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PrintMathematica competitions in Croatia
Croatia number theory
Problem
Do there exist positive integers and such that and are squares of positive integers?
Solution
Without loss of generality we can assume that . Obviously, . On the other hand, because . Hence we have which means that is between two consecutive squares, so it can not be a square of an integer. Such positive integers and do not exist.
Final answer
No; such positive integers do not exist.
Techniques
Techniques: modulo, size analysis, order analysis, inequalitiesLinear and quadratic inequalities