IMO 1959 · Problem 1

Prove that the fraction \(\frac{21n+4}{14n+3}\) is irreducible for every natural number \(n\).

Official text of the problem. Official problem paper (PDF)

Solution

Let \(n\) be any natural number, and let \(d\) be a positive common divisor of \(21n+4\) and \(14n+3\). Then \(d\) divides every integer linear combination of these two numbers. In particular, it divides \[ 3(14n+3)-2(21n+4) =42n+9-42n-8 =1. \] Hence \(d=1\), so the numerator and denominator are coprime. Therefore the fraction is irreducible for every natural number \(n\). This argument also includes \(n=0\) if zero is counted as a natural number.

The solution was checked against John Scholes' IMO solution archive (Kalva).