Determine all pairs of positive integers for which
Solution
We can rewrite the equation as follows:
Now, is a divisor of the left side and of the first term on the right, so it must also divide the second term on the right: . Since , this gives the possibilities for as . If exactly one of and is even and the other is odd, the left side of the equation is odd and the right side is even, which is a contradiction. Therefore, must be even, ruling out . If , then , and the left side is positive while the right side is negative, so this possibility is also ruled out.
To try the other possibilities, we rewrite the equation slightly differently:
If , we have , so , thus , or . Therefore, or . Both pairs satisfy the equation.
If , we get , so . But 102 is not divisible by 7, so this is not possible.
If , we get , so . But 401 is not divisible by 7, so this is not possible.
Having exhausted all possibilities, we conclude that and are the only solutions.