Edexcel P4 2022 October — Question 8

Exam BoardEdexcel
ModuleP4 (Pure Mathematics 4)
Year2022
SessionOctober
TopicProof

  1. A student was asked to prove by contradiction that
    "there are no positive integers \(x\) and \(y\) such that \(3 x ^ { 2 } + 2 x y - y ^ { 2 } = 25\) "
    The start of the student's proof is shown in the box below.
Assume that integers \(x\) and \(y\) exist such that \(3 x ^ { 2 } + 2 x y - y ^ { 2 } = 25\) $$\Rightarrow ( 3 x - y ) ( x + y ) = 25$$ $$\begin{aligned} & \text { If } \quad ( 3 x - y ) = 1 \quad \text { and } ( x + y ) = 25
& \left. \begin{array} { l } 3 x - y = 1
x + y = 25 \end{array} \right\} \Rightarrow 4 x = 26 \Rightarrow x = 6.5 , y = 18.5 \quad \text { Not integers } \end{aligned}$$ Show the calculations and statements that are needed to complete the proof.