2003 AIME II Problem 10

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Concepts:Diophantine Equationdifference of squaresperfect square

Difficulty rating: 2650

10.

Two positive integers differ by 60.60. The sum of their square roots is the square root of an integer that is not a perfect square. What is the maximum possible sum of the two integers?

Solution:

Let the integers be xx and x+60,x + 60, and suppose x+x+60=y.\sqrt{x} + \sqrt{x + 60} = \sqrt{y}. Squaring, y=2x+60+2x(x+60),y = 2x + 60 + 2\sqrt{x(x + 60)}, so x(x+60)x(x + 60) must be a perfect square, say z2.z^2. Completing the square, (x+30)2z2=900,i.e.(x+30+z)(x+30z)=900.(x + 30)^2 - z^2 = 900, \qquad \text{i.e.} \qquad (x + 30 + z)(x + 30 - z) = 900. The two factors have the same parity and their product is even, so both are even.

The factor pairs (450,2),(450, 2), (150,6),(150, 6), (90,10),(90, 10), (50,18)(50, 18) give x+30=226,x + 30 = 226, 78,78, 50,50, 34,34, so x=196,x = 196, 48,48, 20,20, 4.4. For x=196x = 196 the integers are 196196 and 256,256, both perfect squares, so y=14+16=30\sqrt{y} = 14 + 16 = 30 and y=900y = 900 is a perfect square — not allowed. For x=48x = 48 the integers are 4848 and 108,108, with 48+108=43+63=300,\sqrt{48} + \sqrt{108} = 4\sqrt{3} + 6\sqrt{3} = \sqrt{300}, and 300300 is not a perfect square.

The maximum possible sum is therefore 48+108=156.48 + 108 = 156.

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