In which bases does the notation 5654 represent a power of a prime number?
Solutions — 2
Solution 1
The notation 5654 in base represents the number . If is odd, is even; conversely, if is even, is even. In either case, is even, and therefore it is a power of 2.
It follows that and are both powers of : and . We note that for every , hence . From the first equation we get , and since , then . Substituting into the second equation, we obtain: . Dividing by 8 and rearranging, we get:
Since , the left-hand side of the equation is even, so must also be even; it follows that , and the equation becomes , from which . Therefore the notation 5654 in base 7 represents , and is the unique solution of the problem.
Solution 2
The proof of divisibility by 11 for numbers written in decimal base can be mimicked as follows: , hence
Since , both and must be powers of the same prime. Now ; it follows that the greatest common divisor between and must divide 8. But, between two powers of the same prime, the greatest common divisor is the smaller of the two numbers: in this case, evidently . Therefore, since , the only possibility is , that is which, upon direct verification, gives a solution.