Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 5.4 AIME, harder Prove it Japan

Let a,b,c,d,e,f,ga, b, c, d, e, f, g be 7 distinct positive integers less than or equal to 7. Determine all the prime numbers which can be represented in the form
a×b×c×d+e×f×g. a \times b \times c \times d + e \times f \times g.

Solution

Let A={a,b,c,d}A = \{a, b, c, d\}, B={e,f,g}B = \{e, f, g\}. Suppose the number X=abcd+efgX = abcd + efg is a prime. Then, we see that the numbers 2,4,62, 4, 6 must belong to the same set AA or BB, because, otherwise, both abcdabcd and efgefg become even, and therefore XX must be even, and since X2X \ne 2, XX cannot be a prime. Also, the numbers 33 and 66 must belong to the same set AA or BB, because, otherwise XX becomes a multiple of 33 and since X3X \ne 3, XX cannot be a prime.
Consequently, we see that A={2,3,4,6}A = \{2, 3, 4, 6\} and B={1,5,7}B = \{1, 5, 7\}, and we conclude that the only prime number of the form abcd+efgabcd + efg is 2346+157=1792 \cdot 3 \cdot 4 \cdot 6 + 1 \cdot 5 \cdot 7 = 179.

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