Olympiad Maths Prep

Track / Stage 7 / 197 of 300 #1597 of 2000

Problem 1597

National olympiad second round; IMO P1/P4
Number theory Difficulty 7.4 Prove it

4. 249 Proof: The equation xy+z=1x-y+z=1 has infinitely many sets of positive integer solutions where x,y,zx, y, z are all distinct, and the product of any two of them is divisible by the third.

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4. 249 Proof: The equation xy+z=1x-y+z=1 has infinitely many sets of positive integer solutions where x,y,zx, y, z are all distinct, and the product of any two of them is divisible by the third.

This one wants a proof. Work it on paper, read the official solution, then mark yourself honestly — the ladder only means something if the record is true.

Official solution

[Proof] Let x,y,zx, y, z be positive integer solutions of the original equation that meet the problem's requirements. Then x,y,zx, y, z are pairwise distinct, and there exist positive integers u,v,wu, v, w such that
{xy=zuyz=xvzx=yw.\left\{\begin{array}{l} x y=z u \\ y z=x v \\ z x=y w . \end{array}\right.
(1) ×\times (2) ×\times (3) gives (xyz)2=(xyz)(uvw)(x y z)^{2}=(x y z)(u v w),

Noting that xyz0x y z \neq 0, we have
xyz= uvw. .x y z=\text { uvw. } .

Substituting (1), (2), and (3) into the left side of (4), we get
z2u=x2v=y2w=xyz=uvwz^{2} u=x^{2} v=y^{2} w=x y z=u v w

Thus, we have

i.e., \square
x2=uw,y2=uv,z2=vw,x^{2}=u w, y^{2}=u v, z^{2}=v w,

Let
x=uw,y=uv,z=vw.n=u,m=w,k=v\begin{array}{l} x=\sqrt{u w}, y=\sqrt{u v}, z=\sqrt{v w} . \\ n=\sqrt{u}, m=\sqrt{w}, k=\sqrt{v} \end{array}

Then \square
x=nm,y=nk,z=mkx=n m, y=n k, z=m k \text {. }

Substituting (5) into the original equation, we get
nmnk+mk=1n m-n k+m k=1

i.e.,
n(km)=mk1n(k-m)=m k-1

Taking km=1k-m=1, then
k=m+1,n=m2+m1k=m+1, \quad n=m^{2}+m-1

Substituting (6) into (5) gives
x=m(m2+m1),y=(m+1)(m2+m1),z=m(m+1).x=m\left(m^{2}+m-1\right), y=(m+1)\left(m^{2}+m-1\right), z=m(m+1).
Upon verification, when m=2,3,4,m=2,3,4, \cdots \cdots, the above expressions provide infinitely many sets of positive integer solutions that meet the requirements of the original equation.

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