Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /684 of 1394

, 2019

Number theory Difficulty 5.3 AIME, harder Prove it United States

Problem:
How many pairs of integers (x,y)(x, y) are there such that x22y21|x^{2}-2 y^{2}| \leq 1 and 3x4y1|3 x-4 y| \leq 1?

Solution

Solution:
Note that if (x,y)(x, y) is a solution, so is (x,y)(-x,-y). Thus, we consider x0x \geq 0.

When x0(mod4)x \equiv 0 \pmod{4}, y=3x/4y = 3x/4 by inequality 2. Inequality 1 gives x2/91|x^{2}/9| \leq 1, so x3x \leq 3, so x=0x = 0.

When x1(mod4)x \equiv 1 \pmod{4}, y=(3x+1)/4y = (3x+1)/4 by inequality 2. Beyond x=1x = 1, 2y2x2>12y^{2} - x^{2} > 1, so there are no more solutions.

When x2(mod4)x \equiv 2 \pmod{4}, there are no solutions for yy.

When x3(mod4)x \equiv 3 \pmod{4}, y=(3x1)/4y = (3x-1)/4 by inequality 2. Beyond x=7x = 7, 2y2x2>12y^{2} - x^{2} > 1, so there are no more solutions.

Thus, the solutions are (0,0),(1,1),(3,2),(7,5)(0,0), (1,1), (3,2), (7,5), and the negations of the latter three, giving 7 solutions.

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