ELEMENTARY PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS

EDITED BY
RUSS EULER AND JAWAD SADEK
Please submit all new problem proposals and their solutions to the Problems Editor, DR.
RUSS EULER, Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Northwest Missouri State Univer-
sity, 800 University Drive, Maryville, MO 64468, or by email at reuler@nwmissouri.edu. All
solutions to others proposals must be submitted to the Solutions Editor, DR. JAWAD SADEK,
Department of Mathematics and Statistics, Northwest Missouri State University, 800 Univer-
sity Drive, Maryville, MO 64468.
If you wish to have receipt of your submission acknowledged, please include a self-addressed,
stamped envelope.
Each problem and solution should be typed on separate sheets. Solutions to problems in this
issue must be received by February 15, 2012. If a problem is not original, the proposer should
inform the Problem Editor of the history of the problem. A problem should not be submitted
elsewhere while it is under consideration for publication in this Journal. Solvers are asked to
include references rather than quoting well-known results.
The content of the problem sections of The Fibonacci Quarterly are all available on the web
free of charge at www.fq.math.ca/.
BASIC FORMULAS
The Fibonacci numbers F
n
and the Lucas numbers L
n
satisfy
F
n+2
= F
n+1
+F
n
, F
0
= 0, F
1
= 1;
L
n+2
= L
n+1
+L
n
, L
0
= 2, L
1
= 1.
Also, = (1 +

5)/2, = (1

5)/2, F
n
= (
n

n
)/

5, and L
n
=
n
+
n
.
PROBLEMS PROPOSED IN THIS ISSUE
B-1091 Proposed by Paul S. Bruckman, Nanaimo, BC, Canada.
If
S
n
=
_

k=n
1
F
k
_
1
,
show that S
n


n2

5
as n .
AUGUST 2011 273
THE FIBONACCI QUARTERLY
B-1092 Proposed by Jose Luis Daz-Barrero, Technical University of Catalonia,
Barcelona, Spain.
Compute the sum

n=0
1
(5)
n
(n + 2)
n

k=0
F
k+1
F
nk+1
k + 1
.
B-1093 Proposed by Paul S. Bruckman, Nanaimo, BC, Canada.
Prove the following identity:
[n/3]

k=0
(1)
k
_
n 2k
k
_
2
n3k
= F
n+3
1.
B-1094 Proposed by Paul S. Bruckman, Nanaimo, BC, Canada.
Prove the following identity:
[n/3]

k=0
_
n k
2k
_
2
n3k
= F
2n
+ 1.
B-1095 Proposed by Sergio Falcon and

Angel Plaza, Universidad de Las Palmas
de Gran Canaria, Spain.
For any positive integer k, the k-Fibonacci sequence, say {F
k,n
}
nN
is dened recurrently
by F
k,n+1
= kF
k,n
+F
k,n1
for n 1, with initial conditions F
k,0
= 0; F
k,1
= 1. Let {a
n,j
} be
the integer matrix dened by a
n,j
=
_
n
j
_
k
_
n
j+1
_

_
n
j+2
_
. Prove that
n

j=0
a
n,j
F
k,j+1
= 1.
274 VOLUME 49, NUMBER 3
ELEMENTARY PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
SOLUTIONS
Higher Powers Equalities
B-1071 Proposed by Hideyuki Ohtsuka, Saitama, Japan
(Vol. 48.3, August 2010)
Prove the following identities:
(1) F
4
n1
+ 4F
4
n
+ 4F
4
n+1
+F
4
n+2
= 6F
2
2n+1
,
(2) F
6
n1
+ 8F
6
n
+ 8F
6
n+1
+F
6
n+2
= 10F
3
2n+1
.
Solution I by Paul S. Bruckman, 38 Front St., Unit #302, Nanaimo, BC V9R 0B8
Canada and (separately) by Sergio Falcon and

Angel Plaza (jointly), Department
of Mathematics, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas G. C.,
Spain.
The proposed identities appear in a slightly altered form in the following reference:
References
[1] R. S. Melham, On certain combinations of high powers of Fibonacci numbers, The Fibonacci Quarterly,
48.3 (2010), 256259.
If we replace n by n1 in Equations (1.4) and (1.8) of [1], we obtain the desired identities.
Solution II by Zbigniew Jakubczyk, Warsaw, Poland
We can easily prove the identity:
(a b)
4
+ 4a
4
+ 4b
4
+ (a +b)
4
= 6(a
2
+b
2
)
2
.
Let b = F
n
, a = F
n+1
. Since
F
n1
= F
n+1
F
n
= a b
F
n+2
= F
n+1
+F
n
= a +b
F
2n+1
= F
2
n
+F
2
n+1
= a
2
+b
2
,
we get identity (1). Identity (2) follows from the identity:
(a b)
6
+ 8a
6
+ 8b
6
+ (a +b)
6
= 10(a
2
+b
2
)
3
in a similar fashion.
Also solved by Charles K. Cook, Russell J. Hendel, George A. Hisert, Seung Hee
Lee (student), Jaroslav Seibert, and the proposer.
Weighted Averages Type Inequality
B-1072 Proposed by Jose Luis Daz-Barrero, Universidad Politecnica de Catalu na,
Barcelona, Spain
(Vol. 48.3, August 2010)
AUGUST 2011 275
THE FIBONACCI QUARTERLY
Let n be a positive integer. For any real number, > 1, show that
1

k=1
_
F
2
k
L
2(1)
k
+ ( 1)L
2
k
_
F
n
F
n+1
.
Solution by Hideyuki Ohtsuka, Saitama, Japan
Using Bernoullis inequality, we have
_
1 +
_
F
2
k
L
2
k
1
_

_
1

F
2
k
L
2
k
.
Therefore, we obtain the inequality
F
2
k
L
2
(1)
k
+ ( 1)L
2
k
F
2
k
0.
Using this inequality and the identity

n
k=1
F
2
k
= F
n
F
n+1
, we get
0
n

k=1
(F
2
k
L
2(1)
k
+ ( 1)L
2
k
F
2
k
) =
n

k=1
(F
2
k
L
2(1)
k
+ ( 1)L
2
k
) F
n
F
n+1
.
The desired inequality follows.
Also solved by Paul S. Bruckman, Zbigniew Jakubczyk, Jaroslav Seibert, and the
proposer.
A Diophantine Triple in Fibonacci Numbers
B-1073 Proposed by M. N. Deshpande, Nagpur, India
(Vol. 48.3, August 2010)
Three integers (a, b, c) form a Diophantine Triple (DT) if and only if ab + 1, ac + 1, and
bc + 1 are perfect squares. It is known that (F
2n
, F
2n+2
, F
2n+4
) is a DT for every integer n.
If n is odd, prove that there exists an integer m such that (m F
2n+4
, m F
2n+2
, m F
2n
)
is a DT. Also, if n = 2k + 1 and the corresponding m is denoted by m
k
, derive a recurrence
relation involving m
k
.
Solution by Brian P. Beasley, Department of Mathematics, Presbyterian College,
Clinton, SC
For k 0, we let n = 2k + 1 and dene m
k+2
= 7m
k+1
m
k
with m
0
= 8 and
m
1
= 56. Then m
k
= C
4k
+ D
4k
, where C = 4 + 28

5/15 and D = 4 28

5/15.
Let x
k
=
_
(m
k
F
2n+4
)(m
k
F
2n+2
) + 1, y
k
=
_
(m
k
F
2n+4
)(m
k
F
2n
) + 1, and z
k
=
_
(m
k
F
2n+2
)(m
k
F
2n
) + 1. Then
x
2
k
=
_
7
18
+

5
6
_

8k
+
_
7
18

5
6
_

8k
+
2
9
,
so x
k
= (1/2 +

5/6)
4k
+ (1/2

5/6)
4k
. Similarly, we note that
y
k
=
_
1
2
+
7

5
30
_

4k
+
_
1
2

7

5
30
_

4k
276 VOLUME 49, NUMBER 3
ELEMENTARY PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
and
z
k
=
_
3 +
4

5
3
_

4k
+
_
3
4

5
3
_

4k
.
These sequences satisfy the following recurrence relations: x
0
= 1, x
1
= 6, x
k+2
= 7x
k+1
x
k
;
y
0
= 1, y
1
= 7, y
k+2
= 7y
k+1
y
k
; z
0
= 6, z
1
= 41, z
k+2
= 7z
k+1
z
k
. (In fact, m
k
= 8y
k
and
z
k
= x
k+1
.) Hence, x
k
, y
k
, and z
k
are integers for every k, so (m
k
F
2k+4
, m
k
F
2n+2
, m
k
F
2n
)
is a DT.
We note that when k = 0, the DT is (0, 5, 7); for k > 0, each element in the DT is positive.
If negative integers are allowed in a DT, then m = 0 produces a trivial solution to the original
problem. There is no recurrence involving m in this case.
Also solved by Paul S. Bruckman, Charles K. Cook, Russell J. Hendel, and the
proposer.
A HM-GM Inequality Application
B-1074 Proposed by Pantelimon George Popescu, Bucurest, Romania and Jose
Luis Daz-Barrero, Universidad Politecnica de Catalo nia, Barcelona, Spain
(Vol. 48.3, August 2010)
Let n 3 be a positive integer. Prove that
1
_
1
1
F
2
n
+
1
_
1
1
L
2
n
>
2
_
1
_
F
n+1
F
2n
_
2
.
Solution by ONU-Solve problem group, Department of Mathematics and Statis-
tics, ONU, Ada, OH
If n 3, the harmonic-quadratic mean inequality gives
2
1

1
1
F
2
n
+
1

1
1
L
2
n
<

_
__
1
1
F
2
n
_
2
+
__
1
1
L
2
n
_
2
2
=

1
1
2
_
1
F
2
n
+
1
L
2
n
_
. (1)
Note that the inequality in (1) is strict since F
n
= L
n
. Indeed, L
n
= F
n+1
+ F
n1
> F
n
for
n 2. Next, we will show that
1
2
_
1
F
2
n
+
1
L
2
n
_
>
F
2
n+1
F
2
2n
(2)
holds for n 2. Indeed, if we use F
2n
= F
n
L
n
, we see that (2) is equivalent to
F
2
n
+L
2
n
> 2F
2
n+1
, (3)
and if we further use the identity 2F
n+1
= F
n
+L
n
, we see that (3) is equivalent to
2F
2
n
+ 2L
2
n
> (F
n
+L
n
)
2
, (4)
AUGUST 2011 277
THE FIBONACCI QUARTERLY
or (F
n
L
n
)
2
> 0, which holds for all n 2 since F
n
= L
n
. Finally, if n 3, from (1) and (2)
we obtain
2
1

1
1
F
2
n
+
1

1
1
L
2
n
<

1
_
F
n+1
F
2n
_
2
,
or
1
_
1
1
F
2
n
+
1
_
1
1
L
2
n
>
2
_
1
_
F
n+1
F
2n
_
2
which is the desired result.
Also solved by Paul S. Bruckman, Russell J. Hendel, Zbigniew Jakubczyk, and
the proposer.
278 VOLUME 49, NUMBER 3
ELEMENTARY PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS
An Inverse Relation
B-1075 Proposed by Paul S. Bruckman, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
(Vol. 48.3, August 2010)
The Fibonacci polynomials F
n
(x) may be dened by the following expression:
F
n+1
(x) =
[n/2]

k=0
_
n k
k
_
x
n2k
for n = 0, 1, 2, . . . .
Prove the inverse relation:
x
n
=
n

k=0
(1)
k
_
n
k
_
F
n+12k
(x) for n = 0, 1, 2, . . . .
No solutions, other than the proposers, were received for this problem. The deadline will be
extended another three months.
A Closed Form For a Finite Product
B-1076 Proposed by Hideyuki Ohtsuka, Saitama, Japan
(Vol. 48.3, November 2010)
Find the closed form expression for
n

k=1
(L
2
k+1 L
2
k + 1).
Solution by Paul S. Bruckman, Nanaimo, BC, Canada
Let P
n
denote the indicated product, n = 1, 2, . . .. Write m = m(k) = 2
k
, for brevity. Then
P
n
=
n

k=1
(L
2m
L
m
+ 1) =
n

k=1
(L
2
m
L
m
1) =
n

k=1
(L
m
)(L
m
)
=
n

k=1
(
m
+
m
)(
m
+
m
)
=
n

k=1
(
2m

m
+ 1
m
+
2m
)
=
n

k=1
_

5m/2
+
5m/2

m/2
+
m/2
_
=
_

5

_
n1

k=1
_

5m
+
5m

m
_
= 5
n1

k=1
L
5m
L
m
.
AUGUST 2011 279
THE FIBONACCI QUARTERLY
Now,
F
2
L
2
L
4
. . . L
2
n1 = F
4
L
4
. . . L
2
n1 = F
8
. . . L
2
n1 = . . . = F
2
n.
Likewise,
F
10
L
10
L
20
. . . L
52
n1 = F
20
. . . L
52
n1 = F
40
. . . L
52
n1 = . . . = F
52
n.
Then,
P
n
=
5F
2
F
10

F
52
n
F
2
n
=
F
52
n
11F
2
n
, n = 1, 2, . . . ,
which is the desired closed form. Note that
P
1
=
F
10
11
= 5; P
2
=
F
20
11F
4
=
55 123
11 3
= 5 41 = 205;
P
3
=
F
40
11F
8
=
55 123 15127
11 3 7
= 5 41 2161 = 443005;
etc.
Also solved by the proposer.
280 VOLUME 49, NUMBER 3