If and are positive integers with and , what is the value of ?
Solution
Since , then . We note that . Since 17 and 23 are both prime, then if 391 is written as the product of two positive integers, it must be or or or . Matching and to these possible factors, we obtain or or or . Since is a positive integer, the fourth pair is not possible. Since , the first two pairs are not possible. Therefore, and so .
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