Prove that 2^5+3^4 cannot be expressed as sum_{i=0}^{n}3^i2^{zi} for a given n, where z_i is in descending order

Iyana Jackson

Iyana Jackson

Answered question

2022-09-06

Prove that 2 5 + 3 4 cannot be expressed as i = 0 n 3 i 2 z i for a given n, where z i is in descending order
This landed on my lap as a work proof, but I can't seem to wrap my mind around it.
You have Z = { z 0 , z 1 , . . . , z n } where zi are non-negative integers in descending order.
I need to show that 2 5 + 3 4 cannot be expressed as i = 0 n 3 i 2 z i , for some Z and n. It is easy to see that the expression can never be 0(mod3), but I can't find a proof for 2 5 + 3 4 .

Answer & Explanation

Mathias Allen

Mathias Allen

Beginner2022-09-07Added 10 answers

Step 1
The z i are nonnegative so 2 z i 1 for all i, and all terms of the sum are positive. It follows that n 4 as otherwise
i = 0 n 3 i 2 z i > 3 5 2 z 5 3 5 = 243 > 113.
Step 2
So then it remains to show that there is no solution to
113 = i = 0 n 3 i 2 z i ,
with n 4 and the z i nonnegative. This is just a small finite search.

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