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Algebra Difficulty 7.3 National olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

Find all positive integers nn such that there are k2k \geq 2 positive rational numbers a1,a2,,aka_1, a_2, \ldots, a_k satisfying a1+a2++ak=a1a2ak=n.a_1 + a_2 + \ldots + a_k = a_1 \cdot a_2 \cdots a_k = n.

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

Solution

We are tasked with finding all positive integers n n for which there exist k2 k \geq 2 positive rational numbers a1,a2,,ak a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_k satisfying the conditions:

a1+a2++ak=a1a2ak=n. a_1 + a_2 + \cdots + a_k = a_1 \cdot a_2 \cdots a_k = n.

To find the possible values of n n , we analyze the problem for small values of k k :

### Step 1: Case for k=2 k = 2

Consider a1=a2=x a_1 = a_2 = x . We then have:

2x=x2=n. 2x = x^2 = n.

From 2x=x2 2x = x^2 , we get:

x22x=0    x(x2)=0. x^2 - 2x = 0 \implies x(x - 2) = 0.

Thus, x=2 x = 2 . Therefore, n=x2=4 n = x^2 = 4 is one solution with k=2 k = 2 .

### Step 2: Consideration for k3 k \geq 3

For k3 k \geq 3 , let's assume a1=a2==ak=x a_1 = a_2 = \cdots = a_k = x . Then:

kx=xk=n. kx = x^k = n.

This gives us x=nk x = \frac{n}{k} and:

(nk)k=n. \left( \frac{n}{k} \right)^k = n.

Rearranging gives us:

nk1=kk. n^{k-1} = k^k.

Finding explicit solutions for specific n n and k k :

#### For n=6 n = 6
Consider a1=a2=3 a_1 = a_2 = 3 and a3=a4==a6=1 a_3 = a_4 = \cdots = a_6 = 1 :

3+3+1+1+1+1=10and331111=6. 3 + 3 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 = 10 \quad \text{and} \quad 3 \cdot 3 \cdot 1 \cdot 1 \cdot 1 \cdot 1 = 6.

This setup doesn't work with pure k=3 k = 3 identical aspects, but shows n>k n > k can allow different setups like:

- a1=3 a_1 = 3 , a2=2 a_2 = 2 , a3=1 a_3 = 1 .
- This gives 3+2+1=6 3 + 2 + 1 = 6 and 321=6 3 \cdot 2 \cdot 1 = 6 which is valid.

Thus, n=6 n = 6 is also possible.

### General Conclusion

- For n=4 n = 4 , clearly k=2 k = 2 works.
- For n6 n \geq 6 , using combinations of a1,a2,,ak a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_k where at least one ai>1 a_i > 1 and other simplifications, solutions exist (like above).

Thus, the possible values of n n are:

4 or n6. \boxed{4 \text{ or } n \geq 6}.

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