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Sub 505 (Easy)|   Algebra|      
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Bunuel
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Which of the following CANNOT be expressed as the sum of squares of tw 12 Jul 2018, 01:16
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C
Be sure to select an answer first to save it in the Error Log before revealing the correct answer (OA)!

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90% (01:16) correct 10% (01:13) wrong based on 88 sessions

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Which of the following CANNOT be expressed as the sum of squares of two integer?

A 13
B 17
C 21
D 29
E 34
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C
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Which of the following CANNOT be expressed as the sum of squares of tw 12 Jul 2018, 01:54
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Bunuel
Which of the following CANNOT be expressed as the sum of squares of two integer?

A 13
B 17
C 21
D 29
E 34
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As we don't have that many options, we'll test them all.
This is an Alternative approach.

We only need to look at the squares up to 5^2 (as 6^2 = 36 is larger than our largest value).
So there are a total of 5 choose 2 = 10 options.
1 + 4 = 5
1 + 9 = 10
1 + 16 = 17 **
1 + 25 = 26
4 + 9 = 13 **
4 + 16 = 20
4 + 25 = 29 **
9 + 16 = 25
9 + 25 = 34 **
16 + 25 = 41

(C) is our answer.
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Which of the following CANNOT be expressed as the sum of squares of tw 12 Jul 2018, 02:30
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Bunuel
Which of the following CANNOT be expressed as the sum of squares of two integer?

A 13
B 17
C 21
D 29
E 34
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13=2^2+3^2
17=4^2+1^2
21=Cannot be expressed
29=5^2+2^2
34=5^2+3^2

C
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Which of the following CANNOT be expressed as the sum of squares of tw 12 Jul 2018, 03:53
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Bunuel
Which of the following CANNOT be expressed as the sum of squares of two integer?

A 13
B 17
C 21
D 29
E 34
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A bit tricky question. Number testing is the way to get the answer.

\(3^2\) + \(2^2\) = 13
\(4^2\) + \(1^1\) = 17
\(5^2\)+ \(2^2\) = 29
\(5^2\) + \(3^2\) = 34


Now , option C is left. That's our answer. Try different number less than 21. There is a reason. 21 = 3*7 or 21*1. See none of the factors are square of an integer except 1. Thus it is also impossible to express 21 as a sum of the square of the 2 integers.

The best answer is C.
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Which of the following CANNOT be expressed as the sum of squares of tw 12 Jul 2018, 13:59
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Bunuel
Which of the following CANNOT be expressed as the sum of squares of two integer?

A 13
B 17
C 21
D 29
E 34
Show more

Every prime of the form (4k+1) can be expressed as the sum of two squares..
Among the answer options 13,17, and 29 are prime and they can be written in the form (4k+1). So, eliminate A,B, and D.

when the number is not prime:- If each of the factors of the integer can be written as the sum of two squares is itself expressible as the sum of two squares.
Prime factorization of 34=2*17, (\(2=1^2+1^2\) & 17 is in the form of 4k+1. So, both 2 & 17 are perfect squares)
Therefore, 34 is a sum of squares of two integer.So, eliminate E.

Ans. (C)
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