Diophantine Equations

Diophantine Equations
Chapter 1
Diophantine Equations

D iophantine equations are named after the prominent Greek math-

ematician Diophantus of Alexandria (c. 275) who published three
works, mainly pertaining to the areas we now call algebra and the so-
lution(s) of equations. The following is a story about his life, probably
dating from the 5th century: his boyhood lasted 16 of his life, his beard
grew after 121
more, after 17 more he married, 5 years later his son was
born, the son lived to half his father’s age, and the father died 4 years
after his son. This was posed as a Diophantine equation (see below),
and is generally thought to mean that he married at age 33 and died at
age 84.

The term Diophantine equation is used to refer to any equation, usually

in several variables, which arises in a problem where the solutions are
required to be integers (positive integers in many cases), or sometimes
more general rational numbers. Such an equation is

x + y = 5.

This equation has an infinite number of solutions when the set of real
numbers is considered. As a general rule however, in problem situations
that arise there are other constraints that help us narrow down the
possibilities to a small number of cases or even to a unique solution.
Consider the above equation. If we restrict the possible values of x and
y to non-negative integers (i.e. the positive integers and zero), we have
the six solutions for (x, y):

(0, 5); (1, 4); (2, 3); (3, 2); (4, 1) and (5, 0).

Note also that the pair of values x = 0 and y = 5, for example, represents
one solution to the equation.

The type of restriction where the solutions must be positive integers

readily arises in practical problems where the variables x and y represent
numbers of objects and such like. In such cases, the procedure is usually

9
4 Problem Solving via the AMC
Diophantine Equations

to systematically list the possible solutions of the equation and then

select the ones which satisfy any additional criteria.

For a Diophantine equation there is no formula such as, for example,

the formula for the roots of a quadratic. We can, however, develop a
method, and we will usually need to take into account other aspects of
the problem context in order to fully determine the result.

Consider D1 (1985 J 23):–

Find the smallest positive integer which, when divided by

6, gives a remainder of 1 and when divided by 11, gives a
remainder of 6.

Since the integer has a remainder of 1 when divided by 6, it is of the

form
6m + 1
for m a non-negative integer. This gives the possibilities

1, 7, 13, 19, 25, 31, 37, 43, 49, 55, 61, . . .

Similarly, the positive integers which have a remainder of 6 when divided

by 11 are
6, 17, 28, 39, 50, 61, . . .
The smallest number in common to both sets is 61.

Note: This corresponds to the solution of the Diophantine equation

6m + 1 = 11n + 6
i.e. 6m − 11n = 5

which has many solutions, with m = 10 and n = 5 corresponding to the

above solution of 61.
[1985 Percentage Correct:– Junior 26% ]

10
Diophantine Equations5
Diophantine Equations

Now try D2 (1979 I 27, S 21):–

What is the least positive integer which has remainders of 1,

1 and 5 when divided by 3, 5, and 7 respectively?
[Solution Page 21 ]

Analysing Diophantine Equations

We will in most cases need to manipulate the given equations in some

way to determine the solution.

Consider D3 (1982 J 26, I 21):–

If x and y are positive integers and

x + y + xy = 34,

find x + y.

Alternative 1:
Looking at the left hand side of the equation x + y + xy = 34, we may
see that
x + y + xy = (x + 1)(y + 1) − 1
so that the equation may be written as

(x + 1)(y + 1) = 35

Now, since x and y are integers, x + 1 and y + 1 are also integers, so we

are looking for two factors of 35.
There are only two, 5 and 7 (other than 35 and 1, which is not possible
in this case). This tells us that

x+1= 7
y+1=5
or 
x+1= 5
y+1=7

11
6 Problem Solving via the AMC
Diophantine Equations

While we cannot differentiate between the two cases and determine the
actual values for x and y, we can say from the symmetry (or by adding
the equations in either case) that
x+y = 6+4 = 10.

Alternative 2:
If we did recognise the factorisation given above, a standard approach is
to write the equation in such a way that we can systematically list the
possibilities.
This we can do by expressing one of the variables in terms of the other.
In this case it does not matter which of the two variables in terms of the
other as the equation is symmetric in x and y, although in some cases
there may be advantages in choosing a particular one for ease of further
analysis.
In this case, the equation can be rearranged in the following way to
express x in terms of y.
x + y + xy = 34
x + xy = 34 − y
x(1 + y) = 34 − y
34 − y
x =
1+y
Remembering that x and y are integral, we can now substitute integers
for y to obtain the corresponding x.
y 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 ···
33 32 31 30 29 28 27
x =6 =4 ···
2 3 4 5 6 7 8
There are no more integral values until x becomes negative, hence
x+y = 6 + 4 (or 4 + 6) = 10
is the only solution.
If we had noted the symmetry in x and y in the original equation and
29
the fact that < 5, we could have stopped at the entry for y = 5 in
6
12
Diophantine Equations7
Diophantine Equations

the table, as the other values may be obtained by interchanging the x

and the y.
[1982 Percentage Correct:– Junior 31%, Intermediate 54% ]

And consider D4 (1984 J 22, I 20, S 12):–

Kathryn has 20 coins in her purse. They are 10c, 20c and 50c
coins and the total value of the coins is $5. If she has more 50c
coins than 10c coins, how many 10c coins has she?

The first step is to obtain an equation.

Let the number of 50c coins be x and the number of 20c coins be y.
The number of 10c coins is then 20 − (x + y) as there are 20 coins in all.
Since the total value of the coins is $5 = 500 c, we then obtain the
equation

50x + 20y + 10(20 − (x + y)) = 500

5x + 2y + 20 − x − y = 50
4x + y = 30

Here we have a typical Diophantine equation, where we are only

interested in positive integer solutions as x and y are representing
numbers of things (coins in this case).

Expressing y in terms of x, we have

y = 30 − 4x

and remembering that there are 20 coins in all, we can now systematically
list the possibilities.

We can readily see that there are no possibilities for x = 1, 2 and 3, as a

substitution shows that the number of coins to make up $5 would exceed
20.

13
8 Problem Solving via the AMC
Diophantine Equations

Listing the possibilities, we get

50c (x) 20c (y) 10c

4 14 2 †
5 10 5
6 6 8
7 2 11

Again, we can see there are no solutions for x > 7 as then y would be
negative.

We now know that it is possible to make up $5 with 20 coins that are

50c, 20c or 10c coins in 4 different ways.
However, in this problem, we are given that there are more 50c coins
than 10c coins. Scanning the table of possibilities we can easily see that
the line marked with † gives us the only solution of:–
four 50c, fourteen 20c and two 10c coins.
[1984 Percentage Correct:– Junior 22%, Intermediate 28%, Senior 45%]

Now try D5 (1991 J 27 I 22):–

A shop buys 40 pens of three different types at a cost of $40.

If the pens cost 25c, $1 and $5 each, and there are more $1
pens than $5 pens, how many 25c pens were bought?
[Solution Page 22 ]

And try D6 (1984 I 29):–

Articles X, Y and Z are for sale. Article X can be bought at

the rate of eight for $1. Article Y costs $1 each and article
Z costs $10 each. You buy a selection of each and find that
you have purchased exactly 100 articles at a cost of $100. How
many articles of type Y did you purchase?
[Solution Page 23 ]

Further Techniques

We can develop further techniques for handling indeterminate equations.

14
Diophantine Equations9
Diophantine Equations

Consider D7 (1983 I 29, S 27):–

One of the solutions to the equation

19x + 83y = 1983

in positive integers x and y is obviously given by

(x, y) = (100, 1).

It turns out that there is exactly one more pair of positive

integers (x, y) which satisfies the above equation. What is
that number pair?

While there are alternative methods, sometimes shorter, in particular

cases (one will be developed later in Alternative 2 for this question), we
can develop a general technique as outlined by Euclid. This method is
as follows:–

Alternative 1:
From the given equation

19x + 83y = 1983

we get 19x = 1983 − 83y
1983 − 83y
x =
19
7 − 7y
= 104 − 4y +
19
i.e. x = 104 − 4y + u
where u must be integral
and
7 − 7y
u =
19
and hence 7y + 19u = 7

This last equation is another Diophantine equation, similar to the first,

but with smaller coefficients.

15
10 Problem Solving via the AMC
Diophantine Equations

Continuing in a similar fashion, we get

7y = 7 − 19u
7 − 21u 2u
y = +
7 7
2u
= 1 − 3u +
7
= 1 − 3u + v
where v is integral, and
2u
v =
7
2u − 7v = 0
v
i.e. u = 3v +
2
= 3v + w, where v = 2w
substituting, we get
u = 3v + w = 6w + w = 7w
y = 1 − 3u + v = 1 − 21w + 2w = 1 − 19w
x = 104 − 4y + u = 104 − 4(1 − 19w) + 7w
= 100 + 83w
that is (x, y) = (100 + 83w, 1 − 19w)
where w is an arbitrary integer.

This formula will give all the integral solutions to the original equation.
In this particular question we have the restriction that only positive
values of x and y are allowed, so the only possible values of w are
w = 0 and − 1
This gives the only values for (x, y) as
(100, 1) and (17, 20).
The other pair we are asked to find is then (17, 20).
Note: This is a general procedure which can be applied to determine
general solutions to similar indeterminate equations.

16
Diophantine Equations11
Diophantine Equations

Alternative 2:
In this particular question, we could have taken a shortcut, using an-
other technique developed by Euclid.

Noting that one solution of the equation

19x + 83y = 1983
was given as (100,1), so that
LHS = 19x + 83y
= 19 × 100 + 83 × 1
= 19 × 100 − 19 × 83 + 83 × 1 + 19 × 83
= 19 × (100 − 83) + 83 × (1 + 19)
= 19 × (17) + 83 × (20)
and hence a second solution (17, 20) is obtained.

While this may seem to be a magic trick, which in a sense it is, we would
do well to remember what the great problem solver George Polya said
when he stated that a method is a device that you can use twice.

This technique developed in Alternative 2 is a technique which we may

use to obtain other solutions to a Diophantine equation of this type when
we already know or are given a solution.
The key point here is:- when we are given or know an integer solution
(x, y) to the equation
ax + by = c,
we add multiples of ab to one term and subtract it from the other. In
this way we obtain other solutions.

In the example above, we subtract 19 × 83 from the first term (19 × 100)
and add it to the second (83 × 1). The result must remain equal to 1983
and we obtain a second solution of (17, 20).

17
12 Problem Solving via the AMC
Diophantine Equations

If, for example, we had added 19 × 83 to the first term and subtracted
it from the second, we would have obtained the solution (183, −18).
While it is a solution, it does not satisfy the particular constraint in this
question that both x and y are positive integers.
[1983 Percentage Correct:– Intermediate 8%, Senior 9%]

Now try D8 (1978 I 30):–

What is the number of solutions in positive integers of the

equation
3x + 5y = 1008?
[Solution Page 24 ]

And try D9 (1979 S 27):–

If x and y are integers such that

(x − y)2 + 2y2 = 27,

what are the possible values for x?

[Solution Page 26 ]

And now for some situations where we have several variables. We often
need to use other properties of numbers as well.

Consider D10 (1990 I 29, S 22):–

The numbers p, q, r, s and t are consecutive positive integers,

arranged in increasing order.
If p + q + r + s + t is a perfect cube and q + r + s is a perfect
square, find the smallest possible value of r.

Since p, q, r, s and t are 5 consecutive integers, their sum is divisible

by 5, i.e.

18
Diophantine Equations13
Diophantine Equations

p + q + r + s + t = 5r
as r is the middle integer of the group.
Also, their sum is a cube, so
p + q + r + s + t = m3
for some integer m
Then
5|m3 and 5 is prime, hence 5|m

Since 5|m and 5r = m3 ,

53 |m3 and hence 52 |r.
Also
q + r + s = 3r = n2.
Thus
3|n2 and hence 3|n.
Then
32 |n2 and hence 3|r.
Now
3|r and 3|m3.
This means
3|m and 33|m3 .
And
33 |r since m3 = 5r.
Now, since both 33|r and 52 |r, the smallest r is
r = 33 × 52 = 675.
[1990 Percentage Correct:– Intermediate 6%, Senior 9%]

And now try D11 (1980 S 30), a fairly difficult one:–

The sum of five positive integers x, y, z, u and v is equal to
their product.
If
x ≤ y ≤ z ≤ u ≤ v,

19
14 Problem Solving via the AMC
Diophantine Equations

then how many distinct solutions (x, y, z, u, v) are there?

[Solution Page 27 ]

***

20
 Diophantine Equations
DIOPHANTINE EQUATIONS:
SOLUTIONSDiophantine Equations:
Solutions

D2 Solution

Alternative 1:
Let n be the required integer. From the given information we know that
there are integers x, y and z such that

3x + 1 = n
5y + 1 = n
7z + 5 = n.

From the first two equations above, we get

3x = 5y = n − 1,

so, there is an integer k such that

n−1 = 15k since both 3 and 5 divide n − 1

n−1 = 15k = 7z + 5 − 1
15k − 4 k−4
giving z = = 2k + .
7 7
The smallest integral value of z is given by k = 4, so

n = (7 × 8) + 5 = 61.

Hence, the smallest number satisfying the conditions is 61.

Alternative 2:
From the first two equations above, we know that

n−1 = 15k
n = 15k + 1

i.e. the number is 1 more than a multiple of 15.

We can list the possibilities for n, i.e.

1, 16, 31, 46, 61, 76, . . .

21
16 Problem Solving via the AMC
Diophantine Equations

Since all the numbers in this list satisfy the divisibility conditions for
3 and 5, we only need to pick the the smallest of these which gives a
remainder of 5 when divided by 7. Clearly, this number is 61, as before.
[1979 Percentage Correct:– Intermediate 23%, Senior 22%]

D5 Solution

Let the number of 25c pens be x and the number of $1 pens be y.

Then, since there are 40 pens in all, there are (40 − (x + y)) of the $5
pens.
Now, since the total cost is $40, we get

25x + 100y + 500(40 − (x + y)) = 4000

x + 4y + 20(40 − (x + y)) = 160
x + 4y + 800 − 20x − 20y = 160
19x + 16y = 640
640 − 19x
i.e. y =
16
640 19x
= −
16 16
19x
i.e. y = 40 − .
16
In this case we express y in terms of x to simplify calculations as 640 is
divisible by 16.
19x
Now, since y is integral then so is .
16
19x
Now, is integral for
16
x = 16, 32, 48, . . .

Now, for x ≥ 48 there are no solutions as

19x
y = 40 − would be negative.
16

22
Diophantine Equations: Solutions17
Diophantine Equations

The only possibilities are for x = 16 and x = 32.

Listing these, we get

x (25c) y ($1) $5
16 21 3
32 2 6

As there are two possible combinations of pens that could have been
bought, we need the extra information, i.e. that there are more $1 pens
than $5 pens, to differentiate between the two possibilities, so x = 16
provides the solution and there are then 16 of the 25c pens.
[1991 Percentage Correct:– Junior 10%, Intermediate 15%]

D6 Solution

Let the numbers of articles of types X, Y and Z that were bought be

x, y and z.
Then

x+y+z = 100.

Also, since they cost $100,

x 
$ + y + 10z = $100.
8
So, we have

x+y+z = 100 . . . (1)

x
+ y + 10z = 100 . . . (2)
8
Subtracting (2) from (1), we get
7x
− 9z = 0
8
72z
i.e. x = .
7

23
18 Problem Solving via the AMC
Diophantine Equations

Substituting back into equations (1) and (2), we get

72z
+y+z = 100
7
9z
and + y + 10z = 100,
7
each of which is equivalent to the equation
79z
+y = 100.
7
Since some of each of the articles were bought, z > 0, and y is integral,
the only possible solutions for z are

z = 7, 14, 21, . . .

Now, since article Z costs $10 each, z ≥ 14 is not possible and the only
possibility is z = 7.
This gives the number of articles type Y bought to be 21.
[1984 Percentage Correct:– Intermediate 12% ]

D8 Solution

Alternative 1:
Using the general method developed in D7 Alternative 1,
we get

3x + 5y = 1008
3x = 1008 − 5y
1008 − 5y
x =
3
5y
= 336 −
3
2y
= 336 − y −
3
2y
= 336 − y − u, where u =
3
so that 2y − 3u = 0

24
Diophantine Equations: Solutions19
Diophantine Equations

i.e. 2y = 3u
3u
y =
2
u
= u+
2
u
= u + v, where v =
2
so that u = 2v
substituting, we get
3u 3 × 2v
y = = = 3v
2 2
1008 − 5y
and x =
3
1008 − 5 × 3v
=
3
= 336 − 5v.
So we get
(x, y) = (336 − 5v, 3v) where v is an integer.
If the solutions we are looking for in this problem are positive integers,
then as y = 3v clearly v > 0 and 336 − 5v > 0.
So we see there are 67 solutions, for v = 1 to 67, as
5 × 67 = 335 < 336 and 5 × 68 = 340 > 336.
Alternative 2:
As is sometimes the case, there is a shorter solution to this particular
problem by reasoning as follows:–
since 3x + 5y = 1008
we get 5y = 1008 − 3x
1008 − 3x
y =
5
3(336 − x)
= .
5
Since x and y are both positive integers, we can see that for 336 − x to
be divisible by 5 and y to be a positive integer, the only values for x we
can select are
1, 6, 11, . . . , 331.

25
20 Problem Solving via the AMC
Diophantine Equations

Also, since 331 = 1 + 66 × 5, there are 66 + 1 = 67 solutions, as before.

[1978 Percentage Correct:– Intermediate 8% ]

D9 Solution

Since (x − y)2 + 2y2 = 27

we get (x − y)2 = 27 − 2y2 .

We want to get an expression in which we can systematically try

substituting values for one variable to get the other.
Taking the square root, we get

x − y = ± 27 − 2y2 .

This is an integer as x and y are integers.

So
A = 27 − 2y2
must be a perfect square.

If y = 0, A = 27 which is not square.

If y = ±1, A = 25 which is square,

→ x ± 1 = ±5
→ x = ±4, ±6.

If y = ±2, A = 19 which is not square.

If y = ±3, A = 9 which is square,

→ x ± 3 = ±3
→ x = 0, ±6.

Further values of y make A negative and hence not square. Thus the
only integer values of x are ±6, ±4, 0.
[1979 Percentage Correct:– Senior 9%]

26
Diophantine Equations: Solutions21
Diophantine Equations

D11 Solution
Alternative 1:
Since x, y, z, u, v are positive integers, x ≤ y ≤ z ≤ u ≤ v and
x + y + z + u + v = xyzuv,
we get

4+v ≤ x+y +z +u+v ≤ 5v

i.e. 4 + v ≤ xyzuv ≤ 5v
xyzu ≤ 5
Also 4+v ≤ xyzuv
i.e. 4 ≤ v(xyzu − 1)
thus xyzu > 1
and 2 ≤ xyzu ≤ 5.

Now, examining the possibilities

x y z u sum = product valid solution?
1 1 1 2 5 + v = 2v
v=5 yes
1 1 1 3 6 + v = 3v
v=3 yes
1 1 2 2 6 + v = 4v
v=2 yes
1 1 1 4 7 + v = 4v
v = 73 no
1 1 1 5 8 + v = 5v
v=2 no, since v < u

Thus there are three distinct solutions, viz (1,1,1,2,5), (1,1,1,3,3) and
(1,1,2,2,2).

Alternative 2:
Given x, y, z, u and v are integers such that

x≤y≤z≤u≤v . . . (1)
and x + y + z + u + v = xyzuv . . . (2)
dividing (1) by xyzuv we get

27
22 Problem Solving via the AMC
Diophantine Equations

1 1 1
0 < ≤ ≤ ... ≤ . . . (3)
yzuv xzuv xyzu
dividing both sides of (2) by xyzuv we get
1 1
+ ... + = 1 . . . (4)
yzuv xyzu
1
From (3) and (4) we can say that the largest of these five fractions ≥
5
(since 5 of them add to 1).
Hence
1 1
≥
xyzu 5
i.e.
xyzu ≤ 5.
Now, since we have the product of these four integers ≤ 5, then

x = y = 1.

So, trying values for z and equating the sum to the product, we get

z=2 ⇒ u=2 ⇒ 6 + v = 4v i.e. v = 2

z=1 ⇒ u ≤ 4 and 3 + u + v = uv


 2 ⇒ v=5
⇒ u= 3 ⇒ v=3


4 ⇒ impossible.

Thus there are three distinct solutions, those ticked above.

[1980 Percentage Correct:– Senior 3%]

***

28