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Number theory Difficulty 5.1 AIME, harder Prove it Romania

If a1,a2,,a2017a_1, a_2, \dots, a_{2017} are positive integers, show that the fraction
92017732017+79(a1+a2)(a2+a3)(a2016+a2017)(a2017+a1)1 \frac{9^{2017} - 7 \cdot 3^{2017} + 7}{9^{(a_1+a_2)(a_2+a_3)\dots(a_{2016}+a_{2017})(a_{2017}+a_1)} - 1}
is reducible.

Solution

The last digit of 320173^{2017} is 3, so the last digit of the numerator is 5.
(a1+a2)+(a2+a3)++(a2016+a2017)+(a2017+a1)=2(a1+a2++a2017). (a_1+a_2)+(a_2+a_3)+\dots+(a_{2016}+a_{2017})+(a_{2017}+a_1) = 2(a_1+a_2+\dots+a_{2017}).
The sum of these 2017 nonnegative integers being even, one of the summands, and hence their product, is even, so the last digit of the number
9(a1+a2)(a2+a3)(a2016+a2017)(a2017+a1) 9^{(a_1+a_2)(a_2+a_3)\dots(a_{2016}+a_{2017})(a_{2017}+a_1)}
is 1, and the denominator is divisible by 10.
Hence, the fraction can be simplified by 5.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.