Number theoryDifficulty 5.2AIME, harderProve itRomania
Find all non-negative integers n so that n+3+n+3 is an integer.
Solution
Denote m=n+3+n+3. Then n+n+3=(m−n+3)2, whence (2m+1)n+3=m2+3. Then there exists p∈N so that n+3=p2 and, since p+n+p∈N, there exists q∈N so that n+p=q2. Eliminating n yields p2−3=q2−p, that is 4p2+4p−12=4q2, or (2p+1)2−(2q)2=13, which is equivalent to (2p+1−2q)(2p+1+2q)=13. This gives p=3, so n=6.
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Source: MathNet,
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