Olympiad Maths Prep

Track / Stage 6 / 311 of 400 #1311 of 2000

Problem 1311

National olympiad, first round
Number theory Difficulty 6.6 Find the answer

For which n3n\ge 3 does there exist positive integers a1<a2<<ana_1<a_2<\cdots <a_n, such that: an=a1+...+an1,1a1=1a2+...+1ana_n=a_1+...+a_{n-1}, \hspace{0.5cm} \frac{1}{a_1}=\frac{1}{a_2}+...+\frac{1}{a_n} are both true?

[i]Proposed by Ivan Chan[/i]

Official solution

1. **Case n=3 n = 3 :**
- Suppose a1<a2<a3 a_1 < a_2 < a_3 are positive integers such that a3=a1+a2 a_3 = a_1 + a_2 and 1a1=1a2+1a3 \frac{1}{a_1} = \frac{1}{a_2} + \frac{1}{a_3} .
- Substituting a3=a1+a2 a_3 = a_1 + a_2 into the second equation, we get:
1a1=1a2+1a1+a2 \frac{1}{a_1} = \frac{1}{a_2} + \frac{1}{a_1 + a_2}
- Clearing the denominators by multiplying through by a1a2(a1+a2) a_1 a_2 (a_1 + a_2) , we obtain:
a2(a1+a2)=a1(a1+a2)+a1a2 a_2 (a_1 + a_2) = a_1 (a_1 + a_2) + a_1 a_2
- Simplifying, we get:
a2a1+a22=a12+a1a2+a1a2 a_2 a_1 + a_2^2 = a_1^2 + a_1 a_2 + a_1 a_2
a22=a12+a1a2 a_2^2 = a_1^2 + a_1 a_2
- Rearranging, we have:
a22a1a2a12=0 a_2^2 - a_1 a_2 - a_1^2 = 0
- This is a quadratic equation in a2 a_2 . The discriminant of this quadratic equation must be a perfect square for a2 a_2 to be an integer:
Δ=(a1)2+4(a12)=5a12 \Delta = (a_1)^2 + 4(a_1^2) = 5a_1^2
- Since 5a12 5a_1^2 is not a perfect square for any integer a1 a_1 , there are no solutions for n=3 n = 3 .

2. **Case n=4 n = 4 :**
- Consider the sequence (1,2,3,6) (1, 2, 3, 6) :
- a4=6=1+2+3 a_4 = 6 = 1 + 2 + 3
- 11=1=12+13+16 \frac{1}{1} = 1 = \frac{1}{2} + \frac{1}{3} + \frac{1}{6}
- This sequence satisfies both conditions.

3. **Case n=5 n = 5 :**
- Consider the sequence (9,25,30,36,100) (9, 25, 30, 36, 100) :
- a5=100=9+25+30+36 a_5 = 100 = 9 + 25 + 30 + 36
- 19=125+130+136+1100 \frac{1}{9} = \frac{1}{25} + \frac{1}{30} + \frac{1}{36} + \frac{1}{100}
- This sequence satisfies both conditions.

4. **Induction for n6 n \ge 6 :**
- Assume we have a solution for n n given by (a1,a2,,an) (a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_n) .
- Construct a solution for n+2 n + 2 as (a1,a2,,an1,2an,3an,6an) (a_1, a_2, \ldots, a_{n-1}, 2a_n, 3a_n, 6a_n) :
- The sum condition:
an=a1+a2++an1    6an=a1+a2++an1+2an+3an a_n = a_1 + a_2 + \cdots + a_{n-1} \implies 6a_n = a_1 + a_2 + \cdots + a_{n-1} + 2a_n + 3a_n
- The reciprocal condition:
1a1=1a2++1an    1a1=1a2++1an1+12an+13an+16an \frac{1}{a_1} = \frac{1}{a_2} + \cdots + \frac{1}{a_n} \implies \frac{1}{a_1} = \frac{1}{a_2} + \cdots + \frac{1}{a_{n-1}} + \frac{1}{2a_n} + \frac{1}{3a_n} + \frac{1}{6a_n}
- This completes the induction step, showing that if a solution exists for n n , a solution also exists for n+2 n + 2 .

5. Conclusion:
- For n=3 n = 3 , no solution exists.
- For n4 n \ge 4 , solutions exist as shown by specific examples and the induction step.

The final answer is n4 \boxed{ n \ge 4 } .

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