Problem:
In a certain kingdom, the only coin values are and . Determine all possible amounts of money you can have using only these coins.
Problem:
In a certain kingdom, the only coin values are and . Determine all possible amounts of money you can have using only these coins.
Solution:
The amounts of money that you can have are all positive integers except , and . We can see that all these are impossible. To show that all other amounts are possible, it is clear that and are possible. Also, , and are all possible, since
Now, any higher amount of money has a remainder of , or when divided by . If it has a remainder of , it is plus a multiple of ; if it has a remainder of , it is plus a multiple of ; and if it has a remainder of , it is plus a multiple of . No matter what, it is one of , or plus a multiple of , so we can just add more coins to get from one of , or to our number. Thus, all higher amounts of money can be made.