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Estonia — Open Contests

Number theory Difficulty 4.6 AIME Prove it Estonia

Let xx and yy be different positive integers. Prove that x2+4xy+y2x3−y3\frac{x^2+4xy+y^2}{x^3-y^3} is never an integer.

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

By symmetry we can assume that x>yx > y. If x−y=1x - y = 1, then
x2+4xy+y2x3−y3=x2+4xy+y2(x−y)(x2+xy+y2)=(x−y)2+6xy(x−y)((x−y)2+3xy)==1+6xy1+3xy=1+3xy1+3xy, \begin{aligned} \frac{x^2 + 4xy + y^2}{x^3 - y^3} &= \frac{x^2 + 4xy + y^2}{(x-y)(x^2 + xy + y^2)} = \frac{(x-y)^2 + 6xy}{(x-y)((x-y)^2 + 3xy)} = \\ &= \frac{1 + 6xy}{1 + 3xy} = 1 + \frac{3xy}{1 + 3xy}, \end{aligned}
which is clearly not an integer. If x−y≥2x - y \ge 2, then
x2+4xy+y2x3−y3=x2+4xy+y2(x−y)(x2+xy+y2)≤x2+4xy+y22(x2+xy+y2)<<2x2+2xy+2y22(x2+xy+y2)=1, \begin{aligned} \frac{x^2 + 4xy + y^2}{x^3 - y^3} &= \frac{x^2 + 4xy + y^2}{(x-y)(x^2 + xy + y^2)} \le \frac{x^2 + 4xy + y^2}{2(x^2 + xy + y^2)} < \\ &< \frac{2x^2 + 2xy + 2y^2}{2(x^2 + xy + y^2)} = 1, \end{aligned}
where the last inequality follows from x2−2xy+y2=(x−y)2>0x^2 - 2xy + y^2 = (x-y)^2 > 0.

Solution 2

If x2+4xy+y2x3−y3\frac{x^2 + 4xy + y^2}{x^3 - y^3} were an integer, then
x2+4xy+y2x3−y3⋅(x−y)−1=3xyx2+xy+y2 \frac{x^2 + 4xy + y^2}{x^3 - y^3} \cdot (x - y) - 1 = \frac{3xy}{x^2 + xy + y^2}

x2+4xy+y2x3−y3=x2+4xy+y2(x−y)(x2+xy+y2)≤x2+4xy+y22(x2+xy+y2)<<2x2+2xy+2y22(x2+xy+y2)=1,\begin{aligned} \frac{x^2 + 4xy + y^2}{x^3 - y^3} &= \frac{x^2 + 4xy + y^2}{(x-y)(x^2 + xy + y^2)} \le \frac{x^2 + 4xy + y^2}{2(x^2 + xy + y^2)} < \\ &< \frac{2x^2 + 2xy + 2y^2}{2(x^2 + xy + y^2)} = 1, \end{aligned}

where the last inequality follows from x2−2xy+y2=(x−y)2>0x^2 - 2xy + y^2 = (x-y)^2 > 0.

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