Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2015/prelims/mathematics-iv/6/b/solution
Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford 2015 Prelims Mathematics IV 6 b Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Apply the Euclidean algorithm to and :Back-substitution gives the Bézout's identityThus is one solution of the Diophantine equation. Subtracting this solution from any other givesSince and are coprime, divides . To justify that step directly, multiply by : both terms on the right are divisible by , because . Write ; substitution then gives . Therefore the complete solution set isEvery such pair satisfies the original Diophantine equation, since the terms cancel.
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