Prove that a positive integer is a perfect square if and only if, for all positive integers , at least one of the numbers
is a multiple of .
Solution
If is a perfect square, i.e. there exists such that , then for all , and exactly one of the (consecutive) numbers is a multiple of .
Conversely, if is not a perfect square, then it has a prime factor that occurs in the prime factorization of at an odd exponent. Let be such a prime and such that , but . We choose and show that none of the numbers is a multiple of . Indeed, if , for some , i.e. , from it follows that , hence . But then and , hence , which is a contradiction.
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