Problem

Source: Romanian Junior BkMO TST 2004, problem 15, created by Harazi

Tags: number theory proposed, number theory



A finite set of positive integers is called isolated if the sum of the numbers in any given proper subset is co-prime with the sum of the elements of the set. a) Prove that the set $A=\{4,9,16,25,36,49\}$ is isolated; b) Determine the composite numbers $n$ for which there exist the positive integers $a,b$ such that the set \[ A=\{(a+b)^2, (a+2b)^2,\ldots, (a+nb)^2\}\] is isolated.