Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 5.3 AIME, harder Find the answer

Seven, (25 points) Let nn be a positive integer, a=[n]a=[\sqrt{n}] (where [x][x] denotes the greatest integer not exceeding xx). Find the maximum value of nn that satisfies the following conditions:
(1) nn is not a perfect square;
(2) a3n2a^{3} \mid n^{2}.
(Zhang Tongjun
Zhu Yachun, problem contributor)

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

Seven, from (1) we get a<n<a+1a<\sqrt{n}<a+1, then a2<n<a2+2a+1a^{2}<n<a^{2}+2 a+1,
that is
a2+1na2+2aa^{2}+1 \leqslant n \leqslant a^{2}+2 a.
Let n=a2+t(t{1,2,,2a})n=a^{2}+t(t \in\{1,2, \cdots, 2 a\}).
From (2) we have
a3(a4+2a2t+t2)a2t2ata^{3}\left|\left(a^{4}+2 a^{2} t+t^{2}\right) \Rightarrow a^{2}\right| t^{2} \Rightarrow a \mid t.
Furthermore, a3(a4+2a2t+t2)a3t2a^{3} \mid \left(a^{4}+2 a^{2} t+t^{2}\right) \Rightarrow a^{3} \mid t^{2}.
Let t2=ka3t^{2}=k a^{3}, then t=akat=a \sqrt{k a}.
Since t,a,kN+t, a, k \in \mathbf{N}_{+}, we have kaN+\sqrt{k a} \in \mathbf{N}_{+}.
From t{1,2;,2a}t \in\{1,2 ; \cdots, 2 a\}, we have t=aka2at=a \sqrt{k a} \leqslant 2 a, that is ka2\sqrt{k a} \leqslant 2.
Therefore, ka=1\sqrt{k a}=1 or 2,ka4,a42, k a \leqslant 4, a \leqslant 4.
Since n=a2+tn=a^{2}+t, and a4,t2aa \leqslant 4, t \leqslant 2 a, we can let a=4,t=2a=8a=4, t=2 a=8. Then n=a2+t=16+8=24n=a^{2}+t=16+8=24 is the maximum.
Upon verification, n=24n=24 satisfies conditions (1) and (2).
Therefore, the maximum value of nn is 24.

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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.