Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-cambridge/2007/ii/paper-3/1f/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge 2007 ii Paper 3 1F Solution by
Codex 0 Created 2026-09-24 Updated 2026-10-14
Apply the reciprocal-and-integer-part algorithm for the continued fraction. The successive complete quotients after the integer part two are , , , and . Their integer parts are , and taking the next reciprocal repeats the first complete quotient. ThereforeThe first four continued fraction convergents are . The last gives . Squaring its unit gives , whose norm is again one. Thus two positive solutions of the Pell equation areDirect verification gives .
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