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Number theory Difficulty 6.7 National olympiad Prove it

Let a,b,c,d,e,fa, b, c, d, e, f be nonzero digits such that the natural numbers abc,def\overline{a b c}, \overline{d e f} and abcdef\overline{a b c d e f} are squares.

a) Prove that abcdef\overline{a b c d e f} can be represented in two different ways as a sum of three squares of natural numbers.

b) Give an example of such a number.

Solution

a) Let abc=m2,def=n2\overline{a b c}=m^{2}, \overline{d e f}=n^{2} and abcdef=p2\overline{a b c d e f}=p^{2}, where 11m31,11n3111 \leq m \leq 31,11 \leq n \leq 31 are natural numbers. So, p2=1000m2+n2p^{2}=1000 \cdot m^{2}+n^{2}. But 1000=302+102=182+2621000=30^{2}+10^{2}=18^{2}+26^{2}. We obtain the following relations

p2=(302+102)m2+n2=(182+262)m2+n2==(30m)2+(10m)2+n2=(18m)2+(26m)2+n2 \begin{gathered} p^{2}=\left(30^{2}+10^{2}\right) \cdot m^{2}+n^{2}=\left(18^{2}+26^{2}\right) \cdot m^{2}+n^{2}= \\ =(30 m)^{2}+(10 m)^{2}+n^{2}=(18 m)^{2}+(26 m)^{2}+n^{2} \end{gathered}

The assertion a) is proved.

b) We write the equality p2=1000m2+n2p^{2}=1000 \cdot m^{2}+n^{2} in the equivalent form (p+n)(pn)=1000m2(p+n)(p-n)=1000 \cdot m^{2}, where 349p979349 \leq p \leq 979. If 1000m2=p1p21000 \cdot m^{2}=p_{1} \cdot p_{2}, such that p+n=p1p+n=p_{1} and pn=p2p-n=p_{2}, then p1p_{1} and p2p_{2} are even natural numbers with p1>p2318p_{1}>p_{2} \geq 318 and 22p1p26222 \leq p_{1}-p_{2} \leq 62. For m=15m=15 we obtain p1=500,p2=450p_{1}=500, p_{2}=450. So, n=25n=25 and p=475p=475. We have

225625=4752=4502+1502+252=2702+3902+252 225625=475^{2}=450^{2}+150^{2}+25^{2}=270^{2}+390^{2}+25^{2}

The problem is solved.

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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.