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Number theory Difficulty 6.2 National Olympiad Prove it Italy

Problem:

Determine all triples of positive integers (x,y,z) (x, y, z) that satisfy the following system:
{45xy2=8z3xyz<1000ight. \left\{\begin{array}{l} 45 x y^{2}=8 z^{3} \\ x y z<1000 \end{array} ight. \right.

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

Solution:

The only solution is (6,10,15)(6,10,15). First observe that 4545 divides z3z^{3}, and hence zz is divisible by 35=153 \cdot 5=15. Similarly 88 divides xy2x y^{2}, and therefore xx and yy cannot both be odd. Set z=15wz=15 w and distinguish 3 cases:

(1) xx odd: then 88 divides y2y^{2}, so 44 divides yy and, setting y=4vy=4 v, the system becomes
{2xv2=75w3xvw<503ight. \left\{\begin{array}{l} 2 x v^{2}=75 w^{3} \\ x v w<\frac{50}{3} \end{array} ight. \right.
impossible because from the first equation it follows that 1515 divides xvx v and 22 divides ww, whence xvw30x v w \geq 30.

(2) yy odd: then 88 divides xx and, setting x=8ux=8 u, the system becomes
{uy2=75w3uyw<253ight. \left\{\begin{array}{l} u y^{2}=75 w^{3} \\ u y w<\frac{25}{3} \end{array} ight. \right.
which is again impossible because 1515 divides uyu y, so uyw15u y w \geq 15.

(3) xx and yy even: setting x=2u,y=2vx=2 u, y=2 v the system becomes
{uv2=75w3uvw<503ight. \left\{\begin{array}{l} u v^{2}=75 w^{3} \\ u v w<\frac{50}{3} \end{array} ight. \right.
As before we have that 1515 divides uvu v, so the second inequality implies uv=15,w=1u v=15, w=1 and, from the first, uv2=75u v^{2}=75; hence v=5,u=3,w=1v=5, u=3, w=1.

The only solution is (6,10,15)(6,10,15).

First we note that both 33 and 55 divide 8z38 z^{3}, so, since 88 is coprime to both, 33 and 55 must divide z3z^{3} and hence also zz. Let us then set z=15zz=15 z', so that the first equation becomes xy2=600z3x y^{2}=600 z'^{3} with the condition xyz<1000/15<67x y z'<1000 / 15<67. If zz' were greater than or equal to 22 we would have
x2y2xy2=600z360023=4800. x^{2} y^{2} \geq x y^{2}=600 z'^{3} \geq 600 \cdot 2^{3}=4800 .
This would imply xy>69x y>69, in contradiction with the condition xyz<67x y z'<67. Therefore z=1z'=1 and the equation becomes xy2=600x y^{2}=600 with the condition xy<67x y<67. If xx were greater than or equal to 88 we would have
x2y28xy2=8600=4800. x^{2} y^{2} \geq 8 x y^{2}=8 \cdot 600=4800 .
This would again imply xy>69x y>69, giving another contradiction, so we have x<8x<8. Since y2=600xy^{2}=\frac{600}{x}, we have that 600x\frac{600}{x} is the square of an integer. An easy check shows that the only possibility is x=6x=6, from which we obtain y=10y=10 and z=15z=15. On the other hand, the triple (6,10,15)(6,10,15) is a solution of the system.

Solution 2

Solution:

The only solution is (6,10,15)(6,10,15).

First we note that both 33 and 55 divide 8z38 z^{3}, so, since 88 is coprime to both, 33 and 55 must divide z3z^{3} and hence also zz. Let us then set z=15zz=15 z', so that the first equation becomes xy2=600z3x y^{2}=600 z'^{3} with the condition xyz<1000/15<67x y z'<1000 / 15<67. If zz' were greater than or equal to 22 we would have
x2y2xy2=600z360023=4800. x^{2} y^{2} \geq x y^{2}=600 z'^{3} \geq 600 \cdot 2^{3}=4800 .
This would imply xy>69x y>69, in contradiction with the condition xyz<67x y z'<67. Therefore z=1z'=1 and the equation becomes xy2=600x y^{2}=600 with the condition xy<67x y<67. If xx were greater than or equal to 88 we would have
x2y28xy2=8600=4800. x^{2} y^{2} \geq 8 x y^{2}=8 \cdot 600=4800 .
This would again imply xy>69x y>69, giving another contradiction, so we have x<8x<8. Since y2=600xy^{2}=\frac{600}{x}, we have that 600x\frac{600}{x} is the square of an integer. An easy check shows that the only possibility is x=6x=6, from which we obtain y=10y=10 and z=15z=15. On the other hand, the triple (6,10,15)(6,10,15) is a solution of the system.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from it; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.