Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 5.0 AIME, harder Prove it Ireland

Find the least kk for which the number 20102010 can be expressed as the sum of the squares of kk integers.

Solution

The number 20102010 is a multiple of 33 but not of 99. The sum of two squares can be a multiple of 33 only if the two squares involved are both multiples of 33 – which means they must be multiples of 99 as well. So 20102010 is not the sum of two squares.

One can write 20102010 in various ways as the sum of three squares. For completeness, all possible such representations are listed below.
2010=12+282+352=42+252+372=52+72+442=52+312+322=72+192+402=112+172+402=162+232+352=192+252+322 \begin{aligned} 2010 &= 1^2 + 28^2 + 35^2 \\ &= 4^2 + 25^2 + 37^2 \\ &= 5^2 + 7^2 + 44^2 \\ &= 5^2 + 31^2 + 32^2 \\ &= 7^2 + 19^2 + 40^2 \\ &= 11^2 + 17^2 + 40^2 \\ &= 16^2 + 23^2 + 35^2 \\ &= 19^2 + 25^2 + 32^2 \end{aligned}

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.