Number theoryDifficulty 4.4AIMEProve itNorth Macedonia
The sequence 49, 4489, 444889, ... is given so that the number 48 is put in the middle of the preceding term. Prove that every term in the sequence is perfect square.
Solution
Let us assume that A=444…488…89, i.e. A=444…488…89.
Then A=4⋅111…1⋅10n+8⋅111…1+1. Now 111…1=10n−1+10n−2+⋯+102+10+1=10−110n−1=910n−1. Then A=94(10n−1)10n+98(10n−1)+1=94102n+9410n+91=(32⋅10n+1)2. The sum of the digits of 2⋅10n+1 is equal to 3, then 2⋅10n+1 is divisible by 3.
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