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Consider Prime Expression, Get Integer Value (Posted on 2023-08-02) Difficulty: 3 of 5
Determine all possible values of a positive integer N, such that:
→ N4- 27N2 + 121 is a prime number.

See The Solution Submitted by K Sengupta    
Rating: 5.0000 (1 votes)

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Solution Solution Comment 1 of 1
Start with some manipulation
N^4-27N^2+121
= N^4+22N^2+121 - 49N^2
= (N^2+11)^2 - (7N)^2
= (N^2-7N+11) * (N^2+7N+11)
For this expression to evaluate to be noncomposite it is necessary that one of the terms must equal +/-1.

N^2-7N+11=1 has roots 2 and 5
N^2-7N+11=-1 has roots 3 and 4
N^2+7N+11=1 has roots -2 and -5
N^2+7N+11=-1 has roots -3 and -4

All the negative roots are to be discarded, since we are seeking positive values for N.  Testing each positive root:
2^4-27*2^2+121 = 29
3^4-27*3^2+121 = -41
4^4-27*4^2+121 = -55
5^4-27*5^2+121 = 71

-41 and -55 are to be discarded, since primes are defined to be positive, leaving 29 and 71 which are both prime.  Those two primes occur when N=2 or N=5.

  Posted by Brian Smith on 2023-08-02 11:18:23
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