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    OlympiadHardNumber Theory7–9

    How many ordered pairs of positive integers (x,y)(x, y) satisfy 1x+1y=16\frac{1}{x} + \frac{1}{y} = \frac{1}{6}?

    Quantos pares ordenados de inteiros positivos (x,y)(x, y) satisfazem 1x+1y=16\frac{1}{x} + \frac{1}{y} = \frac{1}{6}?

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    Solution

    Clearing denominators gives (x−6)(y−6)=36(x - 6)(y - 6) = 36. Each positive divisor dd of 3636 gives one pair, with x=6+dx = 6 + d, and 36=22×3236 = 2^{2} \times 3^{2} has (2+1)(2+1)=9(2+1)(2+1) = 9 divisors. Negative factors would make xx or yy non-positive.