Let $x, y, z$ non-zero real numbers such that $xy$, $yz$, $zx$ are rational. Show that the number $x^{2}+y^{2}+z^{2}$ is rational. If the number $x^{3}+y^{3}+z^{3}$ is also rational, show that $x$, $y$, $z$ are rational.
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Tags: rational numbers
25.05.2007 03:24
Part a) is trivial: $x^2 = \frac{xy \cdot zx}{yz}$ Then $x^2,y^2,z^2$ are rational numbers. Let $k = x^3+y^3+z^3 \in \mathbb{Q}$. Then $(k-x^3)^2 = (y^3+z^3)^2 = (y^2)^3 + (z^2)^3 + 2(yz)^3 \in \mathbb{Q}$ $k^2 + x^6 -2kx^3 \in \mathbb{Q}$, but $k, x^2 \in \mathbb{Q}$. Therefore $2kx^3 \in \mathbb{Q} \Rightarrow x^3 \in \mathbb{Q} \Rightarrow x = \frac{x^3}{x^2} \in \mathbb{Q}$. In the same way we prove that $y,z \in \mathbb{Q}$.
21.02.2009 20:59
Hi, Edriv what about the case where k=0? in fact this cannot occur because of Fermat's last Theorem (n=3) and the fact that x/z and y/z are both rational numbers.
16.01.2013 22:40
$\frac{x}{y}$ (and same about other pairs) is rational, so as we can represent an irrartional number by $Aa$ such that $A$ is rational and $a$ is irrational,which it cannot devide into productions of an irrational and a rational, so let $x=Aa,y=Bb,Z=Cc;$ by what we have at the first we will get that $a=b=c$,the rest is obviouse.
29.05.2014 00:17
From part a) it follows that the numbers $x^2, y^2, z^2,\frac{x}{ y}, \frac{y}{ z}, \frac{z}{ x} $ are rational, and since $\frac{x^3+y^3+z^3}{y}=x^2(\frac{x}{ y})+y^2+z^2(\frac{z}{y})$, $y$ is rational and so are also $x, z$.