Posted by AuntieMel on January 15, 2007, at 12:15:27
In reply to Re: Well, the answer..., posted by linkadge on January 14, 2007, at 13:26:51
We know a and b can't both be even (or the gcd would include 2)
so a^2 is odd if a is odd, even otherwise
and b^2 is odd if b is odd, even otherwiseOdd + even = odd (explains the answer of "1")
odd + odd = even (explains the answer of "2")also put - (a^2 + b^2(mod 2)) = (a + b(mod2)) which is either 0 or 1
What I can't show is why there aren't any other, higher numbers that can fit.
poster:AuntieMel
thread:721428
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20070112/msgs/722531.html