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Find the greatest integer not exceeding (2 + √5)^5; that is, compute…

Question

Find the greatest integer not exceeding (2 + √5)^5; that is, compute ⌊(2 + √5)^5⌋.

✓ Verified answer: 1364checked by our engine — not a guess

Step-by-step solution

Let N = (2+√5)^5 and M = (2-√5)^5. Note 2-√5 ≈ -0.2360679..., so M is negative with |M| ≈ 0.000733 < 1; in fact M ∈ (-1, 0).

N + M is an integer because the irrational (√5) terms cancel by the binomial expansion: N + M = 2·[ C(5,0)2^5 + C(5,2)2^3·5 + C(5,4)2·25 ] = 2·(32 + 320 + 250) = 1364.

So N = 1364 - M, and since M ∈ (-1,0), we have N = 1364 + |M| with 0 < |M| < 1. Hence ⌊N⌋ = 1364.

Final answer1364

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