Of the vertices of a cube, 7 of them have assigned the value , and the eighth the value . A move is selecting an edge and increasing the numbers at its ends by an integer value . Prove that after any finite number of moves, the g.c.d. of the numbers at vertices is equal to .
Local Mathematical Competitions
Solution
Let us alternately colour the vertices in black and white. After any move, the difference between the sums of the numbers at the black and the white vertices remains , therefore the g.c.d. of the numbers is equal to (as it is dividing the difference of the sums mentioned above).
Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track
puts 2,604 problems in a working order, from Junior Challenge level to the IMO shortlist.