Number Theory

Lecture 1
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Q. Calara wants to buy pizza and cola to her family. She has Rs. 400.
If we know that each pizza cost Rs. 57 and each bottle of cola cost Rs.
22, then let she bought x pizzas and y bottles of cola . Find (x+y)

A 12 B 13

C 15 D 17
 QUIZ TIME
Q. Calara wants to buy pizza and cola to her family. She has Rs. 400.
If we know that each pizza cost Rs. 57 and each bottle of cola cost Rs.
22, then let she bought x pizzas and y bottles of cola . Find (x+y)

A 12 B 13

C 15 D 17
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Solution:
We can write the equation as the linear diophantine equations
57x + 22y = 400
Now, gcd(57, 22) = 1 and 1 | 400, there are many solution.
1=9–4×2
= 9 – 2 × (13 – 9)
= 3 × 9 – 2 × 13
= 3 × (22 – 13) – 2 × 13
= 3 × 22 – 5 × 13
= 3 × 22 – 5(57 – 2 × 22)
= 13 × 22 – 5 × 57
We can find = – 5 and = 13
⇒ x0 = 400 × (–5) = – 2000 and y0 = 400 × 13 = 5200
We write the general solution;
x = – 2000 + 22n
y = 5200 – 57n.
x ≥ 0 and y ≥ 0. Because x and y determine the number of pizzas
and bottles of colas. That’s why x and y can’t be negative.
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Solution:

5200 – 57n ≥ 0 then 5200 ≥ 57n, if divide both sides by 57, we find
n ≤ 91.
– 2000 + 22n ≥ 0, so 22n ≥ 2000,divide both sides by 22 we get
n ≥ 90.9 ≅ 91, so n = 91.
If we put n = 91 in general solution we find x = – 2000 + ( 22. 91) = 2
and y = 5200 – (57. 91) = 13, so she can buy 2 pizza and 13 bottles
of cola.
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Q. There exist unique positive integers x and y such that 4y – 615 = x2.
What is the value of x + y?

A 65 B 70

C 75 D 80
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Q. There exist unique positive integers x and y such that 4y – 615 = x2.
What is the value of x + y?

A 65 B 70

C 75 D 80
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Q. There exist unique positive integers x and y such that 4y – 615 = x2.
What is the value of x + y?

Solution:

Note that the equation rearranged to

615 = 4y – x2 = (2y – x)(2y + x).
Now it suffices to find two numbers which multiply to 615 and which
average to a power of two. Experimentation yields that the only
possibility is 615 = 5 × 123, which yields y = 6, x = 59 and x + y = 65
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Q. Number of natural values of x less than 300 satisfy linear
congruences:

A 1 B 3

C 5 D 7
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Q. Number of natural values of x less than 300 satisfy linear
congruences:

A 1 B 3

C 5 D 7
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Q. Number of natural values of x less than 300 satisfy linear
congruences:

Solution:
Notice that we may write x in the form
5k + 3 and 11m + 4
x = 5k + 3 = 11m + 4
Taking this equation mod 5 we arrive at
11m + 4 ≡ 3 (mod 5) ⇒ m ≡ – 1 (mod 5).
We substitute m = 5m1 – 1 to give us
x = 11(5m1– 1) + 4 = 55m1 –7.
Therefore ≡ 48 ( mod 55) which means x = 55k + 48
for some integer k.
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Q. Let N = 123456789101112….4344 be the 79 - digit number that is
formed by writing the integers from 1 to 44 in order, one after the
other. What is the remainder when N is divided by 45?

A 1 B 4

C 9 D 18
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Q. Let N = 123456789101112….4344 be the 79 - digit number that is
formed by writing the integers from 1 to 44 in order, one after the
other. What is the remainder when N is divided by 45?

A 1 B 4

C 9 D 18
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Q. Let N = 123456789101112….4344 be the 79 - digit number that is
formed by writing the integers from 1 to 44 in order, one after the
other. What is the remainder when N is divided by 45?
Solution:
We will consider this number mod 5 and mod 9. By looking at the last
digit, it is obvious that the number is ≡ 4 mod 5. To calculate the
number mod 9, note that
123456… 4344 ≡ 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 8 + 9 + (1 + 0) + (1 + 1) +....+
(4 + 3) + (4 + 4) ≡ 1 + 2 +....+ 44 mod 9 so it is equivalent to

Let x be the remainder when this number is divided by 45. We know

that x ≡ 0 (mod 9) and x ≡ 4 (mod 5), so by the Chinese remainder
theorem, since 9(– 1) ≡ 1 (mod 5),
x ≡ 5 (0) + 9 (–1)(4) (mod 5.9), or x ≡ – 36 ≡ 9 (mod 45). So the
answer is 9
 QUIZ TIME JBMO - 2001
Q. Find the greatest common divisor of the numbers
An = 23n + 36n+2 + 56n+2
When n = 0, 1,....., 1999.

A 1 B 9

C 900 D 7
 QUIZ TIME JBMO - 2001
Q. Find the greatest common divisor of the numbers
An = 23n + 36n+2 + 56n+2
When n = 0, 1,....., 1999.

A 1 B 9

C 900 D 7
 QUIZ TIME JBMO - 2001
Q. Find the greatest common divisor of the numbers
An = 23n + 36n+2 + 56n+2
When n = 0, 1,....., 1999.

Solution:
We have A0 = 1 + 9 + 25 = 35 = 5 × 7.
Using congruence mod 5, it follows that
An = 23n + 36n + 2 ≡ 23n + 93n + 1 ≡ 23n + (–1)3n + 1 (mod 5).
For n = 1, A1 ≡ 9 ≠ 0 (mod 5), hence 5 is not a common divisor.
On the other hand
An = 8n + 9 . 93n + 25. 253n
≡ 1 + 2. 23n + 4. 43n
≡ 1 + 2. 8n + 4. 64n
≡ 1 + 2. 1n + 4. 1n
≡ 0 (mod 7),
Therefore 7 divides An, for all integers n ≥ 0.
Consequently, the greatest common divisor of the numbers
A0, A1, … , A1999 is equal to 7.
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Q. How many integers n with 10 ≤ n ≤ 500 have the property that the
hundreds digit of 17n and 17n + 17 are different?

A 52 B 60

C 70 D 84
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Q. How many integers n with 10 ≤ n ≤ 500 have the property that the
hundreds digit of 17n and 17n + 17 are different?

A 52 B 60

C 70 D 84
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Q. How many integers n with 10 ≤ n ≤ 500 have the property that the
hundreds digit of 17n and 17n + 17 are different?

Solution:
Let An denote the value when the last two digits of 17n are deleted,
Notice that An + 1 – An is either 0 or 1 for every n. Hence, the problem is
just asking for the number of n with 10 ≤ n ≤ 500 such that An + 1 – An = 1.
As n ranges from 10 to 500, the smallest number is 17 × 10 = 170 and the
largest number is 17(500) + 17 = 8517.
In other words, A10 = 1 and A501 = 85.
Hence for 10 ≤ n ≤ 500, the value of An is increased exactly 84 times.
Hence, the answer is 84.
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Q. Find no of integers n such that n – 50 and n + 50 are both perfect
squares.

A 1 B 2

C 4 D 9
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Q. Find no of integers n such that n – 50 and n + 50 are both perfect
squares.

A 1 B 2

C 4 D 9
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Q. Find no of integers n such that n – 50 and n + 50 are both perfect
squares.

Solution:
Let n – 50 = a2 and n + 50 = b2.
Then b2 – a2 = 100, so (b – a) (b + a) = 22.52.
Because b – a and b + a are distinct and of the same parity, the only
possibility is b – a = 2 and b + a = 50, yielding b = 26 and a = 24.
Hence there is only one n with this property namely n = 626.
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Q. Find the number of ordered pairs of positive integers (a, b) with a + b
prime, 1 ≤ a, b ≤ 100, and is an integer.

A 10 B 30

C 51 D 70
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Q. Find the number of ordered pairs of positive integers (a, b) with a + b
prime, 1 ≤ a, b ≤ 100, and is an integer.

A 10 B 30

C 51 D 70
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Q. Find the number of ordered pairs of positive integers (a, b) with a + b
prime, 1 ≤ a, b ≤ 100, and is an integer.

Solution:

Notice

must be an integer, whence a + b |a + 1 or a + b|b + 1, so a = 1 or b = 1.

It follows that we need a + 1 or b + 1 to be a prime.
Since there are 26 primes less than or equal to 101, (the maximum
possible value of a + 1) we obtain 26 × 2 = 52 pairs (a, b), but we
overcount the a = b = 1 case, so the answer is 51.
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Q. How many zeros occur at the end of the number 19996 + 6. 1999 + 5?

A 1 B 3

C 5 D 7
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Q. How many zeros occur at the end of the number 19996 + 6. 1999 + 5?

A 1 B 3

C 5 D 7
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Q. How many zeros occur at the end of the number 19996 + 6. 1999 + 5?

Solution:

Write the number in question as n6 + 6n + 5 for n = 1999. Now remark

that this factors as
(n + 1) (n5 – n4 + n3 – n2 + n + 5) = (n + 1)2 (n4 – 2n3 + 3n2 – 4n + 5).
Then (n + 1)2 = 20002 term contributes six factors of 5. With respect to
the other term, note that
n4 – 2n3 + 3n2 – 4n + 5 ≡ (– 1)4 – 2(–1)3 + 3(–1)2 – 4(–1) + 5 ≡ 15 (mod
25), meaning that it is divisible by 5 but not 25. Thus this term adds
exactly one extra factor of 5, meaning that is desired answer is 7.
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Q. Number of solutions (x, y) of y2 = x2 + y3 x – 1 over the positive
integers.

A 1 B 3

C 5 D 7
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Q. Number of solutions (x, y) of y2 = x2 + y3 x – 1 over the positive
integers.

A 1 B 3

C 5 D 7
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Q. Number of solutions (x, y) of y2 = x2 + y3 x – 1 over the positive
integers.
Solution:
Fix y. Then we have a quadratic equation x2 + y3x – (1 + y2) = 0. We need
the discriminant to be a perfect square, or else by the quadratic formula, x
is irrational. So
Δx = (y3)2 – 4(1) (– 1 – y2) = y6 + 4y2 + 4 = t2
for some positive integer t. Once again, we use the discreteness of the
integers: it’s obvious that t > y3. But we’re working with integers, so this
means that t ≥ y3 + 1, so y6 + 4y2 + 4 = t2 ≥ (y3 + 1)2 = y6 + 2y3 + 1.
Clearly, this inequality cannot hold for large y, because once we subtract y6
from both sides, the RHS is cubic in y and the LHS is quadratic in y. In fact,
it holds only for y = 1 and y = 2. If y = 1, then we get x2 + x – 2 = 0, and y = 2,
then we get x2 + 8x – 5 = 0. Only x2 + x – 2 has integer roots, so our only
solution is (1, 1).
 QUIZ TIME AIME II -2008
Q. Find the largest integer n satisfying the following conditions:
(i) n2 can be expressed as the difference of two consecutive cubes.
(ii) 2n + 79 is a perfect square.
 QUIZ TIME AIME II -2008
Q. Find the largest integer n satisfying the following conditions:
(i) n2 can be expressed as the difference of two consecutive cubes.
(ii) 2n + 79 is a perfect square.

Answer: 181
 QUIZ TIME AIME II -2008
Q. Find the largest integer n satisfying the following conditions:
(i) n2 can be expressed as the difference of two consecutive cubes.
(ii) 2n + 79 is a perfect square.

Solution:
Write n2 = (m + 1)3 – m3 = 3m2 + 3m + 1, or equivalently, (2n + 1) (2n – 1)
= 4n2 – 1 = 12m2 + 12m + 3 = 3 (2m + 1)2.
Since 2n + 1 and 2n – 1 are both odd and their difference is 2, they
are relatively prime. But since their product is three times a square,
one of them must be a square and the other three times a square. We
cannot have 2n – 1 be three times a square, for then 2n + 1 would be
a square congruent to 2 modulo 3, which is impossible.
Thus 2n – 1 is a square, say b2. But 2n + 79 is also a square, say a2.
Then (a + b) (a – b) = a2 – b2 = 80. Since a + b and a – b have the
same parity and their product is even, they are both even. To
maximize n, it suffices to maximize 2b = (a + b) – (a – b) and check
that this yields an integral value for m. This occurs when a + b = 40
and a – b = 2, that is, when a = 21 and b = 19. This yields n = 181 and
m = 104, so the answer is 181.
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Q. The six - digit number 2 0 2 1 0 A is a prime for only one digit A.

What is A?

A 1 B 3

C 5 D 9
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Q. The six - digit number 2 0 2 1 0 A is a prime for only one digit A.

What is A?

A 1 B 3

C 5 D 9
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Q. The six - digit number 2 0 2 1 0 A is a prime for only one digit A.

What is A?

Solution:
First, modulo 2 or 5, 20210A ≡ A. Hence A ≠ 0, 2, 4, 5, 6, 8.
Second modulo 3, 20210 A ≡ 2 + 0 + 2 + 1 + 0 + A ≡ 5 + A.
Hence A ≠ 1, 4, 7
Third modulo 11, 20210A ≡ A + 1 + 0 – 0 – 2 – 2 ≡ A – 3. Hence, A ≠ 3.
Therefore, the answer is 9
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Q. The base - nine representation of the number N is

(27, 006, 000, 052)9. What is the remainder when N is divided by 5?

A 0 B 1

C 2 D 3
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Q. The base - nine representation of the number N is

(27, 006, 000, 052)9. What is the remainder when N is divided by 5?

A 0 B 1

C 2 D 3
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Q. The base - nine representation of the number N is

(27, 006, 000, 052)9. What is the remainder when N is divided by 5?

Solution:
Recall that 9 ≡ – 1(mod 5). We expand N by the definition of bases:
N = 27, 006, 000, 0529
= 2. 910 + 7. 99 + 6. 96 + 5.9 + 2
≡ 2. (–1)10 + 7. (–1)9 + 6. (–1)6 + 5. (–1) + 2(mod 5)
≡ 2 – 7 + 6 – 5 + 2 (mod 5)
≡ – 2 (mod 5)
≡ 3 (mod 5)
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Q. A 5-digit number when multiplied by 9, gives the 5-digit

number . The sum of the digits in the number is

A 18 B 27

C 36 D 45
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Q. A 5-digit number when multiplied by 9, gives the 5-digit

number . The sum of the digits in the number is

A 18 B 27

C 36 D 45
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Q. A 5-digit number when multiplied by 9, gives the 5-digit

number . The sum of the digits in the number is

Solution:
abcde × 9 = abcde (10 – 1) = abcde0

(a – 1) – 0 = 0 ⇒ a = 1
10 – e = a ⇒ e = 9
b–a=e⇒b=0
(e – 1) – d = b ⇒ d = 8
d – c = c ⇒ c = 4,9
= 10989
∴ Sum of digits = 27
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Q. Let a ≥ b ≥ c ≥ 0 be integers such that 2a + 2b – 2c = 144. Then, a + b – c

equals

A 7 B 8

C 9 D 10
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Q. Let a ≥ b ≥ c ≥ 0 be integers such that 2a + 2b – 2c = 144. Then, a + b – c

equals

A 7 B 8

C 9 D 10
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Q. Let a ≥ b ≥ c ≥ 0 be integers such that 2a + 2b – 2c = 144. Then, a + b – c

equals

Solution:

2a + 2b – 2c = 144
144 = 28 × 32
= 28 × (9)
= 24 (23 + 21 – 20)
= 27 + 25 – 24
a+b–c=7+5–4=8