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Austria 2010 number theory
Problem
Show that cannot be written as the difference of two squares.
Solution
We assume that there are two integers with The factors and have the same parity.
• If both of them were odd, the product would be odd which also gives a contradiction.
• If both of them were even, the product would be divisible by which gives a contradiction.
Therefore, there are no such numbers.
• If both of them were odd, the product would be odd which also gives a contradiction.
• If both of them were even, the product would be divisible by which gives a contradiction.
Therefore, there are no such numbers.
Techniques
Factorization techniquesIntegersPolynomial operations