Number theoryDifficulty 5.3AIME, harderProve itNew Zealand
Problem: Find all positive integers n such that n4−n3+3n2+5 is a perfect square.
Solution
Solution: Let f(n)=4n4−4n3+12n2+20=4(n4−n3+3n2+5) and note that (n4−n3+3n2+5) is a perfect square if and only if f(n) is. First note that: (2n2−n+5)2−f(n)=9n2−10n+5=4n2+5(n−1)2>0. Also note that f(n)−(2n2−n+2)2=3n2+4n+16=2n2+(n+2)2+12>0. Therefore (2n2−n+2)2<f(n)<(2n2−n+5)2, so the only way f(n) could be a perfect square is if it is (2n2−n+3)2 or (2n2−n+4)2. Solving f(n)=(2n2−n+3)2 gives us the quadratic n2−6n−11=0 which has no integer solutions. Solving f(n)=(2n2−n+4)2 gives us 5n2−8n−4=(5n+2)(n−2)=0, which has only one integer solution n=2. Checking (2)4−(2)3+3(2)2+5=25 which is a perfect square. Therefore the only solution is n=2. □
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