Exercise · ZW-PELL-S-EQUATION-001 · ★☆☆ Basic

Identify which of these equations is a Pell equation.

Choose one option.

Show answer
  • A. \(x^2 - 3y^2 = 1\)

Explanation

A Pell equation has the form \(x^2 - dy^2 = 1\) with \(d\) positive and not a square. The version with a plus sign does not have the correct form, and the one using \(d=4\) fails the non-square condition.

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Review the concept: Pell's equation

Pell's equation is the quadratic Diophantine equation in integers \(x\), \(y\) that sets equal to 1 the difference between \(x^2\) and \(d\) times \(y^2\), where \(d\) is a positive integer that is not a perfect square.

\[x^2 - d y^2 = 1\]

More practice problems: pell's equation

ZW-PELL-S-EQUATION-002 →