Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-short-options-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2014/1/b/ii/solution
Past exam of the short options course of the University of Oxford 2014 1 b ii Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-31
Choose any pair from part (i), and put . The divisibilities of the exponents makepositive integers. Their powers areThus , with all three powers nonzero and distinct. For example, take , for every nonnegative integer . Then strictly increases, giving infinitely many distinct solutions. The construction uses modular congruences to turn the elementary identity into three prescribed perfect powers.
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