Browse · MathNet
PrintMathematica competitions in Croatia
Croatia number theory
Problem
Show that there are no positive integers and such that is a perfect square.
Solution
Assume that there is such that . Obviously, is odd. The last equation is equivalent to .
It is easy to see that for odd number , divides . Since powers of are congruent to or modulo , the number is congruent to , or modulo . Therefore leads to a contradiction.
There are no positive integers and such that is a perfect square.
It is easy to see that for odd number , divides . Since powers of are congruent to or modulo , the number is congruent to , or modulo . Therefore leads to a contradiction.
There are no positive integers and such that is a perfect square.
Techniques
Modular ArithmeticTechniques: modulo, size analysis, order analysis, inequalities