JEEOlympiad

A positive integer is called 'rough' if it is divisible by the square…

Question

A positive integer is called 'rough' if it is divisible by the square of some prime (equivalently, it is not squarefree). Find the smallest positive integer n such that all three of n, n+1, n+2 are rough.

✓ Verified answer: 48checked by our engine — not a guess

Step-by-step solution

We need three consecutive non-squarefree integers.

Check small triples.

A number is non-squarefree iff 4|n, 9|n, 25|n, 49|n, ...

for some prime square.

Scanning upward: 48 = 16·3 (divisible by 4), 49 = 7^2, 50 = 2·25 (divisible by 25).

All three are non-squarefree.

One verifies no smaller n works (e.g.

8,9 are non-squarefree but 10 is squarefree; 24,25 then 26 squarefree; etc.), so the first run of three is 48,49,50.

Final answer48

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