Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 6 / 231 of 400 #1231 of 1964

Problem 1231

National olympiad, first round
Number theory Difficulty 6.4 Find the answer

Determine all positive integers a,b,ca,b,c such that ab+ac+bcab + ac + bc is a prime number and
a+ba+c=b+cb+a.\frac{a+b}{a+c}=\frac{b+c}{b+a}.

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Official solution

1. Given the equation:
a+ba+c=b+cb+a \frac{a+b}{a+c} = \frac{b+c}{b+a}
Cross-multiplying, we get:
(a+b)(b+a)=(b+c)(a+c) (a+b)(b+a) = (b+c)(a+c)
Simplifying, we have:
(a+b)2=(b+c)(a+c) (a+b)^2 = (b+c)(a+c)

2. Expanding both sides, we get:
a2+2ab+b2=ab+ac+bc+c2 a^2 + 2ab + b^2 = ab + ac + bc + c^2
Rearranging terms, we have:
a2+2ab+b2abacbcc2=0 a^2 + 2ab + b^2 - ab - ac - bc - c^2 = 0
Simplifying further:
a2+ab+b2acbcc2=0 a^2 + ab + b^2 - ac - bc - c^2 = 0

3. Given that ab+ac+bcab + ac + bc is a prime number, we can rewrite the equation as:
(a+b+c)(a+bc)=ab+ac+bc (a+b+c)(a+b-c) = ab + ac + bc
Since ab+ac+bcab + ac + bc is a prime number, one of the factors must be 1. Therefore, we have two cases:
a+b+c=1ora+bc=1 a+b+c = 1 \quad \text{or} \quad a+b-c = 1

4. Since a,b,ca, b, c are positive integers, a+b+c=1a+b+c = 1 is not possible. Thus, we have:
a+bc=1 a+b-c = 1
Solving for cc, we get:
c=a+b1 c = a + b - 1

5. Substituting c=a+b1c = a + b - 1 into the equation (a+b)2=(b+c)(a+c)(a+b)^2 = (b+c)(a+c), we get:
(a+b)2=(b+(a+b1))(a+(a+b1)) (a+b)^2 = (b + (a+b-1))(a + (a+b-1))
Simplifying, we have:
(a+b)2=(2a+b1)(2b+a1) (a+b)^2 = (2a + b - 1)(2b + a - 1)

6. Expanding both sides, we get:
a2+2ab+b2=(2a+b1)(2b+a1) a^2 + 2ab + b^2 = (2a + b - 1)(2b + a - 1)
Expanding the right-hand side:
a2+2ab+b2=4ab+2a2+2b22a2b+1 a^2 + 2ab + b^2 = 4ab + 2a^2 + 2b^2 - 2a - 2b + 1
Simplifying, we have:
a2+2ab+b2=2a2+4ab+2b22a2b+1 a^2 + 2ab + b^2 = 2a^2 + 4ab + 2b^2 - 2a - 2b + 1
Rearranging terms, we get:
0=a2+2ab+b22a24ab2b2+2a+2b1 0 = a^2 + 2ab + b^2 - 2a^2 - 4ab - 2b^2 + 2a + 2b - 1
Simplifying further:
0=a22abb2+2a+2b1 0 = -a^2 - 2ab - b^2 + 2a + 2b - 1
a2+2ab+b2=2a+2b1 a^2 + 2ab + b^2 = 2a + 2b - 1

7. Since a,ba, b are positive integers, we need to find values such that a+b<3a + b < 3. The only possible values are a=1a = 1 and b=1b = 1, which gives:
c=1+11=1 c = 1 + 1 - 1 = 1

8. Verifying the solution, we have a=1a = 1, b=1b = 1, and c=1c = 1:
ab+ac+bc=11+11+11=3 ab + ac + bc = 1 \cdot 1 + 1 \cdot 1 + 1 \cdot 1 = 3
which is a prime number. Also:
1+11+1=22=1and1+11+1=22=1 \frac{1+1}{1+1} = \frac{2}{2} = 1 \quad \text{and} \quad \frac{1+1}{1+1} = \frac{2}{2} = 1
Thus, the given condition is satisfied.

The final answer is (1,1,1) \boxed{ (1, 1, 1) } .

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