Given that a 1 , a 2 , a 3 is an arithmetic progression in that order so that a 1 + a 2 + a 3 = 1 5 and b 1 , b 2 , b 3 is a geometric progression in that order so that b 1 b 2 b 3 = 2 7 .
If a 1 + b 1 , a 2 + b 2 , a 3 + b 3 are positive integers and form a geometric progression in that order, determine the maximum possible value of a 3 .
The answer is of the form d a + b c , where a , b , c , and d are positive integers and the fraction is in its simplest form and c is square free. Submit the value of a + b + c + d .
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Nice solution!
How did you factor the expression under the radical?
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Since a 1 , a 2 , a 3 is an arithmetic progression with a 1 + a 2 + a 3 = 1 5 , we can conclude a 1 = 5 − x , a 2 = 5 , a 3 = 5 + x for some real number x (the common difference). Similarly, since b 1 , b 2 , b 3 is a geometric progression with b 1 b 2 b 3 = 2 7 , we can conclude b 1 = y 3 , b 2 = 3 , b 3 = 3 y for some real number y (the common ratio). Finally, since a 1 + b 1 , a 2 + b 2 , a 3 + b 3 is a geometric progression of positive integers, we can conclude ( 5 − x + y 3 ) ( 5 + x + 3 y ) = ( a 1 + b 1 ) ( a 3 + b 3 ) = ( a 2 + b 2 ) 2 = ( 5 + 3 ) 2 = 2 6 and therefore 5 − x + y 3 = 2 k , 5 + x + 3 y = 2 6 − k for some k ∈ { 0 , 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 } .
By eliminating y from this system of two equations, we end up with the quadratic equation x 2 + ( 2 k − 2 6 − k ) x + 5 ( 2 k + 2 6 − k ) − 8 0 = 0 and by the quadratic formula, x a 3 = 5 + x = 2 1 ( − ( ( 2 k − 2 6 − k ) ± ( 2 k − 2 6 − k ) 2 − 4 ( 5 ( 2 k + 2 6 − k ) − 8 0 ) ) = 2 1 ( 2 6 − k − 2 k ± 2 − k ∣ 2 k − 8 ∣ 2 2 k − 2 k + 2 + 6 4 ) = 2 k + 1 6 4 − 2 2 k ± ∣ 2 k − 8 ∣ 2 2 k − 2 k + 2 + 6 4 = 5 + 2 k + 1 6 4 − 2 2 k ± ∣ 2 k − 8 ∣ 2 2 k − 2 k + 2 + 6 4
It's apparent that the maximum value will occur when the sign is '+'. Then we can just test all 7 cases for k to find the maximum occurs for k = 0 at a 3 = 2 7 3 + 7 6 1
Therefore the answer is a + b + c + d = 7 3 + 7 + 6 1 + 2 = 1 4 3 .