Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 12 of 300 #1412 of 1964

Problem 1412

National olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Algebra Difficulty 7.0 Find the answer

Let a a be a fixed integer. Find all integer solutions x,y,z x,y,z of the system:

5x\plus(a\plus2)y\plus(a\plus2)z\equala, 5x\plus{}(a\plus{}2)y\plus{}(a\plus{}2)z\equal{}a,
(2a\plus4)x\plus(a2\plus3)y\plus(2a\plus2)z\equal3a\minus1, (2a\plus{}4)x\plus{}(a^2\plus{}3)y\plus{}(2a\plus{}2)z\equal{}3a\minus{}1,
(2a\plus4)x\plus(2a\plus2)y\plus(a2\plus3)z\equala\plus1. (2a\plus{}4)x\plus{}(2a\plus{}2)y\plus{}(a^2\plus{}3)z\equal{}a\plus{}1.

The source for this one didn't record the answer, so there is nothing to check what you type against. Work it on paper and mark yourself against the solution below.

Official solution

1. Subtracting Equations:
We start by subtracting the second equation from the third equation:
(2a+4)x+(2a+2)y+(a2+3)z[(2a+4)x+(a2+3)y+(2a+2)z]=(a+1)(3a1) (2a+4)x + (2a+2)y + (a^2+3)z - \left[(2a+4)x + (a^2+3)y + (2a+2)z\right] = (a+1) - (3a-1)
Simplifying, we get:
(2a+2a23)(yz)=2a2 (2a+2-a^2-3)(y-z) = 2a-2
(a22a+1)(yz)=2(a1) (a^2-2a+1)(y-z) = 2(a-1)
(a1)2(yz)=2(a1) (a-1)^2(y-z) = 2(a-1)
Thus, either a=1a = 1 or yz=2a1y - z = \frac{2}{a-1}.

2. **Finding Possible Values of aa**:
For yz=2a1y - z = \frac{2}{a-1} to be an integer, 2a1\frac{2}{a-1} must be an integer. Therefore, a1a-1 must be a divisor of 2. The possible values of a1a-1 are ±1,±2\pm 1, \pm 2, leading to:
a=0,2,3,1 a = 0, 2, 3, -1
Including a=1a = 1, we have a{1,0,1,2,3}a \in \{-1, 0, 1, 2, 3\}.

3. **Solving for Each aa:
-
Case a=1a = -1**:
5x+y+z=1 5x + y + z = -1
0x+4y+0z=4 0x + 4y + 0z = -4
0x+0y+4z=0 0x + 0y + 4z = 0
Solving, we get:
y=1,z=0,x=0 y = -1, z = 0, x = 0
(x,y,z)=(0,1,0) (x, y, z) = (0, -1, 0)

- **Case a=0a = 0**:
5x+2y+2z=0 5x + 2y + 2z = 0
4x+3y+2z=1 4x + 3y + 2z = -1
4x+2y+3z=1 4x + 2y + 3z = 1
Solving, we get:
y=1,z=1,x=0 y = -1, z = 1, x = 0
(x,y,z)=(0,1,1) (x, y, z) = (0, -1, 1)

- **Case a=1a = 1**:
5x+3y+3z=1 5x + 3y + 3z = 1
6x+4y+4z=2 6x + 4y + 4z = 2
6x+4y+4z=2 6x + 4y + 4z = 2
Solving, we get:
x=1,y=2t,z=tfor all tZ x = -1, y = 2 - t, z = t \quad \text{for all } t \in \mathbb{Z}
(x,y,z)=(1,2t,t) (x, y, z) = (-1, 2 - t, t)

- **Case a=2a = 2**:
5x+4y+4z=2 5x + 4y + 4z = 2
8x+7y+6z=5 8x + 7y + 6z = 5
8x+6y+7z=3 8x + 6y + 7z = 3
Solving, we get:
x=6,y=5,z=3 x = -6, y = 5, z = 3
(x,y,z)=(6,5,3) (x, y, z) = (-6, 5, 3)

- **Case a=3a = 3**:
5x+5y+5z=3 5x + 5y + 5z = 3
10x+12y+8z=8 10x + 12y + 8z = 8
10x+8y+12z=4 10x + 8y + 12z = 4
Solving, we get:
x=252t,y=t+1,z=tfor all tR x = -\frac{2}{5} - 2t, y = t + 1, z = t \quad \text{for all } t \in \mathbb{R}
This does not yield integer solutions.

Therefore, the integer solutions are:
- a=1a = -1: (x,y,z)=(0,1,0)(x, y, z) = (0, -1, 0)
- a=0a = 0: (x,y,z)=(0,1,1)(x, y, z) = (0, -1, 1)
- a=1a = 1: (x,y,z)=(1,2t,t)(x, y, z) = (-1, 2 - t, t) for all tZt \in \mathbb{Z}
- a=2a = 2: (x,y,z)=(6,5,3)(x, y, z) = (-6, 5, 3)

The final answer is:

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic, difficulty and ordering added by this site.