Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 5.7 AIME, harder Prove it South Africa

For a positive integer nn, S(n)S(n) denotes the sum of its digits and U(n)U(n) its unit digit. Determine all positive integers nn with the property that
n=S(n)+U(n)2. n = S(n) + U(n)^2.

Solution

Write nn as a0+10a1+100a2+a_0 + 10a_1 + 100a_2 + \dots, where a0,a1,a2,a_0, a_1, a_2, \dots are the digits of nn. Then the stated equation is equivalent to
a0+10a1+100a2+=a0+a1+a2++a02 a_0 + 10a_1 + 100a_2 + \dots = a_0 + a_1 + a_2 + \dots + a_0^2
or
9a1+99a2+999a3+=a02. 9a_1 + 99a_2 + 999a_3 + \dots = a_0^2.
The right hand side is at most 92=81<999^2 = 81 < 99. Therefore, a2,a3,a_2, a_3, \dots have to be 0 (otherwise, the left hand side would be strictly greater than the right hand side). Hence we obtain
9a1=a02. 9a_1 = a_0^2.
It follows that a0a_0 must be divisible by 3 (since 9a19a_1 is), which leaves us with the possibilities a0=3a_0 = 3 (a1=1a_1 = 1), a0=6a_0 = 6 (a1=4a_1 = 4) and a0=9a_0 = 9 (a1=9a_1 = 9). So there are three solutions: 13, 46 and 99.

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