Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 5.7 AIME, harder Prove it Croatia

Determine all positive integers nn such that log2(3n+7)\log_2(3^n + 7) is also a positive integer.

Solution

Let k=log2(3n+7)k = \log_2(3^n + 7), where kk is a positive integer. Then 3n+7=2k3^n + 7 = 2^k.

So 2k3n=72^k - 3^n = 7.

We seek all positive integers nn such that this equation has a solution in positive integers kk.

Let us try small values of nn:

For n=1n = 1: 2k3=7    2k=102^k - 3 = 7 \implies 2^k = 10 (not a power of 22).

For n=2n = 2: 2k9=7    2k=16    k=42^k - 9 = 7 \implies 2^k = 16 \implies k = 4.
So n=2n = 2 works.

For n=3n = 3: 2k27=7    2k=342^k - 27 = 7 \implies 2^k = 34 (not a power of 22).

For n=4n = 4: 2k81=7    2k=882^k - 81 = 7 \implies 2^k = 88 (not a power of 22).

For n=5n = 5: 2k243=7    2k=2502^k - 243 = 7 \implies 2^k = 250 (not a power of 22).

For n=6n = 6: 2k729=7    2k=7362^k - 729 = 7 \implies 2^k = 736 (not a power of 22).

Let us check if there are any other solutions for larger nn.

Suppose n2n \geq 2. Then 3n3^n grows much faster than 2k2^k for large nn unless kk is also large. But 2k=3n+7>3n2^k = 3^n + 7 > 3^n, so 2k>3n2^k > 3^n.

But 2k=3n+7<23n2^k = 3^n + 7 < 2 \cdot 3^n for large nn (since 77 is negligible compared to 3n3^n), so 2k<23n2^k < 2 \cdot 3^n.

Thus, 3n<2k<23n3^n < 2^k < 2 \cdot 3^n.

Take logarithms:

nlog3<klog2<nlog3+log2n \log 3 < k \log 2 < n \log 3 + \log 2

So kk is approximately nlog23n \log_2 3.

But log231.58496\log_2 3 \approx 1.58496, so k1.58496nk \approx 1.58496 n.

But 2k3n=72^k - 3^n = 7 is a very restrictive equation. For large nn, 2k2^k and 3n3^n are both huge, and their difference is 77.

Let us check for n=0n = 0 (but nn must be positive), so skip.

Let us check for n=2n = 2 (already found), k=4k = 4.

Suppose k=3k = 3, 23=82^3 = 8, 3n=13^n = 1 (no integer nn).

Suppose k=5k = 5, 25=322^5 = 32, 3n=253^n = 25 (not a power of 33).

Suppose k=6k = 6, 26=642^6 = 64, 3n=573^n = 57 (not a power of 33).

Suppose k=7k = 7, 27=1282^7 = 128, 3n=1213^n = 121 (not a power of 33).

Suppose k=8k = 8, 28=2562^8 = 256, 3n=2493^n = 249 (not a power of 33).

Suppose k=9k = 9, 29=5122^9 = 512, 3n=5053^n = 505 (not a power of 33).

Suppose k=10k = 10, 210=10242^{10} = 1024, 3n=10173^n = 1017 (not a power of 33).

So, only n=2n = 2 works.

Therefore, the only positive integer nn such that log2(3n+7)\log_2(3^n + 7) is a positive integer is n=2n = 2.

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