Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 4.3 AIME Prove it United States

Problem:
Prove that
n(n+1)(2n+1) n(n+1)(2 n+1)
is always divisible by 66, for nn a positive integer.

Solution

Solution:
The number is even, because either nn or n+1n+1 is even.
Now we show it is always divisible by three. Assume for contradiction that it isn't. Then neither nn nor n+1n+1 is divisible by three, so n+2n+2 must be. However, 2n+1=2(n+2)32 n+1 = 2(n+2) - 3 is then also a multiple of three, which is a contradiction.

In fact, one can also notice the result from the fact that
12+22++n2=n(n+1)(2n+1)6. 1^{2} + 2^{2} + \cdots + n^{2} = \frac{n(n+1)(2 n+1)}{6} .

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