Irish Math Olympiad | 2009 Question 3

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  • Опубліковано 15 жов 2020
  • We solve a nice number theory problem involving perfect squares from the 2009 Irish Mathematical Olympiad.
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КОМЕНТАРІ • 236

  • @Felissan
    @Felissan 3 роки тому +181

    A trick I found to make the solution quicker is that since n² has the same parity as a²b², we can use (ab - 2) as an upper bound for n, which leads to a more restrictive equation than with (ab - 1) and leaves us with only a handful of cases to check.

    • @duskyrc1373
      @duskyrc1373 3 роки тому +8

      Good catch!

    • @PlayerMathinson
      @PlayerMathinson 3 роки тому +6

      Can someone please explain Felissan solution? How is a^2b^2 parity same as n^2?

    • @marcoantonioircide740
      @marcoantonioircide740 3 роки тому +31

      @@PlayerMathinson 4(a+b) is alway even. If a²b² is even the same is a²b²-4(a+b)=n². If a²b² is odd a²b²-4(a+b)=n² is odd. Thus they have the same parity

    • @marcoantonioircide740
      @marcoantonioircide740 3 роки тому +30

      @@PlayerMathinson Also you could work mod 2. 4(a+b) vould vanish, leaving you with a²b²=n² (mod 2).

    • @PlayerMathinson
      @PlayerMathinson 3 роки тому +11

      @@marcoantonioircide740 Thank you so much for making this clear.

  • @caomhanhernon8230
    @caomhanhernon8230 2 роки тому +18

    From a former student of NUIG, Michael Tuite is a legend 😄

  • @CM63_France
    @CM63_France 3 роки тому +19

    Hi,
    For fun:
    1 "the next thing that we want to do",
    1 "what I want to notice",
    1 "so now what we are going to do",
    2 "I'll go ahead and",
    2 "so let's go ahead and",
    1 "so let's may be go ahead and",
    1 "I can go ahead and",
    1 "we can go ahead and",
    1 "and so on and so forth",
    1 "great",
    6:05 : a good place to look at.
    6:31 : 2b or not 2b, that is the question.
    19:48 : whouah! whouah !

  • @johndanielvillanueva8604
    @johndanielvillanueva8604 3 роки тому +80

    One could say he is a Math buff.

    • @Tiqerboy
      @Tiqerboy 3 роки тому +8

      A buff math buff.

    • @hdrevolution123
      @hdrevolution123 3 роки тому +1

      hes a rock climber

    • @howmathematicianscreatemat9226
      @howmathematicianscreatemat9226 2 роки тому

      A rock star in math because even only 5% of math PROFESSORS(!) truly succeed in mathematical competitions like this. Studying maths in university is up to 1.5 orders of magnitude easier than this. Yes, you need to know much more than here but you need far less mathematical fantasy.

    • @randomdude9135
      @randomdude9135 2 роки тому +1

      @@howmathematicianscreatemat9226 yeah, we don't have to use our brain this much to solve questions like these which require creativity & out of the box thinking sometimes. Sometimes understanding, remembering & regurgitating those truckloads of abstract theorems itself is a difficult task at university, let alone APPLYING them in creative ways to solve challenging problems 😅

    • @NuisanceMan
      @NuisanceMan Рік тому

      @@howmathematicianscreatemat9226 It's up to 31.623 times easier?

  • @3gp
    @3gp 3 роки тому +9

    ab-2a-2b

  • @antoine5571
    @antoine5571 3 роки тому +40

    I like this kind of problems.. When I watch the solution I feel like "That's easy and funny" but I can't do that alone

    • @vgstep
      @vgstep 2 роки тому +2

      I feel the same lol

    • @taopaille-paille4992
      @taopaille-paille4992 Рік тому +1

      work and train hard you will get to improve and solve problem you once thought too hard for you

    • @rockysmith6105
      @rockysmith6105 Рік тому

      They are really freaking cool honestly, and there is a certain satisfaction in doubling back and making a full loop check even when you are sure of how you arrived at the answer. Finding that n is the same both in the algebra of the subcases and by substituting a and b from the subcase by which you arrived at an n into the original expresssion and coming up with that same n again is fundamentally sublime. You just kick back, and enjoy a nirvana of "Man, math just works" Not that I'm exceptional at it, but it goes w/o saying- math logic is remarkably better than any other because it's so fundamental.

  • @goodplacetostop2973
    @goodplacetostop2973 3 роки тому +62

    Apparently my first comment did NOT appear for other people so let’s try again...
    5:01 Good inequality to stop
    6:01 Good place to look at
    20:07 Sin áit mhaith le stopadh
    Daily... How many elements do the following sets have :
    A = {x ∈ ℚ | x = (n² + 1)/(2n² + n + 1), n ∈ ℕ, n ∈ [1, 1000]}
    B = {x ∈ ℚ | x = (n² + 1)/(2n² + n + 1), n ∈ ℕ}
    Posting hint in another comment.

    • @goodplacetostop2973
      @goodplacetostop2973 3 роки тому +3

      Hint...
      To be clear, we’re talking about sets, not multisets. So we look for distincts elements in the sets and you should look in what cases duplicates happen.

    • @thephysicistcuber175
      @thephysicistcuber175 3 роки тому +8

      As none of the elements of A or B are zero we can consider their reciprocals minus 2. A reciprocal of a fraction as above can be written as 2+(n-1)/(n^2+1), so we have that the reciprocals minus 2 have the form (n-1)/(n^2+1), for appropriate values of n, or as m/(m^2+2m+2) for m=n-1. Taking another reciprocal (if m is not zero, thus n is not 1) and subtracting 2 yields m+2/m, whereas when m=0 the m/(m^2+2m+2)=0. So we need to see how many nonzero values m+2/m can assume when m lies in [0,999]. The function x+2/x is monotonically increasing for x>sqrt(2), so for m>=2 m+2/m will not be repeating values, and will increase for increasing m. When m=1 m+2/m=3, when m=2 it's also 3, so there is exactly one repeated value. Moreover 0 is never reached. Thus the cardinality of A is 1000-1=999. The same argument shows that the cardinality of B is countably infinite.
      EDIT: I also need to remark that the operation of taking the reciprocal and subtracting 2 is injective. This is hopefully obvious/well known.
      EDIT2: There is a very simple way to see that the cardinality of B is infinite while doing barely no work: Notice how the function (x^2+1)/(2x^2+x+1) is rational, and thus algebraic. We'll show that *No nonconstant algebraic functions can assume one value infinitely many times.* As a bonus we'll get that sin(x) is not algebraic :). The proof is extremely easy: say f(x) is algebraic, and p(x,f(x))=0 for some polynomial p. If f(x)=y for a fixed y then p(x,y)=0. As an equation of x, that is taking y as a fixed parameter, we can see that if it has infinitely many solutions then the polynomial must be constant in x. But then y must be constant. This concludes the proof of the mini-fact we'll use. Since no values can be attained infinitely many times the image of an infinite set must be infinite (of the same cardinality). This concludes the solution.

    • @priyankabhardwaj4590
      @priyankabhardwaj4590 3 роки тому

      @@thephysicistcuber175 henlo lorenzo mauro, big fan

    • @goodplacetostop2973
      @goodplacetostop2973 3 роки тому +3

      @@thephysicistcuber175 Forgot to come back here and clearly say that's the correct answer. I have nothing else to add, everything is in there :p

    • @HemantPandey123
      @HemantPandey123 3 роки тому

      For common solution we must have n² + 1 and (n² + 1)+n² + n have a common factor. Hence n² + 1 and n² + n must have common factor which happens only fo n = 1. Hence 999 elements.

  • @dujas2
    @dujas2 3 роки тому +5

    There's a small shortcut for the a=2 case. Note that (2b-1)^2=n^2+3^2 is a Pythagorean triple with one side length of 3, implying n=4 and 2b-1=5. Although is does make it harder to realize the 0+9=9 case is actually relevant.

  • @bhanusri3732
    @bhanusri3732 3 роки тому +3

    This is the best channel for math on youtube

  • @josephmartos
    @josephmartos 3 роки тому +1

    Man your videos are really nice to watch

  • @quantumcity6679
    @quantumcity6679 3 роки тому +2

    Awesome explanation.

  • @BlazeDragonX
    @BlazeDragonX 3 роки тому

    Really intuitive and simple solution!

  • @andreivila7607
    @andreivila7607 3 роки тому +5

    Wow! Nice problem! I can’t really say that it was hard, but I have to admit that I enjoyed watching you explain it. Keep up the awesome work and have a good one!
    P.S. I’m still waiting for that juicy IMO playlist of problems...

  • @FedeMumble
    @FedeMumble 3 роки тому

    These videos are the best

  • @ahmedt5734
    @ahmedt5734 3 роки тому +7

    The only person who motivates me to become a mathematician!❤️

    • @general9064
      @general9064 3 роки тому

      You mean be a buff mathematician

    • @ahmedt5734
      @ahmedt5734 3 роки тому

      @@general9064 I mean a world-class mathematician,just like him😉

  • @manpurwarganesh2627
    @manpurwarganesh2627 3 роки тому +2

    His videos are awesome 😍 it inspires me to solve olympaids questions

    • @Tiqerboy
      @Tiqerboy 3 роки тому

      He inspires me to get the gym more often. It's possible to be both smart and buff.

  • @benterrell9139
    @benterrell9139 3 роки тому +6

    The dog was impressed at the end.

  • @tonyhaddad1394
    @tonyhaddad1394 3 роки тому +1

    Man wowwwww you are great i always learn from you

  • @dushyanthabandarapalipana5492
    @dushyanthabandarapalipana5492 3 роки тому

    Thank you!

  • @Tiqerboy
    @Tiqerboy 3 роки тому +4

    My thoughts how to solve this:
    since (ab)^2 is already a square, we need to look at the difference between that and the perfect square just below it. Once a and b get beyond a certain since, this difference is going to be > 4(a+b) and therefore you only really need to test small values of a and b for that to hold.
    When I solved this , I consider 0 NOT a Natural number. Natural numbers should be 1, 2, 3, .....

  • @Umbra451
    @Umbra451 3 роки тому +2

    6:00 this can also be thought of as a rectangle with sides a and b, where the area is less than the perimeter! (without regard to units, that is.)

  • @tomasebenlendr6440
    @tomasebenlendr6440 3 роки тому

    case 1 has also (trivial) subcase 3: ((b-2)-n)((b-2)+n) = 8 may have both outer parenthesis to be negative. But that is possible only for b < 2, thus we should quickly check (and rule out) a=1, b=1.

  • @himanshukashyap6601
    @himanshukashyap6601 2 роки тому

    Great sir 😍loved your way

  • @Huxya
    @Huxya 3 роки тому

    1. if a = 1 we have b^2-4*b-4 it has more than 1 root, thus can't be square but can be equal to 1 when x = 5. [1,5],[5,1]. 2 if a>=b>1 then a*b > a+ b or a+b = a*b-k with k>=1, we're getting x^2 - 4*x + 4*k which is always > 1 but can have one root when k = 1. so a*b = a+b-1 which can only be true in [2,3],[3,2]

  • @SousouCell
    @SousouCell 3 роки тому

    That a good channel to stop by ......😛😛

  • @xuanucho3483
    @xuanucho3483 3 роки тому +11

    Im my country, 0 is a natural number
    So case 3: a=0
    -4b=n²
    As -4b≤0 and n²≥0, b=0

  • @Sinchiro5
    @Sinchiro5 2 місяці тому

    Man i love math

  • @ramanakv3272
    @ramanakv3272 3 роки тому

    Ab+n=1or 2or 4 and ab+n=4(a+b) ,or 2(a+b) Or(a+b) respectively and since the equation is symmetric hence if (a,b) is a solution then (b,a) is also a solution

  • @donaldbiden7927
    @donaldbiden7927 3 роки тому +1

    I found out that for a,b more than or equal to 5, the given expression is between (ab)^2 and (ab-1)^2 , so no solutions there. Then the rest is casework !! Nice problem

  • @EdBailey1208
    @EdBailey1208 3 роки тому +13

    Fun problem! But the parity argument (as mentioned below) plus some factoring significantly simplifies the cases to check. I also explored a=b in general which leads to the interesting fact that a^4-8a = a*(a-2)*(a^2+2a+4) is square ... but isn't much help in this problem but might be a useful approach for similar problems. (edited)

    • @minime1235able
      @minime1235able 3 роки тому +2

      Why does ab

    • @EdBailey1208
      @EdBailey1208 3 роки тому +2

      @@minime1235able That was a stupid error. Ugh! Thanks for the correction. My only excuse is that I approached the cases very differently and didn't put in the diligence when I followed his method.
      I started with the parity argument to realize that n= n^2 you derive ab (b-2)^2 = n^2 +8
      But 1 and 9 are the only perfect squares that differ by exactly eight [Recall that (k+2m)^2 - k^2 = 4km + 4m^2 = 4(k+m)m but this is only 8 if k=m=1]
      Which yields (a,b)=(1,5) and its symmetric pair.

    • @shashankambone6920
      @shashankambone6920 3 роки тому

      @@EdBailey1208 the other guy pointed out your mistake and you also agreed. So why don't you edit your original comment?

  • @luciangv3252
    @luciangv3252 3 роки тому

    factorize
    b^2·(a + 2·(√(1 - b^3) + 1)/b^2)·(a - 2·(√(1 - b^3) - 1)/b^2) = n^2
    u can see for all values greater than b =1 , we are going to have complex number.
    if b= 1 then (a+2)^2 = n^2 or a = n -2;
    if b = 1 then b = n-2;
    or as u said, a*b

  • @mr.alhusaini8250
    @mr.alhusaini8250 3 роки тому +1

    He's definitely the Bob Ross of math !

  • @pikupal8996
    @pikupal8996 3 роки тому +1

    Let a+b=kl (i), ab=k+l (ii) where a,b,k,l are non negative integers.
    Then a^2b^2-4(a+b)=(k-l)^2.
    (i)-(ii) gives a+b-ab=kl-k-l
    => 2-(a-1)(b-1)=(k-1)(l-1)>=0
    So, 2>= (a-1)(b-1)>=0
    Suppose,(a-1)(b-1)=0 gives say a=1,then (k-1)(l-1)=2 => (k,l)=(3,2) or(2,3) and so (a,b)=(1,5) and similarly(a,b)=(5,1)
    By taking other two cases of
    (a-1)(b-1)=1,2 we get (a,b)=(2,3),(3,2),(2,2) solutions
    QED

  • @metecoskun1787
    @metecoskun1787 3 роки тому

    Rather than applying case by case i solved like this.
    when 4(a+b)=>2ab-1, we can assume that 4(a+b)=>2ab because both terms are even number and we obtain 2a/(a-2)=>b and 2b/(b-2)=>a
    After that we multiply both sides and cancel out ab terms because it cannot be 0.
    At the end we can obtain 4=>(a-2)*(b-2).... After than this point we try all combinations.

  • @RogerTannous
    @RogerTannous 2 роки тому

    06:03
    a = 2.(a + b);
    a b = a;
    Substituting into the inequality::
    a² >= 4.a; ==> a >= 4;

    • @SQRTime
      @SQRTime 2 роки тому

      Hi Rogers. If you are interested in math competitions, please consider our channel ua-cam.com/users/SQRTime. Hope to see you 😊

  • @TheQEDRoom
    @TheQEDRoom 3 роки тому +1

    I converted this problem to "find two pairs of natural numbers such that the sum of one pair equals the product of the other pair" (see that 1+5=2x3 and 2+3=1x5). My solution is a little longer though. First, draw a square ABCD with side length ab. Then draw the diagonals. Draw a smaller square EFGH inside. the centroid of ABCD and EFGH must coincide. Now let the side length of EFGH be n. Notice that there are 4 trapezoids formed. Let the height of each of the trapezoid be h. Then we can see that n=ab-2h. The task will be to find h such that the area of one trapezoid is (a+b). Hence h(ab-h)=(a+b).
    We simplify to get the quadratic equation h^2-abh+(a+b)=0. Let's call this equation (1)Notice that the discriminant of this is the problem we are trying to solve. This means that the discriminant is a perfect square >0 and the roots will be real, which are (ab +/- n)/2. If both a and b are odd, then n is odd and so the roots are natural numbers. If either a or b is even, or both are even, then n is also even and h is still a natural number. Hence, we can denote the roots as natural numbers s,t. By inspection of equation (1), we see that st=(a+b) and s+t=ab. We can write another quadratic equation here where a and b are the roots. The quadratic equation is j^2-(st)j+(s+t)=0. Let us call this equation (2). Now we see that the determinant of equation (2) is d=(st)^2-4(s+t), and that both a and b are natural numbers and so this determinant is a perfect square also. This means that is we now a or b, we can use that to find another solution s and t using equation 1 and if we know a solution s and t using equation 2.
    Now consider first f(x,y)=xy/(x+y). Using calculus, we can see that f(x,y) is increasing for any natural numbers x and y. Notice also that when either x or y=1, then xy/(x+y)=2, y>=2, then f(x,y)>=1.
    Going back to a,b,s and t, we have st=a+b and s+t=ab (hence find two pairs of natural numbers such that the sum of one pair equals the product of the other pair). From this we have (st)/(s+t)=(a+b)/(ab). We see now that when the LHS >1 then the RHS 1, RHS1, which means that (ab)/(a+b)1, RHS

  • @brendanward2991
    @brendanward2991 3 роки тому +4

    I was in Galway University a few weeks ago ... but just as a tourist.

  • @jimskea224
    @jimskea224 3 роки тому +1

    case a=1: If (b-2)^2 = n^2+8 then you have 2 perfect squares which differ by 8. For (16,25) and above there are no solutions. So you look at all couples below that. And it's quickly seen that only (1,9) fits the bill.
    Similarly for a=2, but this time since the difference is 9 you include(16,25) to be checked which gives a solution.

    • @leif1075
      @leif1075 3 роки тому

      What do you mean? Where do you get 9 from if a equals 2 and where do yiu get b minus 2??

    • @TJStellmach
      @TJStellmach 3 роки тому

      @@leif1075 Partway through manipulating b^2-4(b+1)=n^2 he gets (b-2)^2-n^2=8. But the difference of successive squares (to say nothing of more widely separated squares) grows quickly enough to rapidly eliminate the possibility of such a difference being as low as 8. At 5^2-4^2 it's already larger. Checking squares lower than 5^2 (i.e. 1, 4, 9, and 16) against each other, the only pair that differs by 8 is (1,9). So 9=(b-2)^2 in that solution.

  • @katel8321
    @katel8321 3 роки тому

    I believe for all of the system of equations we should also find n to check that it's integer

  • @NuisanceMan
    @NuisanceMan Рік тому

    Nice video and problem, but if you're going to include 0 among the naturals, then (0,0) is a valid solution and you needed to take into account the case where a=0, which you didn't.

  • @tovarischkrasnyjeshi
    @tovarischkrasnyjeshi 2 роки тому +1

    I'm not that bright; once figuring out the upper bound I was ready to just plug in everything from 0,0 to 4,4. Then midway through I remembered 0 isn't Natural

  • @audience2
    @audience2 3 роки тому +1

    Galway when pronounced sounds like "Gaulway" where Gaul sounds like the natives of what is now France.

  • @MCPhssthpok
    @MCPhssthpok 3 роки тому

    It would be interesting to see if the original question specifically allowed for n=0

  • @chaparral82
    @chaparral82 11 місяців тому

    just switch to the point where you conclude that a has to be

  • @georgelaing2578
    @georgelaing2578 2 роки тому

    Applying congruences to the original equation, modulo 4, 6, and 8 might have been useful.

  • @oussamahamid8824
    @oussamahamid8824 3 роки тому

    Keep up broo
    Can you get us some abstract algebra medium problems .

  • @tomasebenlendr6440
    @tomasebenlendr6440 3 роки тому

    Tried to do a,b∈Z instead of N, cases a=0 (b is perfect square), and a=-1 (always works) are easy. For a ≤ b < 0, we can use similar approach as for N (obtaining only b=-1 solution), but I see no nice way how to solve case a ≤ -2, 1≤ b, because |4(a+b)| may be arbitrarily small (giving trivial solution a=-b, but not ruling out other solutions).

  • @TedHopp
    @TedHopp 3 роки тому

    I wonder if including that last solution would have been considered wrong by the Olympiad evaluators, since the problem specified that n was a natural number. At a minimum, I think one would have to qualify that solution with a conditional such as "If n can be 0...).

  • @rupam6645
    @rupam6645 3 роки тому

    Best shoutout ever seen
    0:11

  • @changjeffreysinto3872
    @changjeffreysinto3872 3 роки тому +3

    Quick solution: n^2

  • @Milan_Openfeint
    @Milan_Openfeint 3 роки тому

    The first part is like a deus ex machina... more systematic approach would be
    rewrite n=(ab-k) with k>=1
    (ab)^2-4(a+b)=(ab-k)^2
    (ab)^2-4(a+b)=(ab)^2-2kab+k^2 ; cancel (ab)^2, rearrange
    2kab=4a+4b+k^2 ; 2ab

  • @fengshengqin6993
    @fengshengqin6993 3 роки тому +1

    In the first sight ,I can only get the solution (2.3) .Thanks for the other answer (1,5) .

  • @stevenwilson5556
    @stevenwilson5556 3 роки тому +2

    for the case where n^2 + 8, and n^2 + 9, you could have noticed that the only square that is 8 less than another perfect square is n = 1, n^2 + 8 = 9, meaning (b - 2) = 3, b = 5; and for n^2 + 9 is a perfect square, that only works when n^2 = 16, or n^2 + 9 = 25, and then (2b - 1) = 5, so b = 3. In both cases it is easy to see that only one solution works, as the differences between consecutive squares are well known to be strictly increasing.

  • @dagaming2389
    @dagaming2389 3 роки тому +1

    Hay thanks for the Question
    LOVE FROM 🇮🇳DIA

  • @anouks90
    @anouks90 3 роки тому

    Why can you say n

  • @tomatrix7525
    @tomatrix7525 3 роки тому +1

    I’m from Ireland. Really cool to see this.

  • @damianbla4469
    @damianbla4469 3 роки тому

    I tried to do this question by myself.
    I did it this way:
    (ab)^2 - 4(a+b) = n^2
    (ab)^2 - [2 * sqrt(a+b)]^2 = n^2
    [ab - 2 * sqrt(a+b)] * [ab + 2 * sqrt(a+b)] = n^2
    [ab - 2 * sqrt(a+b)] * [ab + 2 * sqrt(a+b)] = n * n
    u * v = n * n
    So I concluded that
    u = [ab - 2 * sqrt(a+b)] = n
    and
    v = [ab + 2 * sqrt(a+b)] = n
    So I concluded that u=v.
    (And that was bad assumption - I will write about this later below)
    u = v
    ab - 2 * sqrt(a+b) = ab + 2 * sqrt(a+b)
    -2 * sqrt(a+b) = 2 * sqrt(a+b)
    -4 * sqrt(a+b) = 0
    sqrt(a+b) = 0
    a+b = 0
    b = -a
    In our original expression:
    (ab)^2 - 4(a+b)
    I substituted:
    b = -a
    and I get this:
    [a * (-a)]^2 - 4* [a + (-a)]
    [-a^2]^2 - 4* 0
    a^4 - 0
    a^4
    And "a^4" of course is a perfect square since
    a^4 = (a^2)^2
    But doing so I made a mistake.
    This is NOT so simple.
    I have made wrong assumption.
    I have overlooked such case when u is NOT equal to v but u*v IS a perfect squate, for example when u=4 and v=9, we get
    u*v = 4*9 = 36 = 6^2
    so n=6
    So we have the conclusion:
    Don't make the wrong assumptions.
    Don't overlook more complicated cases.
    Think: "Could there be some cases which I didn't think about?".

  • @geraldillo
    @geraldillo 3 роки тому

    Nice!

  • @xcarnage8632
    @xcarnage8632 3 роки тому

    Maybe we could use the sophie germain identity?

  • @mcwulf25
    @mcwulf25 2 роки тому

    I jumped in to the difference of squares and looked at factors of 4(a+b) and came to the same conclusions.

  • @m.matoori343
    @m.matoori343 Рік тому

    3:50
    I didn't get why we got the "ab-1" term

  • @stephendavis4239
    @stephendavis4239 3 роки тому

    An excellent rationale to designate successor-closed integer subsets by placing the starting value as subscript to the N (e.g., N₀ for the "natural" numbers, N₁ for the "counting" numbers, N₂ for the "plural" numbers, etc. ad nauseam).

  • @justinnitoi3227
    @justinnitoi3227 Рік тому +1

    The question domain for n is confusing. Why couldn't it just say non-negative integers?

  • @hhhh2855
    @hhhh2855 3 роки тому

    Isn't a=3, b=6 a solution for the equation ab=2a+2b too?

  • @dakotapearl0
    @dakotapearl0 3 роки тому

    I've seen this implication in other videos and I don't see why. If n

    • @juliandominikreusch8979
      @juliandominikreusch8979 3 роки тому +2

      Keep in mind that ab is also an integer. So in the set of integers, a number x with ab-1

  • @museofsalzburg2373
    @museofsalzburg2373 3 роки тому +3

    Ok, I just want to be sure I'm not misinterpreting this. In this case, you can assume a < or = b because in the original equation, the two terms are interchangeable, right?

    • @oenrn
      @oenrn 3 роки тому

      @@user-ds6jv5jf5o It's a way of making the calculations easier. This way we just have to find the solutions for a =< b, and once we get these we instantly know the other solutions just by switching a and b, no need to calculate them.

  • @mamatamohanty6417
    @mamatamohanty6417 Рік тому

    sir it can be solved by digital root method

  • @georgesbv1
    @georgesbv1 Рік тому

    if you assumed first n to be striclty positive, why not the second time?

  • @msdian3926
    @msdian3926 3 роки тому +7

    I love this problem , looks really exciting.

    • @leif1075
      @leif1075 3 роки тому +3

      Why do you say exciting?

    • @msdian3926
      @msdian3926 3 роки тому +2

      @@leif1075 actually these problems contain very creative and intuitive thinking, so usually such problem i like the most , so I got really excited to do this problem😂😂😂

    • @msdian3926
      @msdian3926 3 роки тому +1

      @@leif1075 well from where are you bro?

    • @msdian3926
      @msdian3926 3 роки тому +1

      BTW I am from INDIA

    • @tonyhaddad1394
      @tonyhaddad1394 3 роки тому +2

      @@msdian3926 me 2 😍

  • @shriramsahoo1274
    @shriramsahoo1274 3 роки тому +10

    20:07

  • @ronludmer126
    @ronludmer126 3 роки тому

    You forgot a=0,b=0 if you include this it also works

  • @saeedzargar4458
    @saeedzargar4458 3 роки тому

    How did you guess that there must be only a few solutions to it?

  • @jurajorsulic6032
    @jurajorsulic6032 3 роки тому

    Hello from Croatia. Which conference was it?

  • @chinfha593
    @chinfha593 3 роки тому

    Can be solve easily by using discriminant of quadratic function.

  • @bolaboi7002
    @bolaboi7002 3 роки тому

    Im very bad at math. But it feels so cool to watch this😎

  • @K.C.-YouTube
    @K.C.-YouTube 3 роки тому

    n cannot be zero as per the initial conditions

  • @azuresflames2473
    @azuresflames2473 3 роки тому

    The way he says Galway though

  • @asklar
    @asklar 3 роки тому +6

    The dog is against considering 0 as an option for n

  • @easyandnice
    @easyandnice 2 роки тому

    In the last case of a=b=2, N=0, so not natural number?

    • @SQRTime
      @SQRTime 2 роки тому

      For math competitions, please consider ua-cam.com/video/LSypt8uSSW4/v-deo.html and other videos in the Olympiad playlist. Hope you enjoy 😊

  • @bookworm8414
    @bookworm8414 3 роки тому

    When a=-b?

  • @zdrastvutye
    @zdrastvutye 3 роки тому

    9:37 oops does not work? this runs in milliseconds
    10 for a=1 to 100:for b=1 to 100
    20 dis=a*a*b*b:dis=dis-4*(a+b):if dis

  • @sugarfrosted2005
    @sugarfrosted2005 3 роки тому

    You're gonna have to post dog photos in the community tab now. ;p

  • @peterchan6082
    @peterchan6082 3 роки тому

    Excuse me, in 2:51 . . . what was the justification for jumping from n < ab to n ≤ ab - 1 ?

    • @Milan_Openfeint
      @Milan_Openfeint 3 роки тому +4

      That's how integers work. If a is integer and a

    • @peterchan6082
      @peterchan6082 3 роки тому +1

      @@Milan_Openfeint
      Oh, ok, I see. I've completely overlooked the 'n is an integer' part. Thanks!

  • @fansuli427
    @fansuli427 3 роки тому +1

    i am Chinese ,I also solved it, the method is a bit different

  • @aymanehalimi8184
    @aymanehalimi8184 3 роки тому

    Why the couple (0;0) is not included ?

  • @Roberto74B
    @Roberto74B 3 роки тому

    when ab = a + b + 1 ? ... if is it correct ... i have spent 5 minutes to think about it

    • @Roberto74B
      @Roberto74B 3 роки тому

      @Federico Rulli no ....one an maybe the only one is a=2 b=3 .... sorry but if don't have understand your opinion in totally .... obiusly for ab = a + b +1

  • @MrThepepettz
    @MrThepepettz 3 роки тому +5

    Wait, 0 is not in N? Since when? Here in France we include 0 in N and usually note N* when we want only the positive integers. Is that a matter of country?

    • @just_a_random_
      @just_a_random_ 3 роки тому +1

      I had the same reaction, I checked and wikipedia says both definitions (with and without 0) are used...

    • @Alians0108
      @Alians0108 3 роки тому

      I think it's a matter of linguistics. People interpret the wording differently so I have two different university lectors with two different takes on it. If you mention that N includes 0, it shouldn't be faulted.

    • @goodplacetostop2973
      @goodplacetostop2973 3 роки тому +3

      0 is in N when you need it and 0 is not in N when you need it. There’s no clear definition about that.
      It is a matter of country, it’s also a matter of context in a proof/theorem/exercise.

    • @PlayerMathinson
      @PlayerMathinson 3 роки тому +1

      Yep in our country when you include 0 with N it is called whole numbers.

    • @goodplacetostop2973
      @goodplacetostop2973 3 роки тому

      @@PlayerMathinson I had a discussion few days ago about “whole numbers”. For me it was ℤ, for others it was ℕ or even ℕ*.
      Another case of "to each their own".

  • @Fun_maths
    @Fun_maths 3 роки тому +1

    Where is "Good place to stop"?

  • @seroujghazarian6343
    @seroujghazarian6343 3 роки тому

    I consider 0 in N, though...

  • @237_alifamirudin2
    @237_alifamirudin2 3 роки тому

    Wow it was IMO

  • @mamatamohanty6417
    @mamatamohanty6417 Рік тому

    a=-b then it is a perfect squre

  • @general9064
    @general9064 3 роки тому +6

    Wondering if there can be a geometric proof

    • @tomatrix7525
      @tomatrix7525 3 роки тому

      That would be really cool. I’m sure one exists, only if someone was to go to the effort of finding it specific to this question. Unlikely

    • @omnipresentcoffee3545
      @omnipresentcoffee3545 3 роки тому

      I assume so, the way I solved it was plotting (ab)^2 on a number line, and since n^2 has to be less than (ab)^2 the closest possible value of n is (ab-1)^2. I then drew a line from (ab)^2 towards 0 with a length of 4(a+b). After doing this, I observed that once (ab) is greater than a certain value, the line of length 4(a+b) will never reach the value (ab-1)^2 thus every value greater than or equal to that value of (ab) will not have a solution. I’m not sure if that’s considered a geometric proof, but I thought it was quite an intuitive observation.

    • @TheQEDRoom
      @TheQEDRoom 3 роки тому

      i started with geometric representation then ended up changing the question to find two pairs of natural numbers where the sum of one pair is equal to the product of the other pair. not purely geometric as i only used that to set up the equations. then i used calculus and algebra.

  • @marshalls36
    @marshalls36 3 роки тому

    if a =2, b=2, n = 0

  • @coleabrahams9331
    @coleabrahams9331 3 роки тому +1

    2:49 Why is this true??

    • @TJStellmach
      @TJStellmach 3 роки тому

      Because if one integer is less than another, it's less than or equal to the previous integer, in general. The biggest integer that's less than n is n-1.

  • @suryanshmishra2400
    @suryanshmishra2400 3 роки тому +6

    (a+b)^2-4ab=n^2 always sir. can we say that a+b =ab and it will always be true for given equation also😂😂😂 sorry just joking

    • @pikupal8996
      @pikupal8996 3 роки тому

      In my comment, I have written the solution in your way.

  • @Eric_Pham
    @Eric_Pham 3 роки тому

    When it's AJAR

  • @knotwilg3596
    @knotwilg3596 3 роки тому

    Here's a fully deductive solution:
    First let's rule out the trivial solution (a,b;n) = (0,0;0). It can also be deduced but keeping a,b > 0 is helpful.
    (observe that if one of them is 0 and the other isn't then n² a+b
    (1) ab = a+b => a = b/(b-1) = 1+ 1/(b-1) => b=2 and a=2
    this gives the second solution (2,2;0)
    (2) ab < a+b;
    by symmetry we can choose a >=b
    => ab < 2a so b k+m = a and km=a+1
    => km = k+m+1, solving for k = (m+1)/(m-1) or k = 1+ 2/(m-1)
    => m = 2 and k=3 or m=3 and k=2 (an obvious symmetry)
    => a=5, b=1
    this gives the third solution (5,1;1)
    (3) ab>a+b
    We don't need to investigate this case because by symmetry we can expect a=3 and b=2 (and k=5, m=1)
    (or you notice that in this case km < k+m and repeat the procedure in (2))
    this gives the 4th solution (3,2;4)
    END
    PS: the first set of solutions can also be found by checking a=b
    => a^4 - 8a = n² => a(a-2)(a²+a+2)=n²
    if n=0 then a=0 or a=2
    if n>0
    => a|n and (a-2)|n => a²(a-2)²|n² => a(a-2)|(a²+a+2) => a|2 but this gives either 1 (no solution) or 2 (known solution)

  • @kabsantoor3251
    @kabsantoor3251 3 роки тому

    4:44 please explain why he simply dropped the one half

    • @fmakofmako
      @fmakofmako 3 роки тому +1

      a and b are integers, so ab is an integer and so is 2a +2b. ab

    • @kabsantoor3251
      @kabsantoor3251 3 роки тому

      @@fmakofmako Ah! I see. Thank you, mate

  • @aryanmalik2404
    @aryanmalik2404 3 роки тому

    Y not just a = -b? I didn't watch the video, but I was just intrigued by the thumbnail

  • @johnf4507
    @johnf4507 Рік тому

    26+6=1