practice problems pending
Q1. If x^n + y^n is a prime number for some x,y > 1 then n is necessarily: Options: Power of 2, Multiple of 4, Multiple of 3, Odd S1. Answer: Power of 2. Proof by contradiction: Assume that n has an odd factor k > 1. n = m.k x^n + y^n = (x^m)^k + (y^m)^k A^k + B^k = (A+B)(A^k-1 -A^k-2.B ....+ B^k-1) for odd 'k'. Here A = x^m and B = y^m x,y > 1 m>=1 => A+B >= 4 And the other factor is also more than 1 since A^k + B^k > A + B since k > 1. So A^k + B^k is not a prime. So n can't have any odd factor. So n has to be power of 2. H.P. For e.g. n = 2 x = 2, y = 3 4 + 9 = 13