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Algebra Difficulty 4.9 AIME Prove it Saudi Arabia

Let (an)n1(a_n)_{n \ge 1} be a sequence with the property that for every prime pp and for every positive integer kk the following relation holds:
akp+1=pak3ap+13. a_{kp+1} = pa_k - 3a_p + 13.

Find a2011a_{2011}.

Solution

For k=qk = q, prime, we have
aqp+1=paq3ap+13=qap3aq+13, a_{qp+1} = pa_q - 3a_p + 13 = qa_p - 3a_q + 13,
so (p+3)aq=(q+3)ap(p+3)a_q = (q+3)a_p. It follows that for every primes pp and qq,
app+3=aqq+3.(1) \frac{a_p}{p+3} = \frac{a_q}{q+3}. \qquad (1)
Then, since 20112011 is a prime, we obtain
a20112014=a710.(2) \frac{a_{2011}}{2014} = \frac{a_7}{10}. \qquad (2)
On the other hand, a7=a23+1=2a33a2+13a_7 = a_{2 \cdot 3 + 1} = 2a_3 - 3a_2 + 13. Hence, using (1),
a710=a36=a25=a72a3+3a21012+15=1313=1. \frac{a_7}{10} = \frac{a_3}{6} = \frac{a_2}{5} = \frac{a_7 - 2a_3 + 3a_2}{10 - 12 + 15} = \frac{13}{13} = 1.
From (2) we get a2011=2014a_{2011} = 2014.

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