Let and be positive integers of different parity. Prove that
is not a positive integer.
(Ilko Brnetić)
Solution
Let be the greatest common divisor of and , i.e. and , where and are relatively prime positive integers of different parity.
Now we need to prove that
is not a positive integer.
Note that and are both odd.
If is odd and is even, the even clearly cannot divide the odd .
Otherwise, let the odd be the greatest common divisor of and . Then we have
from which it follows that divides both and , so and both factors in
are irreducible fractions.
Since , the proof is finished.
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