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Algebra Difficulty 8.1 Shortlist Prove it Romania

Let kk be a positive integer congruent to 11 modulo 44 which is not a perfect square, and let a=(1+k)/2a = (1 + \sqrt{k})/2. Show that
{a2naan:n=1,2,3,}={1,,a}. \{\lfloor a^2 n \rfloor - \lfloor a \lfloor an \rfloor \rfloor : n = 1, 2, 3, \dots\} = \{1, \dots, \lfloor a \rfloor\}.

Solution

Let an=anana_n = an - \lfloor an \rfloor, n=1,2,3,n = 1, 2, 3, \dots. Since a2=a+(k1)/4a^2 = a + (k-1)/4, it follows that a2n=an+n(k1)/4\lfloor a^2 n \rfloor = \lfloor an \rfloor + n(k-1)/4, and (a1)an=(a1)(anan)=n(k1)/4(a1)an(a-1)\lfloor an \rfloor = (a-1)(an - a_n) = n(k-1)/4 - (a-1)a_n, so, adding an\lfloor an \rfloor to each side, aan=an+n(k1)/4(a1)an=a2n(a1)ana\lfloor an \rfloor = \lfloor an \rfloor + n(k-1)/4 - (a-1)a_n = \lfloor a^2 n \rfloor - (a-1)a_n. Since aa is irrational, the ana_n form a dense subset of the open unit interval (0,1)(0, 1), so, by the preceding, the differences a2naan=(a1)an\lfloor a^2 n \rfloor - a\lfloor an \rfloor = (a-1)a_n form a dense subset of the open interval (0,a1)(0, a-1). Finally, since a2naan=a2naan=(a1)an\lfloor a^2 n \rfloor - \lfloor a \lfloor an \rfloor \rfloor = \lfloor a^2 n \rfloor - a\lfloor an \rfloor \rfloor = \lfloor (a-1)a_n \rfloor, the conclusion follows.

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