MathDB
Sequence of numbers

Source: Vietnam NMO 1995, Problem 2

September 7, 2008
number theory proposednumber theory

Problem Statement

The sequence (a_n) is defined as follows: a_0\equal{}1, a_1\equal{}3 For n2 n\ge 2, a_{n\plus{}2}\equal{}a_{n\plus{}1}\plus{}9a_n if n is even, a_{n\plus{}2}\equal{}9a_{n\plus{}1}\plus{}5a_n if n is odd. Prove that 1) (a_{1995})^2\plus{}(a_{1996})^2\plus{}...\plus{}(a_{2000})^2 is divisible by 20 2) a_{2n\plus{}1} is not a perfect square for every natural numbers n n.