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Which one of these positive integers can be written as a sum of two perfect squares?

156056 148992 169999 None of these 197777 139968 789634

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1 solution

Mark Hennings
Sep 27, 2017

The number 789634 \boxed{789634} has the prime factorization 2 × 394817 2\times394817 is a product of 2 2 and a prime number that is congruent to 1 1 modulo 4 4 . Both of these primes are reducible in the Gaussian integers Z [ i ] \mathbb{Z}[i] , and hence 789634 789634 can be written as a sum of two squares. In fact it is equal to 79 5 2 + 39 7 2 795^2 + 397^2 .

The other numbers have prime factorisations (in order) 2 3 × 19507 2^3 \times 19507 , 2 9 × 3 × 97 2^9 \times 3 \times 97 , 23 × 8599 23 \times 8599 , 2 6 × 3 7 2^6 \times 3^7 , 47 × 3617 47 \times 3617 . In each case there is a prime factor with odd index that is congruent to 3 3 modulo 4 4 . In order, these could be 19507 , 97 , 23 , 3 , 47 19507, 97, 23, 3, 47 . Since such primes are irreducible in the Gaussian integers, these numbers cannot be written as a sum of squares.

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