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Number theory Difficulty 4.4 AIME Prove it Croatia

Show that there are no positive integers mm and nn such that 3m+3n+13^m + 3^n + 1 is a perfect square.

Solution

Assume that there is kk such that 3m+3n+1=k23^m + 3^n + 1 = k^2. Obviously, kk is odd. The last equation is equivalent to 3m+3n=k213^m + 3^n = k^2 - 1.

It is easy to see that for odd number kk, 88 divides k21k^2 - 1. Since powers of 33 are congruent to 11 or 33 modulo 88, the number 3m+3n3^m + 3^n is congruent to 22, 44 or 66 modulo 88. Therefore 3m+3n=k213^m + 3^n = k^2 - 1 leads to a contradiction.

There are no positive integers mm and nn such that 3m+3n+13^m + 3^n + 1 is a perfect square.

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