Number theoryDifficulty 7.9National olympiad, round 2Prove itBulgaria
Let n≥4 be an integer number and Sn={1,2,3,…,2n}. Two sets A,B are given, A⊂Sn,B⊂Sn∖Sn−1, such that ∣A∣=n+1,∣B∣=2. Is it possible ab−1 be a perfect cube for any a∈A,b∈B? (Dragomir Grozev)
Solution
Answer: NO. Let us argue by contradiction. Arrange the numbers in A and B in increasing order 1≤a1<a2<⋯<an+1≤2n and 2n−1<b1<b2≤2n. Apparently, there exists an index i≤n such that ai<ai+1≤2ai. We denote: aib1−1=q13,ai+1b2−1=q23,aib2−1=s13,ai+1b1−1=s23. From ai<ai+1≤2ai and b1<b2<2b1 it follows q1<s1,s2<q2<2q1(1).
(q1q2)3+q13+q23+1=(s1s2)3+s13+s23+1(2).
Using (1) it can be seen that if q1q2>s1s2 or q1q2<s1s2 the equality (2) cannot hold. Thus, q1q2=s1s2. Let us consider the function f(x)=x3+x3C in the interval x∈[q1,q2], where C=(q1q2)3. It decreases in [q1,q1q2] and increases in [q1q2,q2], hence it attains its maximum value at the ends of this interval, f(q1)=f(q2)=q13+q23. Therefore, the equality (2), provided that (1) holds, is true only if (q1,q2)=(s1,s2), which is the needed contradiction. □
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