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Algebra Difficulty 4.8 AIME Prove it United States

Problem:

The sequence
5,9,49,2209, 5, 9, 49, 2209, \ldots
is defined by a1=5a_{1} = 5 and an=a1a2an1+4a_{n} = a_{1} a_{2} \cdots a_{n-1} + 4 for n>1n > 1. Prove that ana_{n} is a perfect square for n2n \geq 2.

Solution

Solution:

This is clear for n=2n = 2. We use the relation
an1=a1a2an2+4a1a2an2=an14 \begin{gathered} a_{n-1} = a_{1} a_{2} \cdots a_{n-2} + 4 \\ a_{1} a_{2} \cdots a_{n-2} = a_{n-1} - 4 \end{gathered}
for n3n \geq 3 to transform ana_{n}:
an=a1a2an2an1+4=(an14)an1+4=an124an1+4=(an12)2. \begin{aligned} a_{n} & = a_{1} a_{2} \cdots a_{n-2} a_{n-1} + 4 \\ & = \left(a_{n-1} - 4\right) a_{n-1} + 4 \\ & = a_{n-1}^{2} - 4 a_{n-1} + 4 \\ & = \left(a_{n-1} - 2\right)^{2}. \end{aligned}
This is clearly the square of an integer.

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