Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 5.5 AIME, harder Find the answer

5. Find all positive integers x,y,z,wx, y, z, w such that:
(1) x,y,z,wx, y, z, w are four consecutive terms of an arithmetic sequence,
(2) x3+y3+z3=w3x^{3}+y^{3}+z^{3}=w^{3}.

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

5. Solution: Let x=a+d,y=a+2d,z=a+3d,w=a+4dx=a+d, y=a+2d, z=a+3d, w=a+4d. Then from
x3+y3+z3=w3x^{3}+y^{3}+z^{3}=w^{3}

we get
(a+d)3+(a+2d)3+(a+3d)3=(a+4d)3(a+d)^{3}+(a+2d)^{3}+(a+3d)^{3}=(a+4d)^{3}

Expanding and combining like terms, we obtain
a3+3a2d3ad214d3=0a^{3}+3a^{2}d-3ad^{2}-14d^{3}=0

This is \square
a32a2d+5a2d10ad2+7ad214d3=0a^{3}-2a^{2}d+5a^{2}d-10ad^{2}+7ad^{2}-14d^{3}=0

Thus, we have \square
(a2d)(a2+5ad+7d2)=0(a-2d)(a^{2}+5ad+7d^{2})=0

Since 254×7=3025-4 \times 7=-30

From (1), we get a=2da=2d, so the solution is
x=3d,y=4d,z=5d,w=6dx=3d, y=4d, z=5d, w=6d

where dd is any natural number.

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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.