2007 iTest Problems/Problem 40
Problem
Let be the sum of all
such that
and
. Compute
.
Solution
Rewrite as
. That results in
Note that if
is not an integer, than both sides can not equal each other. Thus, to find all solutions where
, find the values where
is an integer.
- The easier case is when
is an integer. If
is an integer, then
, so both sides equal each other. Therefore, every integer from
to
is a solution.
- The harder case is when
is not an integer. Let
, where
is an integer from
to
, and
and
are relatively prime integers, where
. That means
. Since
and
are relatively prime,
must be a factor of
. That means every mixed number in the form
, where
works.
With that taken in consideration, the sum equals
The arithmetic series sum formula can be used to simplify things further. If the first term is
, common difference is
, and last term is
, the sum of the terms in the series is
. Now
equals
Thus,
.
See Also
2007 iTest (Problems, Answer Key) | ||
Preceded by: Problem 39 |
Followed by: Problem 41 | |
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