Consider this infinite sequence which is constituted entirely by repunits:
11, 111, 1111, 11111, ..........
Does this sequence consist of at least one
perfect fifth power?
• If so, provide an example.
• If not, prove that no member of the above mentioned sequence can be a perfect fifth power.
The only digit whose 5th power ends in 1 is 1. So the fifth root of the repunit must end in 1.
It is therefore of the form (10a+1)
The last two terms of (10a+1)^5 are 50a+1.
This means and fifth power that ends in the digit 1 also has for its last two digits either 01 or 51.
So no repunit can be a fifth power.
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Posted by Jer
on 2023-03-23 14:08:36 |