A Problem WolframAlpha Didn't Solve, But You Can (615 + x^2 = 2^y)

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  • čas přidán 26. 06. 2024
  • I didn't solve this problem myself, but I felt better when I learned WolframAlpha couldn't solve it either! But there is a way to solve it using careful mathematical reasoning. Thanks to Luka Khizambareli from Georgia for suggesting this and sending its solution! (*And you have to be really careful--I thank Aniket Gupta and Ryan Wilson for spotting a mistake in the first video I uploaded)
    Update: As of November it seems WolframAlpha can solve it--I love to see how these tools just keep getting better!
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Komentáře • 2K

  • @MindYourDecisions
    @MindYourDecisions  Před 5 lety +997

    Apologies for the re-upload. In the previous version I only solved for positive integers. It is straightforward to then find the other solution. But I uploaded this corrected video presenting both because not everyone reads the comments. Also these videos are getting shared in a lot of places so I'm doing my best to present accurate mathematical results. I thank Aniket Gupta and Ryan Wilson for pointing out the oversight!

    • @PraneshPyaraShrestha
      @PraneshPyaraShrestha Před 5 lety +6

      What is your email?

    • @MindYourDecisions
      @MindYourDecisions  Před 5 lety +74

      So where did I go wrong in the original video? I often get emails where people ask me to look for mistakes in their work, if they did not find the correct solution in one of my videos. One important skill in mathematics is reviewing your own work. It's not always fun, but it's really important to learn where you might make errors. So where did I go wrong? In my self-review, there are three places I could have realized my mistake. Place #1: I said the difference of factors is (2^n + x) - (2^n - x) = 2x. Then I solved 2x = 118 to get x = 59. The thing is the difference of factors can also be (2^n - x) - (2^n + x) = -2x. Setting that equal to 118 would have given x = -59. Place #2: When I solved y = 12, I could have then solved 615 + x^2 = 2^12 where I could have seen x = 59 or -59. Place #3: In checking my work, I should have seen there was an x^2 term, and it's a common mistake to overlook a negative solution. This is the kind of self-criticism I do for my math homework. I have noticed people don't like to admit if they are wrong. But I have found self-reviews and honesty are big strengths to improving math skills. So I thank all the legitimate criticism (if accompanied with legitimate honesty) for these videos--you're helping us all get better at math.

    • @PraneshPyaraShrestha
      @PraneshPyaraShrestha Před 5 lety +12

      @@MindYourDecisions your email please. I have an important question that no one in Nepal has solved.

    • @Lqtan16
      @Lqtan16 Před 5 lety +7

      Pranesh Pyara Shrestha his email is at every end of his video

    • @PraneshPyaraShrestha
      @PraneshPyaraShrestha Před 5 lety +3

      @@Lqtan16 oh I found it

  • @Rimtay
    @Rimtay Před 4 lety +990

    Can you imagine solving all the question and forgetting to include -59 to the equation get 0 because of it.

    • @sxz452
      @sxz452 Před 4 lety +8

      That's sooooo sad

    • @Goku_is_my_idol
      @Goku_is_my_idol Před 4 lety +6

      Lol i did same😂

    • @namanlakhotia6393
      @namanlakhotia6393 Před 3 lety +16

      @@Vegan_PhysicsEnthusiast u definitely dont have these questions

    • @funni111
      @funni111 Před 3 lety +9

      @@namanlakhotia6393 if you do prmo training you will definitely get this type of questions

    • @namanlakhotia6393
      @namanlakhotia6393 Před 3 lety +14

      @@funni111 prmo is not comp in schools though

  • @roshandon3157
    @roshandon3157 Před 4 lety +1863

    *99% of the people who clicked the video underestimated this problem*

    • @radekvecerka1115
      @radekvecerka1115 Před 4 lety +26

      @BlazePlayz YT of course you can just blindly type in numbers, that´s easy, but what if the answer was smth like y=22
      i think you would have some troubles then

    • @rishijai
      @rishijai Před 4 lety +19

      @BlazePlayz YT Yep the key is to spot 3481 as a square

    • @Martin-zr2tb
      @Martin-zr2tb Před 4 lety +2

      Rishi Jai is there a certain trick to spotting a high number with a square root?
      Cus I did the blindly squaring numbers on my calculator around the sums + 615 being a power of 2 thing...

    • @nonidhgupta9405
      @nonidhgupta9405 Před 4 lety +2

      I did but I solved it too

    • @ReenaKumari-vq2rk
      @ReenaKumari-vq2rk Před 4 lety +1

      @CZcams Watcher i also did the same😁

  • @arnavraut9691
    @arnavraut9691 Před 5 lety +987

    literally a week after every video criticizing wolfram alpha's capabilities is posted, they end up fixing it

    • @ashyourresidentenby5916
      @ashyourresidentenby5916 Před 5 lety +29

      www.wolframalpha.com/input/?i=solve+615+%2B+x%5E2+%3D+2%5Ey+over+the+integers

    • @tgdhsuk3589
      @tgdhsuk3589 Před 5 lety +15

      @@ashyourresidentenby5916 solve 604 + x^3 = 3^y over the integers lmao still cant solve these types of questions

    • @ashyourresidentenby5916
      @ashyourresidentenby5916 Před 5 lety +16

      @@tgdhsuk3589 x is 5 and y is 6 HA solved it in like 15 seconds

    • @pdpgrgn
      @pdpgrgn Před 5 lety +13

      @@tgdhsuk3589 WolframAlpha solves this

    • @quantumsoul3495
      @quantumsoul3495 Před 4 lety

      Ethical hacking..

  • @antilogis6204
    @antilogis6204 Před 4 lety +114

    7:27 "All we did was use of principles of number theories."
    Right, very simple...

  • @rcnayak_58
    @rcnayak_58 Před 5 lety +1609

    It is easier to solve this problem with little logical way than to follow Presh`s complicated method. Look at the problem once. 2^y is always an even number irrespective of whether y is even or odd. Now we can write the equation as 615 =2^y - x^2. Here 615 is an odd number. Therefore, x^2 will have to be an odd number. Because, the difference between two even numbers is always even and the difference between an even number and an odd number is always odd. Since x^2 is an odd number, x must be an odd number too as the square of an odd number is always an odd number and the vice-versa is also true. Let x = 2n+1 for any value of n, odd or even. Now we have 2^y - (2n+1)^2 = 615. This can be written as (2^(y/2))^2 - (2n+1)^2 = 615. This now becomes the difference between two squares form. That means the left hand side will be the product of [(2^(y/2)) + (2n+1)][2^(y/2) - (2n+1)]. Putting, 2^(y/2) = a, and 2n+1 = b for simplification, we have (a+b)(a-b) = 615. Now 615 has to be the product of two numbers. The number 615 = 1 x 3 x 5 x 41. Therefore, we have four alternative pair of numbers whose product will be 615. They are (i) a+b = 615 and a - b = 1 or (ii) a + b = 205 and a - b = 3 or (iii) a + b =123 and a - b = 5 or (iv) a + b = 41 and a - b = 15. Solving (i) we have a = 308, b = 307 (ii) a =104, b = 101 (iii) a = 64, b = 59 and (iv) a = 28, b = 13. Here note that 'a' = 2^(y/2) that is a number power of 2. If we check the values of 'a' in all thee alternatives, only (iii) which is 64,satisfies our condition and the others are not.Therefore 2^(y/2) = 64 = 2^6. That is y/2 =6, That is y = 12 and b = 2n+1 = x =59.

    • @xmarteo
      @xmarteo Před 5 lety +134

      You assumed a to be an integer without proving that y is even.

    • @rcnayak_58
      @rcnayak_58 Před 5 lety +46

      @@xmarteo I have simplified it in a better way in my next explanation. Pl look at it again.

    • @raphaelmillion
      @raphaelmillion Před 5 lety +75

      @@rcnayak_58 you don't even have to set b = 2n+1 because you don't use it again.
      Also, xmarteo's comment raises a valid concern, because then you would have to check for more divisors (divisors on Z[sqrt(2)] ). Or you could show that y is even, resulting in the same proof as MindYourDecisions.
      Ultimately, your proof is not shorter than MindYourDecisions'.

    • @ChristopherNight
      @ChristopherNight Před 5 lety +95

      ​@@rcnayak_58 Try your logic with 23 + x^2 = 2^y. You'll get that (a+b)(a-b) = 23, which only has one integer solution: (a, b) = (12, 11), and since 12 is not a power of 2, you would conclude that there's no solution with integer x and y. But (x, y) = (3, 5) is a solution, corresponding to (a, b) = (4sqrt(2), 3).

    • @TejvirJogani
      @TejvirJogani Před 5 lety +23

      @@xmarteo 2^y is always even because it's a multiple of 2 and an even number is defined as multiple to, so by definition 2^y is even. The problem though, is that this solution is almost as complex as Presh's, because it practically requires the same methodology of thinking. While I agree it might be efficient, you've to keep in mind that he was send this solution as well.

  • @AYUSHGAMEROFFICIAL
    @AYUSHGAMEROFFICIAL Před 4 lety +430

    He:this is presh talwalkar
    Captions:this is fresh lakewater

  • @notwildcard377
    @notwildcard377 Před 3 lety +36

    UPDATE : Wolfram Alpha can now solve this problem. I loved your approach.

  • @lukkash
    @lukkash Před 5 lety +42

    You can solve it beautifully in Excel by solving (with parameters) an equation as 615+x^2 - 2^y = 0
    Alternatively you can calculate y=log(615+x^2)/log(2) and then an integer value of y should be found. All to be solved in Excel :)

    • @btf_flotsam478
      @btf_flotsam478 Před rokem +1

      I'd give you a cookie, but you only really deserve it if you use SQL. (By the way, good luck brute-forcing the proof that there are no other solutions.)

  • @ethanfrommer7772
    @ethanfrommer7772 Před 5 lety +218

    Hey presh. Just wanted to thank you... we had a really difficult math test that was more about thinking than calculating. It was really hard but everytime i started a new question, I thought about what Presh will do and how he will solve that, and that helped solving most of the problems. Thanks for improving and sharpening the thinking for me, and for other hundreds of thousands people

    • @HueHanaejistla
      @HueHanaejistla Před 4 lety +2

      ethan frommer ok boomer

    • @Seekingpatience19
      @Seekingpatience19 Před 3 lety +4

      @@sahaj9810 wait how did u get the 2^10 , 2^11, and 2^12 are the only possibilities? im a little confused.

    • @suryakalawasnik6204
      @suryakalawasnik6204 Před 3 lety +4

      @@sahaj9810 he wanted to say what about 2¹³ .. 2¹⁴..2^15 and so on

  • @Super_Smash_Dude
    @Super_Smash_Dude Před 5 lety +31

    That's interesting!
    I tried taking the log base 2 on both sides in order to isolate y.

  • @bancodrut
    @bancodrut Před 5 lety +1

    The solution to this problem really blowed my mind. The structure of it is the most imaginative and trickery of what I've encountered so far 😱
    Thanks for sharing

  • @jerrygundecker743
    @jerrygundecker743 Před 5 lety +306

    I was with you right up to "You're watching Mind Your Decisions"....After that I said, "Huh?"

  • @TheGeneralThings
    @TheGeneralThings Před 5 lety +6

    Brilliant! This is the content I can't get enough of.

  • @l.w.paradis2108
    @l.w.paradis2108 Před 2 lety

    This is so cool. I've just been casually watching, and got up to the 3-minute mark on my own. I thought of the first steps without watching. So, these videos are putting me on the right path to figuring out cool problems. THANK YOU.

  • @harshitagoyal7134
    @harshitagoyal7134 Před 4 lety +9

    After spotting that n > 9, I just used trial and error with n = 10, 11... to check which values would give a perfect square for 2^n - 615. Eventhough, trial and error isnt the 'best' way to solve problems, I think this would be a quicker approach :)
    THOUGH I ABSOLUTELY LOVED THE WAY YOU DID IT, IT IS ALWAYS FUN TO KNOW HOW THE OTHER PERSON SOLVED IT. I LOVE MULTIPLE APPROACHES

  • @indy197905
    @indy197905 Před 3 lety +9

    I thought it was an algebra problem. Then I kept watching and my brain melted.

  • @sjoerdwiesmeijer7231
    @sjoerdwiesmeijer7231 Před 5 lety +14

    Am I the only one who always gets depressed when he says:'Did you figure it out'? . 'cause I am already happy when I can follow his explanation.

    • @mirawenya
      @mirawenya Před 3 lety

      Yep, I’m with you. Don’t usually even understand the explanation it seems.

    • @ihopeicanchangethisnamelat7108
      @ihopeicanchangethisnamelat7108 Před 3 lety

      the first thing i did when i saw this problem was google ‘what does solve over the integers mean?’. i promise you’re not alone.

  • @knk0112
    @knk0112 Před 5 lety

    Thanks Presh for making such videos.. observing the way these solutions work out their way to the answer really helps in thinking laterally.. it sharpens the thinking skills for sure.. thanks a lot!!

  • @srimatresri
    @srimatresri Před 5 lety +244

    2^y - 615 must be a square. Went on substituting y > 9

    • @bharatnotindia.6296
      @bharatnotindia.6296 Před 5 lety +13

      That's cool.

    • @oskarjung6738
      @oskarjung6738 Před 4 lety +14

      One more analysis, that 2^y is always even so sum of of 615 and x^2 should also be even, which is possible when x^2 is odd.
      x^2 is odd when x is odd integer.
      Hence odd integral solutions of X is only possible.

    • @critisizerr245
      @critisizerr245 Před 4 lety +5

      I also wwnt on substituting y value but soon after I though that this will not help me for IIT JEE
      I am in 10
      Going go attempt jee in 2022

    • @critisizerr245
      @critisizerr245 Před 4 lety +2

      But i got the answer by putting 12

    • @superlabelgirl
      @superlabelgirl Před 4 lety +5

      I did the same thing. Once he started looking at digit repetition, I was like "y tho?"

  • @Pepa14pig
    @Pepa14pig Před 3 lety +14

    I feel proud for solving this problem not only alone but also with different thinking :))

    • @kwcy92
      @kwcy92 Před 3 lety

      Can you share your way?

    • @Pepa14pig
      @Pepa14pig Před 3 lety +1

      @@kwcy92
      Of course! It was a guessing game with math background 😂😂😂
      We can rewrite the problem as 615=2^y-x^2
      I know x will be an odd number (because 615 is odd and 2^y is always even). Because we know powers of two, we want a “bigger” number for y because difference needs to be 615
      From there on I played a bit with numbers to see what happens when I use bigger x, smaller y... I started with x=y=9 and moved up by 5-10 for x and one for y and got there relatively fast. I know it’s not the best way to solve, but it worked 😂😂😂

  • @user-ng4sb5nl2o
    @user-ng4sb5nl2o Před 5 lety +6

    When I first started to solve it, i gave up. But then I decided to try it again and got it, using (x-1)^2 = x^2 - (2x-1)

  • @curiousscientist6077
    @curiousscientist6077 Před 4 lety

    This channel is very amazing!
    I loved it! Knowing this fact about Wolfram is very motivating!

  • @tamirerez2547
    @tamirerez2547 Před 3 lety

    The approach of checking the last digits, as all simple thinking, is genius!!
    Great way to solve such a problem.

  • @quahntasy
    @quahntasy Před 5 lety +92

    I always depend on Wolfram Alpha for solving Equations in Physics. But this new information blows my mind. Now I have to go back and do all those tedious exercises from Goldstein.

    • @folf
      @folf Před 5 lety +1

      It works now 🧐

    • @spacefertilizer
      @spacefertilizer Před 4 lety +4

      For mathematics, only use wolfram for getting hints toward a solution. Often wolfram does not give you all possible solutions or even managed to find them (this has happened to me a lot in calculus and even combinatorics). Try to understand the problem and the theory behind it and solve it from there. There are lots of mathematics that are not implemented yet in wolfram either.

  • @jasonterry1959
    @jasonterry1959 Před 5 lety +52

    @mindyourdecisions I took a game theory class in college this past semester (spring 2018) and you would not believe the amount of times you were listed as a source.

  • @sandrastrilakos9962
    @sandrastrilakos9962 Před 5 lety

    I solved it partly using logic and finished it using trial and error, but your method is so much better because it demonstrates the logic required to prove it is the only solution. I look forward to sharing this with my senior students.

  • @spacefertilizer
    @spacefertilizer Před 4 lety

    Great and imaginative solution!
    Lots of people commenting on these problems don’t understand mathematics though. They believe one only has to do trial and error to find one solution, but forget all about finding every possible solution while also showing that there can be no other. This is the core thinking that should be taught. Wonder what they actually teach people in school nowadays.

  • @kienha9036
    @kienha9036 Před 5 lety +5

    615 is divisible by 3, hence 2^y-x^2 is divisible by 3. Easily checking out we could see that 2-x^2 is not divisible by 3, then 2^y-0 or 2^y-1 is divisible by 3. Since 2^y-0 isn't, we can conclude that 2^y-1 is, then y is even

  • @Acid31337
    @Acid31337 Před 5 lety +183

    It's easy, wolframalpha cannot make a sandwitch, but I can!

    • @ffggddss
      @ffggddss Před 5 lety +10

      What, make a witch out of sand? Well, it is nearly Halloween, after all. So I guess all you need is to go to the beach!!
      Fred

    • @yerr234
      @yerr234 Před 5 lety +7

      but can you tho?

    • @silkyfirst3097
      @silkyfirst3097 Před 4 lety +4

      Dont provoke them wolfram alpha is listening

    • @TAT4guitar
      @TAT4guitar Před 4 lety +5

      Did you try "sudo make a sandwich"? That usually does the trick

  • @musicsubicandcebu1774
    @musicsubicandcebu1774 Před 3 lety

    Yeah, that was amazing. Thanks for taking the time to post these.

  • @legendhero-eu1lc
    @legendhero-eu1lc Před 4 lety

    Thank you for the video! All of you friends are super awesome!

  • @franklyanogre00000
    @franklyanogre00000 Před 5 lety +500

    x=59, y=12, I did trial and error of adding odd squares to 615 and comparing it to powers of two, only took three tries. Surprised you didn't get it at first, Presh.

    • @mohdhussain46
      @mohdhussain46 Před 5 lety +23

      Frank Anthony Overton Jr. I did the same 😂😂

    • @akankshasarda5216
      @akankshasarda5216 Před 5 lety +12

      Me too😂

    • @saurabhusane5780
      @saurabhusane5780 Před 5 lety +8

      Exactly ...!

    • @mr.moodle8836
      @mr.moodle8836 Před 5 lety +204

      He could've used trial and error, sure, but that would've made for a pretty boring video. Trial and error is how I "solved" it, but I wasn't able to guarantee that it was the ONLY answer, and saying you've solved an equation without ensuring that it's the only possible answer doesn't really count as "solving" it.

    • @bidyutchakraborty2433
      @bidyutchakraborty2433 Před 5 lety +11

      Getting odd square of 3481 or to get number 59 and its square and then matching with power of 2, in three trials, I think, is a chance. There are much more odd integers in between. However, proceeding logically seem to be more elegant solution to me.

  • @nonesuch27
    @nonesuch27 Před 5 lety +337

    As always with these videos, a lot of people don't grasp the concept of PROOF.

    • @arolimarcellinus8541
      @arolimarcellinus8541 Před 5 lety +20

      Well how do you say? There is no any proper explanation about proof. It's so abstract and we never realized we need to use inequalities for this kind of problem. You know in HS we always use regular method, but not with this long and tiring explanation only to find y=2n. How come common people realized that? Me as a Master degree student even cannot realize this

    • @heronimousbrapson863
      @heronimousbrapson863 Před 5 lety +34

      nonesuch27 Most people don't grasp the concept of proof. Proof is really only needed in the study of pure mathematics. For everyday applications of mathematics, you don't need proofs, just like you don't need a degree in automotive engineering to be an auto mechanic.

    • @qc1okay
      @qc1okay Před 5 lety +11

      What? What does proof have to do with anything? The problem as worded says nothing about proof. It asks you to find x and y, only allowing integers. Period.

    • @dariobarisic3502
      @dariobarisic3502 Před 5 lety +62

      @@qc1okay If it asks to SOLVE the problem then it means you have to find ALL the solutions. If you find only ONE solution, you have to prove its the only solution. Otherwise you didn't solve the problem. Many people just say "easy, i guesed it in 3 tries", while that worked in this case because there's only one solution, it won't always work.

    • @qc1okay
      @qc1okay Před 5 lety +1

      @@dariobarisic3502 No it doesn't. Just that simple. Solve does not mean all. This CZcams channel isn't a formal math class, and even if it were, its instructions must be clear to its viewers. If "all" were wanted, "all" had to be stated. Incidentally, I went thru the full process Presh used, and it both leaves out steps and overcomplicates others.

  • @TamaraTkacova
    @TamaraTkacova Před 4 lety +14

    I‘ve been taking some number theory classes in my free time and we‘ve just started with modular arithmetics, and I was so happy when I got the solution before watching the video haha :) I did it mod 3 tho

  • @UltimatumNo5
    @UltimatumNo5 Před 5 lety

    I must say, your maths videos are brilliant and I love your simple solutions even if I sometimes don't understand them or feel intimidated by the many who not only understand but reach the same conclusion before the actual solving takes place. Could you do a video on how to approach a problem mathematically - it's one thing to be aware of mathematical rules, but is there a way to break down a problem so those rules become apparent?

  • @SamerShennar
    @SamerShennar Před 5 lety +7

    Way simpler: x=sqrt(2^y-615)
    So 2^y has to be > 615
    By trial and error starting from 1024 we can quickly reach x an integer (59) at 4096.

    • @t_kon
      @t_kon Před 5 lety +1

      Ye prove it that that's the only answer

  • @GinoTC
    @GinoTC Před 5 lety +75

    Holy crap the captions got your name right. Well, there's a space between tal and walker but damn, I'm glad I've been checking every video haha

  • @tatane79
    @tatane79 Před 3 lety

    This is really a brilliant, simple and elegant affordable solution! Thanks!

  • @JLvatron
    @JLvatron Před 2 lety +1

    Wolfram & Hart couldn’t solve it, but Winifred Burkle could!
    Thanks for this genius solution.

  • @willnewman9783
    @willnewman9783 Před 5 lety +142

    In this video, he looks mod 10 to get that y is even. But it is much easier to look mod 4 to get that fact.
    And also, a lot of people are saying they solved this by guessing and checking. While that does find a solution, it does not find a proof of the only solutions, which this video does.

    • @sapien153
      @sapien153 Před 5 lety +3

      Nope. The video didn't prove that this is the only solution

    • @freddiehand6551
      @freddiehand6551 Před 5 lety +31

      @Bragadeesh S yes it did

    • @sapien153
      @sapien153 Před 5 lety +5

      My bad. Agreed

    • @Theo0x89
      @Theo0x89 Před 5 lety +7

      I'll see your mod 4 and raise you mod 3. In fact, modulo 3 you get 615 ≡ 0, x² ≡ 0 or 1 and 2^y ≡ (-1)^y, so y must be even.

    • @danmerget
      @danmerget Před 5 lety +3

      Neat. I used the mod 10 solution myself, which seemed more obvious to me since I count in base 10 and tend to notice base-10 patterns before considering other bases. (OK, I lie. I did briefly look at mod 2 first, but that only got me as far as "x must be odd" before I abandoned that approach and jumped to base 10. Mod 3 and 4 never occurred to me.)

  • @mrKreuzfeld
    @mrKreuzfeld Před 5 lety +3

    That was awesome!

  • @ralphmacchiato3761
    @ralphmacchiato3761 Před 4 lety

    Love the techniques. Got me to get a condensed highschool mathbook from the library so I can brush up the forgotten gold.

  • @EduardvanKleef
    @EduardvanKleef Před 2 lety

    This solution is so brilliant, I'm stunned...

  • @Tailspin80
    @Tailspin80 Před 3 lety +4

    I solved this in about 60 seconds from the thumbnail. The right hand side has to be 1024 ... 2048 ... 4096 etc. So just keep trying until you find one which has an integer square root. Bingo - square root of 4096 - 615 is 59 (and -59). A familiarity with well known binary numbers helps. Because I solved it before I opened the video the no calculator rule didn’t apply. 🙂

  • @prerakcontractor6609
    @prerakcontractor6609 Před 5 lety +13

    Be honest and confess; how many of you guys checked whether wolfram alpha could solve this or not? Well, I did

  • @montsaintleondr7491
    @montsaintleondr7491 Před 3 lety +2

    Holy cow, I am spaghettified by this elegant solution! Thank you!

  • @invincibleflesh4526
    @invincibleflesh4526 Před 3 lety

    Came for the problem and found the solution on my own, actually watched the video to see if there were others.

  • @PraneshPyaraShrestha
    @PraneshPyaraShrestha Před 5 lety +16

    Your videos are awesome

  • @anyone6240
    @anyone6240 Před 5 lety +3

    Great video as usual!
    Write as x^2 - 25 = 2^y - 640
    Then (x+5)(x-5) = 2^6(2^(y-6)-10)
    Difference of factors on the left is 10 which implies
    y=12 and so x= +- (2^6 - 5) = +- 59

    • @xXJ4FARGAMERXx
      @xXJ4FARGAMERXx Před 2 lety

      Finally! A solution I can understand!

    • @yurenchu
      @yurenchu Před 11 měsíci

      It doesn't necessarily imply y=12 . There may also exist a different integer value of y and some integers a>1 , b>1 , and k>0 such that
      (2^(y-6) - 10) = a*b
      and
      (x+5) = (2^(k-6))*a
      (x-5) = (2^k)*b
      For example, consider the equation
      (x+3)(x-3) = 2² * (2^(y-2) - 6)
      The difference of factors on the left is 6 , which according to your logic implies that y=4 . However, there are actually two solutions:
      y = 4 : (1+3)(1-3) = 2² * (2^(4-2) - 6) = -8
      y = 6 : (7+3)(7-3) = 2² * (2^(6-2) - 6) = 40
      (It's even possible to construct examples with more than two solutions.)

  • @ozanoruc3796
    @ozanoruc3796 Před 4 lety +2

    If you look at the equation in mod 3 it is clear that y is even which means that you can move x^2 to right side of the equation and do difference of two squares. And then try for positive divisors of 615

  • @TitusObbayi
    @TitusObbayi Před 2 lety

    I have to admit, when I first saw this problem I completely did not think it would be very complicated. Then I tried it and got stuck but I was still convinced there some basic algebra trick that I'm missing. Then after watching this solution, I realize there was no chance I was solving this without the explanation

  • @UniqueNCS
    @UniqueNCS Před 4 lety +43

    Literaly just had this in a test yesterday and couldnt answer, cmon universe

  • @michaelfredericks6970
    @michaelfredericks6970 Před 5 lety +3

    I knew x had to be odd because odd^2=odd and odd +odd = even and that x^2 had to end in a 1,3, or 7 because these digits when added to 5 produce unit digits that correspond to unit digits produced by 2^y (I.e 2,4,8,6,2,4,... cycling). So basically that narrows the last digit in x to be only 1 or 9, both of which when squared and added to 5 make a units digit of 6. Thus because 6 occurs in the units digit of 2^y then y is a multiple of 4. So I started with 2^12 as an initial guess (2^8

  • @marcoantonioreyessantos9977

    I also started as Nayak's solution: x has to be odd, then x=2n+1. Then, we have that 4n(n+1)=2^y-616, or n(n+1)=2^(y-2)-154. Now I went with y-2>=8, and found y-2=10 and n=29, which give x=59 and y=12. Cheers, Marco.

  • @steveholman5978
    @steveholman5978 Před 5 lety +2

    I solved this in about 3 minutes by simply listing the powers of two, subtracting 615, and looking for an integer square root. The first one even possible had to be more than 615, so I only had to check three powers of two before finding one with an integer square root.

  • @thephysicistcuber175
    @thephysicistcuber175 Před 5 lety +17

    3:52 it was even easier to establish this by looking at the equation mod 3

    • @TechToppers
      @TechToppers Před 3 lety +1

      That's bit advances.
      Presh Talwakar makes things intuitive.

    • @d4slaimless
      @d4slaimless Před 3 lety

      @@TechToppers not realy that hard. Every square is 0 or 1 mod 3, every even power of 2 is 1 mod 3, but every odd power of 2 is 2 mod 3. So the y is even. You would need to prove the initial statements though (but it's very simple).

    • @TechToppers
      @TechToppers Před 3 lety

      @@d4slaimless I know it is simple. But if you can avoid technicalities, then why not!

    • @d4slaimless
      @d4slaimless Před 3 lety

      @@TechToppers I am not arguing that the solution in the video is very demonstrative. Just saying that going for the reminder of a division is not that hard either.

    • @ericzhu6620
      @ericzhu6620 Před 3 lety

      wow i found a cuber under a maths video!

  • @mcovaleda
    @mcovaleda Před 5 lety +3

    Wolframalpha: isolate y on 615+x^2=2^y solves the problem

  • @sumit3735
    @sumit3735 Před 3 lety

    Mind your decision is best Chanel for students

  • @md.abdurrahmantarafder2256

    Excellent solution!

  • @anubis_05
    @anubis_05 Před 5 lety +60

    hello please look into integrals by the Feynman technique

  • @nellvincervantes3223
    @nellvincervantes3223 Před 5 lety +4

    Explain the Difference between Quasi-Static and Non Quasi-Static
    @Mindyourdecisions

  • @merveilmeok2416
    @merveilmeok2416 Před 4 lety +1

    Sometimes you come across a map problem and you think “I get it” and you “solve” the problem under a couple of minutes only to realize later the problem was above your “pay grade” and a much more complicated problem that you anticipated. This has happened to me back to back today ;)

  • @beautyofnature7361
    @beautyofnature7361 Před 5 lety +2

    Very good Sir, I like your every problem solving videos

  • @whiploadchannel2047
    @whiploadchannel2047 Před 5 lety +4

    You can also find that y is even using mod 3. A little faster than mod 10

    • @whiploadchannel2047
      @whiploadchannel2047 Před 5 lety +1

      Tom Domenge sure, (mod 3) 615 = 0, x^2 = 1 or 0, and 2^y = (-1)^y. So 615 + x^2 = 0 or 1. If y is odd, 2^y=(-1)^y = -1 which is impossible. So y is even

  • @Akash-qy1gf
    @Akash-qy1gf Před 5 lety +15

    I did trial and error method and solved it in 2mins.....2^9=512 & 2^10=1024, 2^y has toh be greater than 615, so consider 2^10 =1024, so 1024-615=409 which is not a Perfect Square, 2^11=2048, so 2048-615=1433 which is also not a Perfect Square, and then 2^12=4096, so 4096-615=3481 which is Square of 59. Thus x=59 and y=12

    • @pjalvarez6420
      @pjalvarez6420 Před 5 lety +1

      Rahul Chhabaria sameee hahaha i tried 1024,2048, then finally 4096 and it worked!!

    • @samsonpl1110
      @samsonpl1110 Před 5 lety

      -59 is second matching X :D

    • @ceegers
      @ceegers Před 5 lety

      This is what I did. No need to make it more complicated than it is :P

    • @Cohnan13
      @Cohnan13 Před 5 lety +1

      @@ceegers Actually, it is needed to prove that no other solutions exist

    • @speedsterh
      @speedsterh Před 4 lety

      @@Cohnan13 Some people here don't what "solving" means

  • @elmatadordeangel5004
    @elmatadordeangel5004 Před 3 lety

    Interesting solution.
    For my part I took x^2 to the right side, applied the difference of squares formula, since we need integers then I looked for multiples of 615: 203, 5, 123, 41, and then applied each solution and checked if the outcome would be an integer. Got the same results

  • @sarthakgupta4323
    @sarthakgupta4323 Před 5 lety

    To chekc whether y is even or odd we can simply use 3 as x^2 gives remainder 0 or 1 when diveded by 3 and 2^y gives remainder 2 when y is odd and 1 when is even therefore y must be even

  • @kasperjoonatan6014
    @kasperjoonatan6014 Před 5 lety +5

    This was a very fine problem! It was good that 615 is quite easy to divide into prime factors, otherwise it wouldn't have been so easy without a calculator :)

  • @user-uc1hf8zm6k
    @user-uc1hf8zm6k Před 5 lety +7

    2^y , which means it could only be2,4,8,16,32...
    Therefore,just to find out which 2^y number can be square rooted after minus 615.There is 615, so we can start with 1024,2048,4096... then find out that the answer is x=59,y=12

    • @user-zb8tq5pr4x
      @user-zb8tq5pr4x Před 4 lety

      Thats a numeric solution, not analitic. Prove that that is the only solution.

  • @johnconway8070
    @johnconway8070 Před 5 lety

    One of the most enjoyable problems I have seen for quite a while . Finding the solution as explained by Presh is not easy but it *is* very satisfying . Me, I simply used the trial and error method! Noting that 2^y had the be *at least* 2^10, I only had to try 1024 minus 615 , 2048 minus 615 and 4096 minus 615 to find which of these three differences gives a perfect square . Not a whole lot of work !

  • @BluetarES7
    @BluetarES7 Před 4 lety

    Thank you. You are inspiring. Very nice solution

  • @madhavstalks3925
    @madhavstalks3925 Před 5 lety +28

    The unit digit method always work. Good solution..

  • @anuragmishra3282
    @anuragmishra3282 Před 3 lety +4

    I solved the equation in seconds using a chart containing square of numbers upto 100
    It was easier than the method in the video

  • @iudex_wrp152
    @iudex_wrp152 Před 3 lety

    First video that I actually understood fully

  • @TorBruheim
    @TorBruheim Před 5 lety

    Who on earth came up with this awesome solution? This is more a way of thinking and a method instead of traditional math. I have learned a lot from your videos, and I have expanded the way of seeing math solutions. Especially those solutions involving geometry. Thank you very much.

    • @SpaghettiToaster
      @SpaghettiToaster Před 4 lety

      It is traditional math, a branch called number theory.

  • @xVitOSx
    @xVitOSx Před 5 lety +6

    Thanks macOS for "Grapher"

  • @ronmadan8003
    @ronmadan8003 Před 5 lety +6

    Who else used a different strategy, but found a much faster way to do it? My strategy was to try different powers of 2 (greater than 9). For example: 615 + x^2 = 2^11 (2048). This implies that x^2 = 1433. That isn't a square value (for a positive even integer), so I tried 615 + x^2 = 2^12 (4096). That meant x^2 was equal to 3481. Since 3481 is a square, I was able to solve for x and y.

    • @chaitanyasingh1565
      @chaitanyasingh1565 Před 5 lety

      Wish you could see my raised hand ✋ ✋

    • @thiantromp6607
      @thiantromp6607 Před 4 lety +1

      Ron Madan but you never proved or showed that was the only solution. That is the challenge with these problems.

    • @zoetropo1
      @zoetropo1 Před 4 lety

      Try or not try, that is not the question. Use the force of logic, Luke!

  • @IS-eb9lf
    @IS-eb9lf Před 5 lety +1

    Did it in 15 mins. I found for myself this method on Programming/Math olympic competition. 10x 4 video. :)

  • @robert33232
    @robert33232 Před 5 lety +2

    That is interesting, thank you!)))

  • @Oswald_Anthony
    @Oswald_Anthony Před 4 lety +11

    Take the logarithm base 2 of both sides:
    Answer: y = log(x^2 + 615)/log(2) + ((2 i) π n)/log(2) for n element Z
    x = ± 59, y = 12
    (that's a Wolfram's answer)

    • @kookoo275
      @kookoo275 Před 3 lety +1

      This is the first thing I thought, surprised I had to go so low to find this comment

  • @hsman6614
    @hsman6614 Před 5 lety +4

    Why did WolframAlfha give up when it reach x = 3?

  • @peterlobzhanidze1277
    @peterlobzhanidze1277 Před 4 lety

    Shout out from Georgia 🙌🏼❤️

  • @bearloscuro
    @bearloscuro Před 4 lety

    Here's how I solved this with paper and pencil. Rewrote expression as x^2 -2^y=-615. X^2 will always be a positive integer value, so 2^y must be some power of 2 greater than 615 where the difference between the two expressions has a (positive) integer square root. 2^10 = 1024 & square root of the difference (409) is not an integer, 2^11=2048 and square root of the difference (1433) is not an integer, 2^12=4096, subtracting 615 yields 3481. Since the last two digits of 3481 are 81, there is a good chance that 59 could be the square root. I tried that and it worked. Thus, x=59, y=12.Yes, I know intuition and trail and error aren't proper 'solutions.' Thanks for this channel!

  • @vladpetre5674
    @vladpetre5674 Před 5 lety +9

    @Presh, had you constructed the proof the other way around, it would have been a lot closer to how people/ students think. Start with observing x^2 and that if y is even then you can do a^2 - b^2 = 615 which is easy to solve. Then prove that y cannot be odd, thus the only solutions are the ones where y is even (x = +/- 59, y = 12).
    The way you started it by observing y has to be even and then stating ("This will be a key in our finding the solution") makes you look insightful, but does not help people develop thinking patterns in math problem solving (especially Diophantine equations)

    • @akaRicoSanchez
      @akaRicoSanchez Před 5 lety

      Well... I solved the problem the exact same way and in the exact same order. It's not really about being insightful but about using the fact integers are a strong constraint on the solutions.

    • @vladpetre5674
      @vladpetre5674 Před 5 lety +1

      ​@Dan It's the same with last digit analysis. How do you know it is we need in this specific question? You don't know, but i bet factoring leads to results more often than last digit analysis.

  • @mattjw16
    @mattjw16 Před 5 lety +3

    WolframAlpha can solve it now.

  • @d4slaimless
    @d4slaimless Před 3 lety

    Elegant solution!

  • @sebrady951
    @sebrady951 Před 2 lety

    This channel is amazing

  • @jameskelly745
    @jameskelly745 Před 5 lety +4

    I did it completely differentlymin my head in a third the amount of time it took to explain that solution

  • @silverbladeii
    @silverbladeii Před 4 lety +4

    Minha solução:
    Se "==" representa congruência, temos:
    615+x²==x² (mod 3).
    2ⁿ=/=0 (mod 3)
    →x²=/=0 (mod 3)
    →x²==1 (mod 3).
    2ⁿ==1 (mod 3)
    →n=2a
    615=2²ª-x²→
    615=(2ª+x)(2ª-x).
    Edit: ok, vamos testar todos os pouquíssimos casos: 615=3•5•41, além disso, 2ª+x>2ª-x. As únicas possibilidades são (supondo x≥0):
    2ª+x=615 e 2ª-x=1→2•2ª=616. Abs
    2ª+x=205, 2ª-x=3→2•2ª=208. Abs
    2ª+x=41 e 2ª-x=15→ 2•2ª=56. Abs
    E
    2ª+x=123 e 2ª-x=5
    2ª=64, de onde segue que a única
    solução é a=6→n=y=12 e x=±59

    • @Gutagi
      @Gutagi Před 4 lety

      parabens cara

    • @Gutagi
      @Gutagi Před 4 lety

      Translation for english:
      My solution is:
      If "==" represents congruence then we have:
      ....
      Testing all the possible cases (which are just a few) , we have that the only solution is...

    • @silverbladeii
      @silverbladeii Před 4 lety

      @@Gutagi macho, são bem poucos casos

    • @Gutagi
      @Gutagi Před 4 lety

      SilverBlade como assim ???

    • @silverbladeii
      @silverbladeii Před 4 lety

      @@Gutagi taí. Resolvido completo (mas é tão trivial que eu nem devia ter perdido meu tempo editando)

  • @NZAnimeManga
    @NZAnimeManga Před 3 lety

    That's a really cool problem!

  • @andysolano7847
    @andysolano7847 Před 4 lety

    I solved all by myself in less than 5 minutes!! I used congruences and it worked out great!

  • @leo17921
    @leo17921 Před 5 lety +4

    7:36 so now you say this every time. ok.

  • @Exachad
    @Exachad Před 5 lety +21

    Wolfram Alpha can solve it, X= +/-59 and Y=12 for integer solutions!

  • @sathyaramg1318
    @sathyaramg1318 Před 4 lety

    Exact same way I did. Happy that it's correct!

  • @twinksy90
    @twinksy90 Před 2 lety

    X^2=2^y-615. For x^2 to be positive, y is at minimum 9. Then increase y incrementally until 2^y-615 is the square of an integer.

  • @t_kon
    @t_kon Před 5 lety +14

    Dont do trial and error it's bad.
    First apply mod 3. 615 mod 3 = 0, and 2 mod 3 = -1, however x^2 mod 3 = 1 for x relatively prime than 3. Hence y must be even. Apply y = 2k and factorize it (2^k +x)(2^k-x) = 615. This is how you prove the only integer solution is (59, 12), (-59, 12)

    • @snuffeldjuret
      @snuffeldjuret Před 5 lety +2

      trial and error isn't bad, it is an extremely valuable tool in figuring things out. When applying math on the real world, trial and error is crucial.

    • @t_kon
      @t_kon Před 5 lety +1

      @@snuffeldjuret not really. Trial and error is useful in trying to solve any problems, but is never good to apply it directly. Why? Because you dont know if this trial and error pattern will continue on or not. There is not enough conclusion from just trial and error. It can gives you some valuable information but is never the way to go directly.

    • @snuffeldjuret
      @snuffeldjuret Před 5 lety +3

      @@t_kon I have no idea what you mean with "apply it directly" and "the way to go directly". I am merely pointing out that "Dont do trial and error it's bad." is a blanket statement that is not always true. You can argue that it is for this task, but it is not true for all possible tasks.

    • @albertmcchan
      @albertmcchan Před 5 lety

      Is doing mod 3 also trial and error ?

    • @SaiKiran-fd3gq
      @SaiKiran-fd3gq Před 5 lety

      Take mod 16 on both sides we end with x = +3 or -3 mod 16 .But 59 is neither .Where am i going wrong.

  • @TheTck90
    @TheTck90 Před 5 lety +5

    Don’t use calculator but count 2^9 and factor out 615 :D

  • @fredericofp
    @fredericofp Před rokem

    Bruteforced this one by just estimating values for Y and subtracting 615 from 2^y and checking to see if the result was a perfect square ( by calculating the closest perfect square i could do in my head ) and got to the awnser in a couple of minutes

  • @jimvinci8295
    @jimvinci8295 Před 3 lety

    I solved this directly by the substitution 2 to the yth power = a squared, which gets to the answer more quickly, although the remainder of the approach is similar to what was presented.
    The above approach leads immediately to (a-x)(a+x) = 615 and by substituting the four ways to factor 615 (41x 15, 123 x 5, 205 x 3, and 615 x 1), the only pair of factors that produce integer solutions is 5 and 123. a - x = 5 and a + x = 123 leads to a = 64 and x = 59, and since a squared = 2 to the yth power, 2 to the yth power must equal 4096, so y = 12.