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Problem 1240

AMC 12 late, AIME early
Number theory Difficulty 5.0 Find the answer Junior Balkan MO

For each nonnegative integer nn we define An=23n+36n+2+56n+2A_n = 2^{3n}+3^{6n+2}+5^{6n+2} . Find the greatest common divisor of the numbers A0,A1,…,A1999A_0,A_1,\ldots, A_{1999} .

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

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Official solution

Note that A0=20+32+52=35A_0 = 2^0 + 3^2 + 5^2 = 35 , so the GCD must be a factor of 35. The prime factorization of 3535 is 5⋅75 \cdot 7 , so we need to check if 55 and 77 are factors of the rest of the numbers.
Note that A1=23+38+58A_1 = 2^3 + 3^8 + 5^8 . Taking both sides modulo 5 yields A1≡23+38≡4(mod5)A_1 \equiv 2^3 + 3^8 \equiv 4 \pmod{5} , and taking both sides modulo 7 yields A1≡1+38+58≡1+2+4≡0(mod7)A_1 \equiv 1 + 3^8 + 5^8 \equiv 1+2+4 \equiv 0 \pmod{7} . That means 55 couldn't be the GCD, but 77 could be the GCD.
To confirm that 77 is the GCD of the 2000 numbers, note that by Euler's Totient Theorem , 36≡56≡1(mod7)3^6 \equiv 5^6 \equiv 1 \pmod{7} . That means 36n+2≡(36)n⋅32≡2(mod7)3^{6n+2} \equiv (3^6)^n \cdot 3^2 \equiv 2 \pmod{7} and 56n+2≡(56)n⋅52≡4(mod7)5^{6n+2} \equiv (5^6)^n \cdot 5^2 \equiv 4 \pmod{7} . Also, since 23≡1(mod7)2^3 \equiv 1 \pmod{7} , we have 23n≡(23)n≡1(mod7)2^{3n} \equiv (2^3)^n \equiv 1 \pmod{7} . Thus, 23n+36n+2+56n+2≡1+2+4≡0(mod7)2^{3n} + 3^{6n+2} + 5^{6n+2} \equiv 1+2+4 \equiv 0 \pmod{7} , making AnA_n a multiple of 7.
In summary, the greatest common divisor of the numbers A0,A1,…,A1999A_0,A_1,\ldots, A_{1999} is 7\boxed{7} .

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