Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /275 of 462

Number theory Difficulty 6.0 National Olympiad Prove it Ireland

Find all quadruples (a,b,c,d)(a, b, c, d) of positive integers for which
a2+b2+c2+d2=2025andab=cd. a^2 + b^2 + c^2 + d^2 = 2025 \quad \text{and} \quad ab = cd.

Solutions — 3

Solution 1

We will use the fact that n20(mod3)n^2 \equiv 0 \pmod{3} if 3n3 \mid n and n21(mod3)n^2 \equiv 1 \pmod{3} otherwise. A consequence is that if the sum of the squares of kk integers is divisible by 33 and kk is not divisible by 33, then at least one of the kk integers is divisible by 33.

Because 2025=34522025 = 3^4 \cdot 5^2 is divisible by 33, the above implies that at least one of a,b,c,da, b, c, d must be divisible by 33. The equation ab=cdab = cd implies that a second of these integers must be divisible by 33. But then two integers are left the squares of which add to a number which is divisible by 33, so by the same reasoning, all four integers must be divisible by 33.

Dividing now both sides of the equation a2+b2+c2+d2=2025a^2 + b^2 + c^2 + d^2 = 2025 by 99 leaves us with the sum of four squares equal to 2025/9=225=32522025/9 = 225 = 3^2 \cdot 5^2, which still is divisible by 33. The same reasoning as above implies that the four integers must all be divisible by 33, i.e. the original a,b,c,da, b, c, d are all divisible by 99.

Let a=9Aa = 9A, b=9Bb = 9B, c=9Cc = 9C and d=9Dd = 9D, it then suffices to list solutions to
A2+B2+C2+D2=25andAB=CD. A^2 + B^2 + C^2 + D^2 = 25 \quad \text{and} \quad AB = CD.
By permuting, we can assume wlog that ABDA \le B \le D and CDC \le D.
We cannot have D5D \ge 5 or the sum on the LHS becomes too large. We also cannot have D2D \le 2 as the sum becomes too small. So DD can only be 33 or 44. If D=3D = 3, the equation AB=CDAB = CD implies 3AB3 \mid AB and, as ABDA \le B \le D we must have B=3B = 3. But if B=D=3B = D = 3 then A2+C2=7A^2 + C^2 = 7 which does not have a solution in integers. The only remaining case, then, is D=4D = 4, in which case A2+B2+C2=9A^2 + B^2 + C^2 = 9 whose only positive solution up to permutation is (1,2,2)(1, 2, 2). Because AB=CD4AB = CD \ge 4, we must have A=B=2A = B = 2 and C=1C = 1. Multiplying this solution by 99 gives (a,b,c,d)=(18,18,9,36)(a, b, c, d) = (18, 18, 9, 36) as one solution to the original problem. Three more solutions are obtained by permutation, giving these four solutions
(18,18,9,36)(18, 18, 9, 36), (18,18,36,9)(18, 18, 36, 9), (9,36,18,18)(9, 36, 18, 18), (36,9,18,18)(36, 9, 18, 18).

Solution 2

We note that ab=cdab = cd implies that
a2+b2+c2+d2=(a+b)2+(cd)2=(ab)2+(c+d)2. a^2 + b^2 + c^2 + d^2 = (a+b)^2 + (c-d)^2 = (a-b)^2 + (c+d)^2.
From the fact given at the start, it follows that if x2+y2x^2 + y^2 is divisible by 33, both integers, xx and yy, must be divisible by 33 as well. As 2025=34522025 = 3^4 \cdot 5^2, this implies that each of the four numbers a+b,ab,c+d,cda+b, a-b, c+d, c-d must be divisible by 33, hence each of a,b,c,da, b, c, d is divisible by 33.

After dividing both sides of the equation a2+b2+c2+d2=2025a^2 + b^2 + c^2 + d^2 = 2025 by 99 we can repeat this argument and obtain that a,b,c,da, b, c, d are all divisible by 99. Let a=9Aa = 9A, b=9Bb = 9B, c=9Cc = 9C and d=9Dd = 9D. We then wish to solve
(A+B)2+(CD)2=(AB)2+(C+D)2=25. (A+B)^2 + (C-D)^2 = (A-B)^2 + (C+D)^2 = 25.
We assume AB>0A \ge B > 0 and CD>0C \ge D > 0 and consider permutations later.

There are two ways of writing 2525 as a sum of two squares: 25=32+42=52+0225 = 3^2 + 4^2 = 5^2 + 0^2. Noting that A+BA+B and ABA-B have the same parity but cannot be equal, and similarly for C,DC, D, we see that the only possibilities with A,B,C,DA, B, C, D satisfying AB>0A \ge B > 0 and CD>0C \ge D > 0 are
A+B=4CD=3AB=0C+D=5orA+B=5CD=0AB=3C+D=4 \begin{array}{llll} A+B=4 & C-D=3 & A-B=0 & C+D=5 & \text{or} \\ A+B=5 & C-D=0 & A-B=3 & C+D=4 \end{array}
which lead to (A,B,C,D)=(2,2,4,1)(A, B, C, D) = (2, 2, 4, 1) or (A,B,C,D)=(4,1,2,2)(A, B, C, D) = (4, 1, 2, 2). This gives the following four solutions (a,b,c,d)(a, b, c, d), the second and the third are obtained from the above by swapping aa and bb, or cc and dd:
(18,18,36,9)(18, 18, 36, 9) (18,18,9,36)(18, 18, 9, 36) (36,9,18,18)(36, 9, 18, 18) (9,36,18,18)(9, 36, 18, 18)

Solution 3

The equation ab=cdab = cd implies a/c=d/ba/c = d/b. Let m,nm, n be coprime integers such that a/c=d/b=m/na/c = d/b = m/n. Then, there exist integers r,sr, s such that a=rma = rm, b=snb = sn, c=rnc = rn and d=smd = sm. The question becomes:
a2+b2+c2+d2=(rm)2+(sn)2+(rn)2+(sm)2=(r2+s2)(m2+n2)=2025=3452. \begin{aligned} a^2 + b^2 + c^2 + d^2 &= (rm)^2 + (sn)^2 + (rn)^2 + (sm)^2 \\ &= (r^2 + s^2)(m^2 + n^2) = 2025 = 3^4 \cdot 5^2. \end{aligned}
From the observation made at the start (before solution 1) we see that for no k0k \ge 0 has the equation x2+y2=3kx^2 + y^2 = 3^k a solution in positive integers. This shows that both, r2+s2r^2 + s^2 and m2+n2m^2 + n^2, must be divisible by 55. Moreover, if an equation m2+n2=3k5m^2 + n^2 = 3^k \cdot 5 with k>0k > 0 has a solution, both, mm and nn, must be divisible by 33. This would contradict our assumption that mm and nn are coprime. Hence, we must have
r2+s2=345andm2+n2=5. r^2 + s^2 = 3^4 \cdot 5 \quad \text{and} \quad m^2 + n^2 = 5.
Assuming rsr \le s and mnm \le n, and because 5=12+225 = 1^2 + 2^2 is the only way to write 55 as a sum of two squares, we have (r,s,m,n)=(9,18,1,2)(r, s, m, n) = (9, 18, 1, 2) and so (a,b,c,d)=(9,36,18,18)(a, b, c, d) = (9, 36, 18, 18).

Swapping rr with ss corresponds to interchanging (a,b)(a, b) with (d,c)(d, c); swapping mm and nn corresponds to interchanging (a,b)(a, b) with (c,d)(c, d). Doing both swaps interchanges aa with bb and cc with dd. This gives the four solutions stated above.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.