Skip to main content
OlympiadHQ

Browse · MathNet

Print

Silk Road Mathematics Competition

number theory

Problem

Prove that for every prime number there exists infinitely many 4-tuples of pairwisely distinct positive integers such that the number is a square of an integer.
Solution
Firstly, note that the equation has infinitely many solutions in positive integers. (Pell's equation) Then for every prime number there exist infinitely many positive integers and such that . Putting , , we have It is remained to check that . Note that . If then If , then for .

Techniques

Pell's equationsTechniques: modulo, size analysis, order analysis, inequalities