Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 5.3 AIME, harder Prove it New Zealand

Problem:
Find all positive integers nn such that n4n3+3n2+5n^{4} - n^{3} + 3n^{2} + 5 is a perfect square.

Solution

Solution:
Let f(n)=4n44n3+12n2+20=4(n4n3+3n2+5)f(n) = 4n^{4} - 4n^{3} + 12n^{2} + 20 = 4(n^{4} - n^{3} + 3n^{2} + 5) and note that (n4n3+3n2+5)(n^{4} - n^{3} + 3n^{2} + 5) is a perfect square if and only if f(n)f(n) is. First note that:
(2n2n+5)2f(n)=9n210n+5=4n2+5(n1)2>0. (2n^{2} - n + 5)^{2} - f(n) = 9n^{2} - 10n + 5 = 4n^{2} + 5(n - 1)^{2} > 0.
Also note that
f(n)(2n2n+2)2=3n2+4n+16=2n2+(n+2)2+12>0. f(n) - (2n^{2} - n + 2)^{2} = 3n^{2} + 4n + 16 = 2n^{2} + (n + 2)^{2} + 12 > 0.
Therefore (2n2n+2)2<f(n)<(2n2n+5)2(2n^{2} - n + 2)^{2}< f(n)< (2n^{2} - n + 5)^{2}, so the only way f(n)f(n) could be a perfect square is if it is (2n2n+3)2(2n^{2} - n + 3)^{2} or (2n2n+4)2(2n^{2} - n + 4)^{2}. Solving f(n)=(2n2n+3)2f(n) = (2n^{2} - n + 3)^{2} gives us the quadratic n26n11=0n^{2} - 6n - 11 = 0 which has no integer solutions. Solving f(n)=(2n2n+4)2f(n) = (2n^{2} - n + 4)^{2} gives us 5n28n4=(5n+2)(n2)=05n^{2} - 8n - 4 = (5n + 2)(n - 2) = 0, which has only one integer solution n=2n = 2. Checking
(2)4(2)3+3(2)2+5=25 (2)^{4} - (2)^{3} + 3(2)^{2} + 5 = 25
which is a perfect square. Therefore the only solution is n=2n = 2. \square

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