vaibhavjha wrote:If the radius of a circle that centers at origin is 5. How many points on the circle have integer coordinates?
a.4
b.8
c.12
d.16
e.20
It seems to me that the "issue" here is to EASILY guarantee that we are not missing any (x,y) point with integer coordinates such that x^2 + y^2 = 25, right?
To be able to do that, please note that every (x,y) in the condition above is such that x^2 and y^2 are PERFECT SQUARES, therefore we are able to find the answer EASILY AND SAFELY through that:
> If x^2 = 5^2 = 25 and y^2 = 25-25 = 0,
that means x = 5 or -5, y = 0, so we have two points: (5,0) and (-5,0).
> If x^2 = 4^2 = 16 and y^2 = 25 - 16 = 9,
that means x = 4 or -4, y = 3 or -3, so we have four points: (4,3), (-4,3), (4, -3) and (-4, -3).
> If x^2 = 3^2 = 9 and y^2 = 25 - 9 = 16,
that means four additional points (who are they?)
> If x^2 = 2^2 = 4 and y^2 = 25 - 4 = 21
we have no points, because 21 is not a perfect square.
> If x^2 = 1^2 = 1 and y^2 = 25 - 1 = 24
we have no points, because 24 is not a perfect square.
> If x^2 = 0^2 = 0 and y^2 = 25 - 0 = 25
we have two additional points (who are they?)
There we are, 2* (4+2) = 12 points, with a bullet-proof trivial method to guarantee no points are missing and no points were counted more than once.
I guess it cannot be easier (and mathematically perfectly justified), can it?
Regards,
Fabio.