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Number theory Difficulty 4.2 AIME Prove it North Macedonia

Solve the equation x2+y4+1=6zx^2 + y^4 + 1 = 6^z in the set of integers.

Solution

It is obvious that z0z \geq 0. If z2z \geq 2, then x2+y4+10(mod4)x^2 + y^4 + 1 \equiv 0 \pmod{4}, i.e. x2+y43(mod4)x^2 + y^4 \equiv 3 \pmod{4}. This is not possible because the remainders of squares of integers after division by 44 are 00 or 11. According to that, 0z<20 \leq z < 2.

If z=0z = 0, then x=y=0x = y = 0.

If z=1z=1, then x2+y4=5x^2 + y^4 = 5, i.e. (x,y)={(2,1),(2,1),(2,1),(2,1)}(x, y) = \{(2,1), (-2,1), (2,-1), (-2,-1)\}.

Therefore (x,y,z)={(0,0,0),(2,1,1),(2,1,1),(2,1,1),(2,1,1)}(x, y, z) = \{(0,0,0), (2,1,1), (-2,1,1), (2,-1,1), (-2,-1,1)\} are the solutions of the given equation.

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