Number theoryDifficulty 6.0National OlympiadProve itIreland
Find all pairs (m,n) of integers that satisfy m2+n2=65. Use this to prove the inequalities 654+410+62<π<114(3+2+25).
Solution
The 16 solutions of x2+y2=65 in integers are (±8,±1),(±1,±8),(±4,±7),(±7,±4).
These form the vertices of a hexadecagon. Calculating the perimeter of this hexadecagon gives rise to the lower bound for π as follows. Let P1=(8,−1), P2=(8,1), P3=(7,4), P4=(4,7), P5=(1,8), P6=(−1,8) etc. and denote the lengths of the line segments by ai=∣PiPi+1∣, i≥1. The perimeter of the hexadecagon is then equal to 4a1+8a2+4a3 (see diagram).
From the coordinates of the Pi we easily obtain a1=2, a2=10 and a3=32. This shows that the perimeter of the hexadecagon is equal to 8+810+122. Because the circumcircle of the hexadecagon has radius 65, we obtain the inequality 8+810+122<2π65 hence 654+410+62<π. The upper bound is obtained by observing that the circle with equation x2+y2=121/2 lies inside the hexadecagon. Indeed, because 211<2510<8, this circle is tangent to P3P4 but does not intersect the line segments P1P2 and P2P3. Hence, its circumference is bounded above by the perimeter of the hexadecagon. This gives the inequality 11π2<8+810+122, hence π<114(3+2+25).
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