One of Euler's conjectures was disproved in the 1960s by three American mathematicians when they showed there was a positive integer such that
1335+1105+845+275=n5.
Find the value of n.
解析
Solution 1 (FLT, CRT, Inequalities)
Taking the given equation modulo 2,3, and 5, respectively, we have
n5n5n5≡0(mod2),≡0(mod3),≡4(mod5).
By either Fermat's Little Theorem (FLT) or inspection, we get
nnn≡0(mod2),≡0(mod3),≡4(mod5).
By either the Chinese Remainder Theorem (CRT) or inspection, we get n≡24(mod30).
It is clear that n>133, so the possible values for n are 144,174,204,…. Note that
n5=1335+1105+845+275<1335+1105+(84+27)5=1335+1105+1115<3⋅1335,
from which (133n)5<3.
If n≥174, then
(133n)5>1.35=1.32⋅1.32⋅1.3>1.6⋅1.6⋅1.3=2.56⋅1.3>2.5⋅1.2=3,
which arrives at a contradiction. Therefore, we conclude that n=144.
~MRENTHUSIASM
Solution 2
Note that n is even, since the LHS consists of two odd and two even numbers. By Fermat's Little Theorem, we know n5≡n(mod5). Hence,
n≡3+0+4+2≡4(mod5).
Continuing, we examine the equation modulo 3,
n≡1−1+0+0≡0(mod3).
Thus, n is divisible by three and leaves a remainder of four when divided by 5. It is obvious that n>133, so the only possibilities are n=144 or n≥174. It quickly becomes apparent that 174 is much too large, so n must be 144.
~Azjps (Solution)
~MRENTHUSIASM (Reformatting)
Solution 3
We can cheat a little bit and approximate, since we are dealing with such large numbers. As above, n5≡n(mod5), and it is easy to see that n5≡n(mod2). Therefore, 1335+1105+845+275≡3+0+4+7≡4(mod10), so the last digit of n is 4.
We notice that 133,110,84, and 27 are all very close or equal to multiples of 27. We can rewrite n5 as approximately equal to 275(55+45+35+15)=275(4393). This means 275n5 must be close to 4393.
Note that 134 will obviously be too small, so we try 144 and get (27144)5=(316)5. Bashing through the division, we find that 2431048576≈4315, which is very close to 4393. It is clear that 154 will not give any closer of an answer, given the rate that fifth powers grow, so we can safely assume that 144 is the answer.
Solution 4
In this solution we take advantage of the large numbers and utilize parity properties to give us a very good guess at the answer. The units digits of 1335,1105,845,275 are 3,0,4,7, respectively, so the units digit of n5 is 4. This tells us n is even. Since we are dealing with enormous numbers, n should not be that far from 133. Note that n's units digit is 0,2,4,6, or 8. When to the power of 5, they each give 0,2,4,6, and 8 as the units digits. This further clues us that n ends in 4.
Clearly, n>133, so we start with 134. Now we need a way of distinguishing between numbers with units digit 4. We can do this by finding the last three digits for each of 1335,1105,845, and 275, which is not that difficult. For 1335, we have
1335=1332⋅1332⋅133≡689⋅689⋅133≡721⋅133≡893(mod1000).
By the same reasoning, we get
n5=1335+1105+845+275≡893+0+424+907≡224(mod1000).
Note that
1345144515451645174518451945≡424(mod1000),≡224(mod1000),≡024(mod1000),≡824(mod1000),≡624(mod1000),≡424(mod1000),≡224(mod1000).
By observations, n=194 is obviously an overestimate. So, the answer is n=144.
~jackshi2006 (Solution)
~MRENTHUSIASM (Revisions and LATEX Adjustments)
Solution 5
First, we take mod 2 on both sides to get n5≡0(mod2)⟹n≡0(mod2). Mod 3 gives n5≡0(mod3)⟹n≡0(mod3). Also, mod 5 gives n5≡−1(mod5)⟹n≡−1(mod5) (by FLT). Finally, note that mod 7 gives n5≡2(mod7)⟹n−1≡2(mod7)⟹n≡4(mod7). Thus,
nnnn≡0(mod2),≡0(mod3),≡−1(mod5),≡4(mod7).
By CRT, n≡144(mod210), so n is one of 144,354,.... However, 1335+1105+845+275<4⋅1335<(2⋅133)5<3545, so n<354. Thus, n=144.
~brainfertilzer
Solution 6 (Brute Force)
We have
n5=1335+1105+845+275=61917364224,
for which n=561917364224=144.
Solution 7 (Cheese)
By approximation, 110≈65⋅133, 84≈117⋅133, and 23≈51⋅133. Adding the fifth power of each fraction of 133 gives a total of roughly 1.506⋅1335. By testing, we know that the fifth root of this value is less than 1.1⋅133=146.3, as 1.15=1.611, meaning we have reduced n to 133≤n≤147. The last digit of all four numbers, in order, are 3, 0, 4, and 7, which is gained through writing out the cycles of the last digit up to the fifth power. This means that the answer has a units digit of 4, reducing n down to either 134 or 144. Since the previous cheesing shows obviously that the value is closer to 146.3 than it is to 133, we know our final answer of 144 is correct.
Cheese solution by juwushu.
Solution 8 (Guesswork or Bash)
We know that a5≡a(mod10) for all a. You can prove this later. So we know the number ends with 4. Since 133 is the biggest number, while everything else is small, we can safely assume that it is 144, because 5th powers vary wildly. It is not 134 because 1105 plays a role in the sum. We can also just take 1305 and the other numbers 1105,805,205, add them up, and we realize that 1405 is close to this. Then we also get 144
~Aarav22
Remark
We could also take this expression mod 7, which would give n≡4(mod7). Then the only reasonable number that works is 144, so we could safely assume this is the answer.