How many positive integer solutions satisfy this equation?

  • Thread starter Thread starter songoku
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Integer Positive
Join the discussion
Ask a follow-up here, or get your own question answered by working scientists, mathematicians and engineers — people, not an autocomplete.
Real named experts · corrections over time · the nuance an AI answer skips
43 replies · 4K views
Hall said:
Hello pal @songoku, we can rewrite your second equation as
$$
x+y+1= \frac{xy}{2021}$$

Now, we want ##x## and ##y## to be integer, that implies ##xy## must be a multiple of 2021, right? So, we can write it as ##xy =2021 k##.

Now, we can write out your third equation as:
$$
2021x + 2021y +2021= 2021k$$
Now, we have got a system:
$$
x+y =k-1$$

And $$xy =2021k$$
Taking ##y=k## and ##x=2021## would not satisfy, the first equation of our system, hence ##x## and ##y## must be the factors (or their multiples) of 2021. [Edited: or at most one of them can be a factor of ##k##, but not k itself].
Hello @Hall :smile:

I got the answer. Thank you

Prof B said:
To the OP: You have started correctly. Either your teacher taught you well, or he/she told you how to start. To continue, think about what you have been learning recently in pre-calc. Did you learn how to graph a hyperbola? Did you learn how to solve a degree-2 equation?

word
Yes, I know how to graph hyperbola from general equation:
$$\frac{(x-h)^2}{a^2}-\frac{(y-k)^2}{b^2}=1$$

But sorry I can't relate the question to hyperbola equation.

If by degree-2 equation you mean quadratic equation, then yes I can solve it using factorization, quadratic formula or completing square.

This question is given by the teacher only as a practice. He said this is our "holiday companion", we can do this to kill the time or just ignore it. So I am not really sure whether this question is related to what I have learned so far in the class.

Thanks
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Hall and Delta2
Physics news on Phys.org
songoku said:
Hello @Hall :smile:

I got the answer. Thank you
62?
 
PeroK said:
Too many!
Wolfram Alpha and I both got 62. How many did you get?

[edit] Doh! It says "positive". Change that to 32.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: songoku and PeroK
Hall said:
Now, we have got a system:
x+y=k−1

And xy=2021k
Applying familiar quadratic equation solution relation,
[tex](X−x)(X−y)=X^2−(k−1)X+2021k=0[/tex]
[tex]D=(k−1)^2−8084k=(k−4043)^2−(4043^2−1)>0[/tex]
The problem is restated : how do we choose positive integer k so that
[tex]x,y=\frac{k−1±\sqrt{D}}{2}=2021+\frac{1}{2}(p±\sqrt{p^2−A})[/tex]
where
[tex]p=k−4043[/tex]
[tex]A=4043^2−1=4042∗4044=4∗2021∗2022=2^3∗3∗43∗47∗337=16,345,848[/tex] referring my previpus post, are positive integers and how many are such k ?

Say ##p^2−A=q^2## with positive integer q,
[tex](p+q)(p−q)=A=2^3∗3∗43∗47∗337[/tex]
There are 2^4 cases for which p+q or p-q is multiple of 3, 43, 47, 337.
There are 2^2 cases for such division of multiple 2^3, i.e. {1,8}{2,4}{4,2}{8,1}
So that both p+q and p-q are even, we should apply 2 cases of {2,4}{4,2} only.
So in total 2^5=32 x,y integer cases we have. Explicitly
[tex]x,y=2021+2^l 3^m 43^n 47^r 337^s, 2021+2^{1-l} 3^{1-m} 43^{1-n} 47^{1-r} 337^{1-s},[/tex]
where
[tex]l,m,n,r,s=\{0,1\}[/tex]
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Delta2, Hall and songoku
OmCheeto said:
62?
62 is the number of integer solutions. But the question asked for the number of positive integer solutions.
 
songoku said:
Yes, I know how to graph hyperbola from general equation:
$$\frac{(x-h)^2}{a^2}-\frac{(y-k)^2}{b^2}=1$$
You get different kinds of equations depending on how the hyperbola is rotated. For example xy=1 is the equation for a hyperbola. It's easy to tell how many integer solutions that one has.

Your equation is also a hyperbola. If you write the equation in the appropriate form you'll find the asymptotes and also the number of integer solutions.

songoku said:
If by degree-2 equation you mean quadratic equation, then yes I can solve it using factorization, quadratic formula or completing square.
You also got a quadratic equation. It has two variables, so complete the rectangle instead of completing the square.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: songoku
Thank you very much for the help and explanation Delta2, BvU, anuttarasammyak, WWGD, Hall, Prof B, OmCheeto, PeroK
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Hall and Delta2
songoku said:
Hello @Hall :smile:

I got the answer. Thank you

PeroK said:
We didn't see a lot of your work in this thread, it must be said!

Yup - don't tell us you got the answe, tell us the answer you got!
 
$$\frac{1}{x}+\frac{1}{y}+\frac{1}{xy}=\frac{1}{2021}$$
$$\frac{x+y+1}{xy}=\frac{1}{2021}$$
$$2021x+2021y+2021=xy$$
$$2021=xy-2021(x+y)$$
$$2021=(x-2021)(y-2021)-2021^2$$
$$(x-2021)(y-2021)=2021+2021^2$$
$$(x-2021)(y-2021)=2021 \times 2022$$

Let: ##x-2021=a## , then ##y-2021=\frac{2021 \times 2022}{a}=\frac{43 \times 47 \times 2 \times 3 \times 337}{a}##

Since ##a## is integer then for ##y## to be integer, ##a## must be combination of factor of 43, 47, 2, 3, and 337.

Each number has 2 factors so the possible combinations for ##a=2^5=32##
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: Prof B, Delta2, epenguin and 2 others
There's some work left to do. If a is positive then x and y are greater than 2021 so x and y are positive. You get 32 solutions that way. What if a is negative? Why don't you get any more solutions that way?
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: songoku
Prof B said:
What if a is negative? Why don't you get any more solutions that way?
Obviously from post #35 [tex]x,y=2021-2^l 3^m 43^n 47^r 337^s, 2021-2^{1-l} 3^{1-m} 43^{1-n} 47^{1-r} 337^{1-s}[/tex]
where
[tex]l,m,n,r,s=\{0,1\}[/tex] Another 32 solutions.

[EDIT] Now I find (x,y)=(0,-1),(-1,0) should be excluded thanks to @PeroK #44.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: songoku
Prof B said:
There's some work left to do. If a is positive then x and y are greater than 2021 so x and y are positive. You get 32 solutions that way. What if a is negative? Why don't you get any more solutions that way?
First, assuming ##a, b## are positive. We have ##x = a + 2021, \ y = b + 2021## and ##ab = 2021(2022)##.

We have the solution ##a = 2021, b = 2022## (and vice versa). Otherwise, ##a > 2022, b < 2021## or vice versa.

If we take the negative solutions ##-a, -b##, then the first two solutions are invalid, as either ##x## or ##y## is zero. And the original equation involved reciprocals. Otherwise, we have ##x > 0, y < 0## or vice versa. So, there are no more positive solutions.

There are, however, ##30 = 15 \times 2## further solutions with one of ##x, y## negative and the other positive.
 
  • Like
Likes   Reactions: songoku and anuttarasammyak