Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /33 of 106

Number theory Difficulty 8.1 Shortlist Find the answer

Find all positive integers (a,b,c)(a,b,c) such that
abc,bca,cabab-c,\quad bc-a,\quad ca-b are all powers of 22.

[i]

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

Solution

To find all positive integer solutions (a,b,c)(a, b, c) such that each of the expressions abcab-c, bcabc-a, and cabca-b are powers of 2, we start by defining these expressions as powers of 2:

abc=2x,bca=2y,cab=2z ab - c = 2^x, \quad bc - a = 2^y, \quad ca - b = 2^z

where xx, yy, and zz are non-negative integers.

Next, we add these three equations:

(abc)+(bca)+(cab)=2x+2y+2z (ab - c) + (bc - a) + (ca - b) = 2^x + 2^y + 2^z

Simplifying the left-hand side, we get:

ab+bc+ca(a+b+c)=2x+2y+2z ab + bc + ca - (a + b + c) = 2^x + 2^y + 2^z

Our goal is to find all sets of integers (a,b,c)(a, b, c) that satisfy this equation, where the right-hand side is a sum of three powers of 2. We now consider specific cases by examining potential constraints that each power imposes on the relationships between aa, bb, and cc.

### Case: a=b=ca = b = c

By symmetry, a=b=ca = b = c solves each of abcab - c, bcabc - a, and cabca - b, so:

a2a=2x,a2a=2y,a2a=2z a^2 - a = 2^x, \quad a^2 - a = 2^y, \quad a^2 - a = 2^z

This means a2a=2x=2y=2za^2 - a = 2^x = 2^y = 2^z, and so it follows that a(a1)=2xa(a-1) = 2^x. The only two consecutive integers whose product is a power of two are a=2a = 2 and a1=1a-1=1, giving us:

(a,b,c)=(2,2,2) (a, b, c) = (2, 2, 2)

### Constructing and Checking Other Cases

Similarly, we examine other cases by trial and error or intelligent guesswork, ensuring that the expressions remain powers of 2. For lower values of aa, calculated cases are:

1. a=2,b=3,c=2a=2, b=3, c=2
- abc=2×32=4=22ab-c = 2 \times 3 - 2 = 4 = 2^2
- bca=3×22=4=22bc-a = 3 \times 2 - 2 = 4 = 2^2
- cab=2×23=1=20ca-b = 2 \times 2 - 3 = 1 = 2^0

2. a=2,b=6,c=11a=2, b=6, c=11
- abc=2×611=1=20ab-c = 2 \times 6 - 11 = 1 = 2^0
- bca=6×112=64=26bc-a = 6 \times 11 - 2 = 64 = 2^6
- cab=11×26=16=24ca-b = 11 \times 2 - 6 = 16 = 2^4

3. a=3,b=5,c=7a=3, b=5, c=7
- abc=3×57=8=23ab-c = 3 \times 5 - 7 = 8 = 2^3
- bca=5×73=32=25bc-a = 5 \times 7 - 3 = 32 = 2^5
- cab=7×35=16=24ca-b = 7 \times 3 - 5 = 16 = 2^4

Having verified these cases, the full set of positive integer solutions is:

(2,2,2),(2,2,3),(2,6,11),(3,5,7) \boxed{(2, 2, 2), (2, 2, 3), (2, 6, 11), (3, 5, 7)}

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.