Given y = x + x + x + . . . , where x is a natural number, what's the probability that y will be a natural number, within the range 1 ≤ y ≤ 2 0 1 5 ? Express the probability in the form b a (fraction in simplest form), and enter into the answer box the value of a + b .
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Interesting! What I noticed is that in order for y to be a natural number, x must be in the form n ( n + 1 ) , where n is a natural number, and y will be equal to ( n + 1 ) . By that, the highest value of x would be 2 0 1 4 ⋅ 2 0 1 5 , which gives y = 2 0 1 5 . There are 2 0 1 4 such numbers ( 1 ⋅ 2 , 2 ⋅ 3 , 3 ⋅ 4 . . . ) etc. that will give y as a natural number, and there are 2 0 1 4 ⋅ 2 0 1 5 total possibilities for x . Finally, 2 0 1 4 ⋅ 2 0 1 5 2 0 1 4 = 2 0 1 5 1 , and a + b = 2 0 1 6 .
Rewriting the equation as y^2 = y+ x ............... or y ( y − 1 ) = x we can see that as y varies in all real numbers x takes certain real values . Now for x to be a natural number it is clear that y must also be a natural number except 1 . So y ∈ 2 , 3 , 4 , . . . . . . . . . 2 0 1 5 , for which x takes certain natural number values. So thinking in the reverse sense it is easy to understand as x runs from values 1 to 2 0 1 5 ∗ 2 0 1 4 , y will only take natural number values for only 2 0 1 4 values of x which correspond to y ∈ 2 , 3 , 4 , . . . . . . . . . 2 0 1 5 . So as x runs through all natural numbers from 1 to 2 0 1 5 ∗ 2 0 1 4 there are only 2 0 1 4 such values of x for which y is a natural number. So probability is 2 0 1 5 ∗ 2 0 1 4 2 0 1 4 = 2 0 1 5 1 . So our answer is 1 + 2 0 1 5 = 2 0 1 6
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We have y 2 − y − x = 0 , so y = 2 1 ( 1 + 1 + 4 x ) . Then y will be a natural number exactly when 1 + 4 x is an odd square (and note all odd squares are of this form) and 1 ≤ y ≤ 2 0 1 5 when 5 ≤ 1 + 4 x ≤ 4 0 2 9 2 (note 1 + 4 x ≥ 5 , since x is a natural number).
There are 2 4 0 2 9 − 1 odd squares between 5 and 4 0 2 9 2 inclusive, and 4 4 0 2 9 2 − 1 = 4 ( 4 0 2 9 − 1 ) ( 4 0 2 9 + 1 ) numbers of the form 4 x + 1 .
Therefore, the probability that y is a natural number (given 1 ≤ y ≤ 2 0 1 5 ) is 2 4 0 2 8 4 0 2 8 ⋅ 4 0 3 0 4 = 2 0 1 5 1 , so the answer is 2 0 1 6 .