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Printjmc
number theory intermediate
Problem
The base representation of a positive integer is and its base representation is . What is the integer expressed in base ?
Solution
Converting the two expressions to base , it follows that the given positive integer is equal to and is also equal to . Setting these two expressions equal, we have that Thus, is divisible by . Since is a digit in base , it follows that is either equal to or . However, we can discard the case , since its base representation is no longer a two-digit number. Thus, and . In base , the number is
Final answer
31