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2007 AMC 12B Problem 24

Problem 24 of 25HarderNumber Theory

How many pairs of positive integers (a,b)(a,b) are there such that gcd(a,b)=1\gcd(a,b)=1 and ab+14b9a\dfrac{a}{b}+\dfrac{14b}{9a} is an integer?

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Solution

Let kk be the integer value of the original expression. Multiplying by bb and subtracting aa gives 14b29a=bka,\dfrac{14b^2}{9a}=bk-a, an integer. Since gcd(a,b)=1,\gcd(a,b)=1, it follows that 1414 is divisible by a.a. Multiplying instead by 9a9a and subtracting 14b14b gives 9a2b=9ak14b,\dfrac{9a^2}{b}=9ak-14b, so 99 is divisible by b.b. Thus a{1,2,7,14}a\in\{1,2,7,14\} and b{1,3,9}.b\in\{1,3,9\}. Checking the coprime candidates, the expression is an integer only for (a,b)=(1,3),(a,b)=(1,3), (2,3),(2,3), (7,3),(7,3), (14,3).(14,3). So there are 44 such pairs. Thus, the correct answer is A.

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Concepts: divisibility · greatest common divisor · casework

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