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Algebra Difficulty 3.9 AMC 10/12 Find the answer United States

A two-digit positive integer is said to be cuddly if it is equal to the sum of its nonzero tens digit and the square of its units digit. How many two-digit positive integers are cuddly?

Pick one

Solution

Solution:

The value of a two-digit cuddly number ab\underline{ab} is 10a+b10a + b. Therefore 10a+b=a+b210a + b = a + b^2, so 9a=b(b1)9a = b(b - 1). It follows that 99 divides b(b1)b(b - 1). If 3b3 \mid b and 3(b1)3 \mid (b - 1), then 313 \mid 1, which is a contradiction. Thus either 9b9 \mid b or 9(b1)9 \mid (b - 1). Furthermore, a0a \neq 0 implies b>1b > 1. Therefore the only possible value for bb is 99. Then 9a=989a = 9 \cdot 8, so a=8a = 8, and the only two-digit cuddly number is 8989.

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