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Number theory Difficulty 4.7 AIME Prove it Estonia

Find all pairs (n,k)(n, k) of positive integers that satisfy the equality n!+(n+1)!=k!+120n! + (n+1)! = k! + 120.

Solutions — 3

Solution 1

Note that for every nn, n!+(n+1)!=n!+n!(n+1)=n!(n+2)(n+2)!n! + (n+1)! = n! + n! \cdot (n+1) = n! \cdot (n+2) \le (n+2)!. Thus if n!+(n+1)!=k!+120n! + (n+1)! = k! + 120, then due to 120=5!120 = 5! we have k!+5!(n+2)!k! + 5! \le (n+2)!. This inequality in turn implies k<n+2k < n+2 and 5<n+25 < n+2. Hence 5n+15 \le n+1, leading to 0(n+1)!5!=k!n!0 \le (n+1)! - 5! = k! - n!. Consequently, knk \ge n, i.e., the cases to be considered are k=nk = n and k=n+1k = n+1. If k=nk = n, then the initial equation leads to (n+1)!=120(n+1)! = 120, giving n=4n = 4, k=4k = 4. If k=n+1k = n+1, then analogously n=5n = 5, k=6k = 6.

Solution 2

If k<nk < n, then n!>k!n! > k!. If, additionally, n4n \ge 4, then (n+1)!120(n+1)! \ge 120, giving n!+(n+1)!>k!+120n! + (n+1)! > k! + 120. But if n<4n < 4, then n!+(n+1)!30<k!+120n! + (n+1)! \le 30 < k! + 120. The desired equality can hold in neither of the cases.
If k>n+1k > n+1, then k!(n+1)!k! - (n+1)! is positive and is also divisible by (n+1)!(n+1)!, hence k!(n+1)!(n+1)!k! - (n+1)! \ge (n+1)!. On the other hand, n!120<(n+1)!n! - 120 < (n+1)!, giving k!(n+1)!>n!120k! - (n+1)! > n! - 120. Thus, there is no solution in this case either.
Hence n=kn = k or n+1=kn+1 = k, leading to two solutions (n,k)=(4,4),(5,6)(n, k) = (4, 4), (5, 6).

Solution 3

The equation implies that 120120 is divisible by the minimum of n!n! and k!k!. As 120=5!120 = 5!, either n5n \le 5 or k5k \le 5. Consider both cases.
If n{1,2,3}n \in \{1, 2, 3\}, then n!+(n+1)!k!<120n! + (n+1)! - k! < 120, whence the equation has no solution. If n=4n=4, then 120=144k!120 = 144 - k!, whence k!=24k! = 24 and k=4k=4. If n=5n=5, then 120=840k!120 = 840 - k!, whence k!=720k! = 720 and k=6k=6.
If k{1,2,3,4,5}k \in \{1, 2, 3, 4, 5\}, then the initial equation implies that n!+(n+1)!n! + (n+1)! lies between 121 and 240. This is possible only if n=4n=4, since if n=3n=3, then n!+(n+1)!=30n! + (n+1)! = 30, and if n=5n=5, then n!+(n+1)!=840n! + (n+1)! = 840. If n=4n=4, then n!+(n+1)!=144n! + (n+1)! = 144, which corresponds to k=4k=4.

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