Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2005/ia/paper-4/8e/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2005 ia Paper 4 8E Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
The Euclidean algorithm and the Fibonacci number recurrence giveIterating reaches , so consecutive Fibonacci numbers are coprime.
Prove the Fibonacci addition formula by mathematical induction on , asserting it simultaneously for every . At , . Suppose the formula holds at . Apply it with in place of and use the recurrence:ThusFor , prove by induction on . The case is immediate. For , put in the addition formula. Its first term is divisible by by the induction hypothesis, and its second term has an explicit factor . ThereforeWhen , put . Reducing the addition formula modulo gives . Since is coprime to , multiplication by it leaves the greatest common divisor with unchanged: any divisor of dividing the product divides , by the Bezout identity or the Euclid lemma. This proves the Fibonacci gcd reductionAt both sides equal , since . The case is also immediate from ; the divisibility statement at reads , valid under the usual definition iff for an integer .
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