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Algebra Difficulty 7.2 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it India

For each positive integer n3n \ge 3, define AnA_n and BnB_n as
An=n2+1+n2+3++n2+2n1, A_n = \sqrt{n^2 + 1} + \sqrt{n^2 + 3} + \dots + \sqrt{n^2 + 2n - 1},
Bn=n2+2+n2+4++n2+2n. B_n = \sqrt{n^2 + 2} + \sqrt{n^2 + 4} + \dots + \sqrt{n^2 + 2n}.
Determine all positive integers n3n \ge 3 for which An=Bn\lfloor A_n \rfloor = \lfloor B_n \rfloor.

Note. For any real number xx, x\lfloor x \rfloor denotes the largest integer NN such that NxN \le x.

Solution

Let M=n2+12nM = n^2 + \frac{1}{2}n.

Lemma 1. BnAn<12B_n - A_n < \frac{1}{2}.

Indeed,
(BnAn)=k=1n(n2+2kn2+2k1)=k=1n1n2+2k+n2+2k1<k=1n12n=n2n=12 (B_n - A_n) = \sum_{k=1}^{n} (\sqrt{n^2 + 2k} - \sqrt{n^2 + 2k - 1}) = \sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{1}{\sqrt{n^2 + 2k} + \sqrt{n^2 + 2k - 1}} < \sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{1}{2n} = \frac{n}{2n} = \frac{1}{2}
proving the lemma.

Lemma 2. An<M<BnA_n < M < B_n.

Proof. Observe that
(Ann2)=k=1n(n2+2k1n)=k=1n2k1n2+2k1+n<k=1n2k1n+n=n22n=n2 (A_n - n^2) = \sum_{k=1}^{n} \left( \sqrt{n^2 + 2k - 1} - n \right) = \sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{2k - 1}{\sqrt{n^2 + 2k - 1} + n} < \sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{2k - 1}{n + n} = \frac{n^2}{2n} = \frac{n}{2}
as k=1n(2k1)=n2\sum_{k=1}^{n}(2k-1) = n^2, proving Ann2<n2A_n - n^2 < \frac{n}{2} or An<MA_n < M. Similarly,
(Bnn2)=k=1n(n2+2kn)=k=1n2kn2+2k+n>k=1n2k(n+1)+n=n(n+1)2n+1>n2 (B_n - n^2) = \sum_{k=1}^{n} (\sqrt{n^2 + 2k} - n) = \sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{2k}{\sqrt{n^2 + 2k} + n} > \sum_{k=1}^{n} \frac{2k}{(n+1) + n} = \frac{n(n+1)}{2n+1} > \frac{n}{2}
as k=1n(2k)=n(n+1)\sum_{k=1}^{n}(2k) = n(n+1), so Bnn2>n2B_n - n^2 > \frac{n}{2} hence Bn>MB_n > M, as desired. \square

By Lemma 2, we see that AnA_n and BnB_n are positive real numbers containing MM between them. When nn is even, MM is an integer. This implies An<M\lfloor A_n \rfloor < M, but BnM\lfloor B_n \rfloor \ge M, which means we cannot have An=Bn\lfloor A_n \rfloor = \lfloor B_n \rfloor.

When nn is odd, MM is a half-integer, and thus M12M - \frac{1}{2} and M+12M + \frac{1}{2} are consecutive integers. So the above two lemmas imply
M12<Bn(BnAn)=An<Bn=An+(BnAn)<M+12. M - \frac{1}{2} < B_n - (B_n - A_n) = A_n < B_n = A_n + (B_n - A_n) < M + \frac{1}{2}.
This shows An=Bn=M12\lfloor A_n \rfloor = \lfloor B_n \rfloor = M - \frac{1}{2}.

Thus, the only integers n3n \ge 3 that satisfy the conditions are the odd numbers and all of them work. \square

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