Prove that there does not exist a positive integer such that is divisible by .
Solution
Assume that such exists.
Note that divides , so also has to divide .
The powers of when divided by give remainders and these remainders repeat periodically. Therefore, will be divisible by if and only if is divisible by , i.e. .
By the formula for the difference of th powers, we can conclude that divides . Moreover, divides . Therefore, divides , so it also divides , which is a contradiction.
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