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Science:Math Exam Resources/Courses/MATH220/December 2011/Question 06 (b)/Solution 1

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First, we prove the claim true when n=1. In this case,

122n−1+11n+1=122(1)−1+111+1=12+121=133

which is clearly divisible by 133. We assume the claim is true for n=k. For n=k+1, we have

122(k+1)−1+11(k+1)+1=122k+1+11k+2=122⋅122k−1+11⋅11k+1=144⋅122k−1+11⋅11k+1=(133+11)122k−1+11⋅11k+1=133⋅122k−1+11⋅122k−1+11⋅11k+1=133⋅122k−1+11(122k−1+11k+1)

Now, in the last line, the first summand is divisible by 133 and the second summand is also divisible by 133 by the induction hypothesis. Hence we must have that 122(k+1)−1+11(k+1)+1 is divisible by 133 as required.