impossible, while c=6c = 6 forces a=4a = 4, which gives a perimeter of 7777.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.