Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 5 / 234 of 400 #834 of 1964

Problem 834

AIME late
Number theory Difficulty 5.5 Prove it

Prove: Among any four arbitrary natural numbers, there are at least two whose difference is divisible by 3!

This one wants a proof. Work it on paper, then read the official solution and mark yourself. Be honest about it: the record is only any use to you if it is.

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Official solution

For every natural number:

When divided by 3, the remainder is one of the values 0, 1, 2. Among these values, there are no four different ones. Therefore, among any four arbitrary natural numbers, there are two that leave the same remainder when divided by 3.

If rr is this remainder, then these two numbers are of the form 3p+r3 p + r and 3q+r3 q + r with natural numbers p,qp, q. Their difference is thus (3p+r)(3q+r)=3(pq)(3 p + r) - (3 q + r) = 3(p - q), which is divisible by 3.

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty, ordering) added by this project.