How can I prove that 30∣ab(a2+b2)(a2−b2) without using a,b congruent modulo 5 and then
a,b congruent modulo 6 (for example) to show respectively that 5∣ab(a2+b2)(a2−b2) and
6∣ab(a2+b2)(a2−b2)?
Indeed this method implies studying numerous congruences and is quite long.
Answer
You need to show ab(a2−b2)(a2+b2) is a multiple of 2,3, and 5 for all a and b.
For 2: If neither a nor b are even, they are both odd and a^2 \equiv b^2 \equiv 1 \pmod 2, so that 2 divides a^2 - b^2.
For 3: If neither a nor b are a multiple of 3, then a^2 \equiv b^2 \equiv 1 \pmod 3, so 3 divides a^2 - b^2 similar to above.
For 5: If neither a nor b are a multiple of 5, then either a^2 \equiv 1 \pmod 5 or a^2 \equiv -1 \pmod 5. The same holds for b. If a^2 \equiv b^2 \pmod 5 then 5 divides a^2 - b^2, while if a^2 \equiv -b^2 \pmod 5 then 5 divides a^2 + b^2.
This does break into cases, but as you can see it's not too bad to do it systematically like this.
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