Difference between revisions of "1989 AIME Problems/Problem 4"
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Revision as of 18:15, 4 July 2013
Problem
If 
are consecutive positive integers such that 
is a perfect square and 
is a perfect cube, what is the smallest possible value of 
?
Solution
Since the middle term of an arithmetic progression with an odd number of terms is the average of the series, we know 
and 
. Thus, must be in the form of 
based upon the first part and in the form of 
based upon the second part, with 
and 
denoting an integers. is minimized if it’s prime factorization contains only 
, and since there is a cubed term in , 
must be a factor of . 
, which works as the solution.
See also
| 1989 AIME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
| Preceded by Problem 3 |
Followed by Problem 5 | |
| 1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 | ||
| All AIME Problems and Solutions | ||
The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions. 
