Thread: Pythagorean Triple

Question:
If x, y, z is a primitive Pythagorean triple, prove that x+y and x-y are congruent modulo 8 to either 1 or 7.

Originally Posted by cathwelch

Question:
If x, y, z is a primitive Pythagorean triple, prove that x+y and x-y are congruent modulo 8 to either 1 or 7.

If {x, y, z} is a primitive Pythagorean triple then x and y are of the form and , where gcd(m,n) = 1. Then . But the square of an odd number is always congruent to 1 (mod 8), and the square of an even number is congruent to 0 or 4 (mod 8). Since is odd, will be congruent to 1 (mod 8) if n is even, and congruent to 1–2=–1, or equivalently 7, (mod 8) if n is odd.