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PrintSlovenija 2008
Slovenia 2008 number theory
Problem
Find all prime numbers and such that is a perfect square.
Solution
First assume . Then must be a perfect square. Since is divisible by which is prime, it must also be divisible by . This implies that divides either or . But is a prime, so this is only possible when is equal to . Indeed, when we have , which is a perfect square.
Now, let . Since is a perfect square divisible by , it must also be divisible by . So, divides or, since and are coprime, divides . We conclude that divides , so divides . There are two possible cases: or . A similar argument shows that if divides , then divides , which implies . So, . If , then this expression is equal to . If , then it is equal to and this is not a perfect square. The only two pairs of primes with the required property are and .
Now, let . Since is a perfect square divisible by , it must also be divisible by . So, divides or, since and are coprime, divides . We conclude that divides , so divides . There are two possible cases: or . A similar argument shows that if divides , then divides , which implies . So, . If , then this expression is equal to . If , then it is equal to and this is not a perfect square. The only two pairs of primes with the required property are and .
Final answer
(p, q) = (47, 47) and (3, 2)
Techniques
Prime numbersGreatest common divisors (gcd)