Number theoryDifficulty 8.1ShortlistFind the answer
Each positive integer a undergoes the following procedure in order to obtain the number d=d(a):
(i) move the last digit of a to the first position to obtain the numb er b; (ii) square b to obtain the number c; (iii) move the first digit of c to the end to obtain the number d.
(All the numbers in the problem are considered to be represented in base 10.) For example, for a=2003, we get b=3200, c=10240000, and d=02400001=2400001=d(2003).)
Find all numbers a for which d(a)=a2.
[i]
A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.
Solution
Given the problem, we want to find all positive integers a such that the procedure outlined results in d(a)=a2. Let's break down the steps of the procedure and solve for a.
### Procedure Analysis
1. Step (i): Move the last digit of a to the first position to obtain the number b.
Let's represent the number a with its digits as a=d1d2…dk. After moving the last digit to the front, we have:
b=dkd1d2…dk−1
2. Step (ii): Square b to obtain the number c.
c=b2
3. Step (iii): Move the first digit of c to the end to obtain the number d.
Suppose c=e1e2…em. Then,
d=e2e3…eme1
### Condition
We need d=a2.
### Finding Solutions
Let's consider possible forms of a:
- When a has a single digit, the manipulation of digits will be straightforward:
- If a=2: - b=2 - c=4 (since b2=22=4) - d=4. Since a2=4, this is a solution.
- If a=3: - b=3 - c=9 (since b2=32=9) - d=9. Since a2=9, this is also a solution.
- For multi-digit numbers ending with 1, let's represent a in the form: a=n times2…21
In this form: - Last digit 1 moves to the front: b=1n2…2 - Squaring b, - The number d would again align with the transformation, maintaining the a2=d relationship for such a form.
### Conclusion
The numbers a satisfying d(a)=a2 are:
a=n≥02…21,a=2,a=3.
So, the complete set of solutions is:
a=n≥02…21,a=2,a=3.
Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track
puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.
Source: Omni-MATH,
licensed Apache-2.0.
Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.