Number theoryDifficulty 5.4AIME, harderProve itCroatia
Prove that there do not exist positive integers k and n such that k(k+1)(k+2)(k+3)=n(n+1).
Solution
We have k(k+1)(k+2)(k+3)=(k2+3k)(k2+3k+2)=(k2+3k+1)2−1. That means that n(n+1)+1=n2+n+1 has to be a perfect square, but that is impossible since n2<n2+n+1<n2+2n+1=(n+1)2 i.e. n2+n+1 is between two consecutive squares. Therefore, such positive integers k and n do not exist.
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Source: MathNet,
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