Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /7 of 35

Algebra Difficulty 4.9 AIME Prove it Belarus

Do there exist six pairwise distinct positive integers aa, bb, cc, dd, ee and mm, such that
{a+b+c=d+e+m,ab+bc+ac=de+em+dm,abc=dem+3202122022? \begin{cases} a+b+c = d+e+m, \\ ab+bc+ac = de+em+dm, \\ abc = dem + 3^{2021} \cdot 2^{2022}? \end{cases}
(Igor Voronovich)

Solution

Answer: yes, such numbers exist.
Consider the triplets (a,b,c)=(13,4,3)(a, b, c) = (13, 4, 3) and (d,e,m)=(12,7,1)(d, e, m) = (12, 7, 1). These numbers satisfy the system
{a+b+c=20=d+e+m,ab+bc+ac=103=de+em+dm,abcdem=3223. \begin{cases} a+b+c = 20 = d+e+m, \\ ab+bc+ac = 103 = de+em+dm, \\ abc - dem = 3^2 \cdot 2^3. \end{cases}
Clearly, for k=26733673k = 2^{673} \cdot 3^{673} the numbers akak, bkbk, ckck, dkdk, ekek and mkmk satisfy the problem conditions.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.