Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 7.9 National olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

Find all x,y x,y and z z in positive integer: z\plusy2\plusx3\equalxyz z \plus{} y^{2} \plus{} x^{3} \equal{} xyz and x\equalgcd(y,z) x \equal{} \gcd(y,z).

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

Solution

We are tasked with finding all positive integer solutions (x,y,z)(x, y, z) to the system of equations:

1. z+y2+x3=xyz z + y^2 + x^3 = xyz
2. x=gcd(y,z) x = \gcd(y, z)

First, observe that since x=gcd(y,z) x = \gcd(y, z) , x x divides both y y and z z . Let us express y y and z z in terms of x x :
y=xaandz=xb y = xa \quad \text{and} \quad z = xb
where gcd(a,b)=1 \gcd(a, b) = 1 . Substituting these into the first equation gives:
xb+(xa)2+x3=(x)(xa)(xb) xb + (xa)^2 + x^3 = (x)(xa)(xb)
Simplifying, this becomes:
xb+x2a2+x3=x3ab xb + x^2 a^2 + x^3 = x^3 ab
Divide through by x x (assuming x0 x \neq 0 , which is valid for positive integers):
b+xa2+x2=x2ab b + x a^2 + x^2 = x^2 ab
Rearranging this, we get:
b+xa2+x2=x2abb(1x2a)=x(a2+x) b + x a^2 + x^2 = x^2 ab \quad \Rightarrow \quad b(1 - x^2 a) = x(a^2 + x)

To solve, consider small values of x x and find compatible (y,z) (y, z) :

**Case x=1 x = 1 :**

- For x=1 x = 1 , the equations simplify to:
z+y2+1=yz z + y^2 + 1 = yz
Rearrange to:
zyz=y21z(1y)=y21 z - yz = -y^2 - 1 \quad \Rightarrow \quad z(1 - y) = -y^2 - 1
Try small values for y y :
- y=2 y = 2 :
z(12)=41z=5z=5 z(1 - 2) = -4 - 1 \quad \Rightarrow \quad -z = -5 \quad \Rightarrow \quad z = 5
Valid solution: (1,2,5) (1, 2, 5) .
- y=3 y = 3 :
z(13)=912z=10z=5 z(1 - 3) = -9 - 1 \quad \Rightarrow \quad -2z = -10 \quad \Rightarrow \quad z = 5
Valid solution: (1,3,5) (1, 3, 5) .

**Case x=2 x = 2 :**

- For x=2 x = 2 :
z+y2+8=2yz z + y^2 + 8 = 2yz
Rearrange to:
z(2y - 1) = y^2 + 8 ] Trying small values of \( y \) gives: - \( y = 2 \): \[ z(2 \cdot 2 - 1) = 2^2 + 8 \quad \Rightarrow \quad 3z = 12 \quad \Rightarrow \quad z = 4
Valid solution: (2,2,4) (2, 2, 4) .
- y=6 y = 6 :
z(261)=62+811z=44z=4 z(2 \cdot 6 - 1) = 6^2 + 8 \quad \Rightarrow \quad 11z = 44 \quad \Rightarrow \quad z = 4
Valid solution: (2,6,4) (2, 6, 4) .

Hence, the solutions are:
(1,2,5),(1,3,5),(2,2,4),(2,6,4) \boxed{(1, 2, 5), (1, 3, 5), (2, 2, 4), (2, 6, 4)}

These exhaustively account for all solutions given the constraints.

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