Problem 1106. I've got the power! (Inspired by Project Euler problem 29)
Consider all integer combinations of a^b and b^a for the integer values 2 ≤ a ≤ 4 and 2 ≤ b ≤ 5:
2^2=4, 2^3=8, 2^4=16, 2^5=32 3^2=9, 3^3=27, 3^4=81, 3^5=243 4^2=16, 4^3=64, 4^4=256, 4^5=1024 5^2=25, 5^3=125, 5^4=625
If they are then placed in numerical order, with any repeats removed, we get the following sequence of 14 distinct terms:
4, 8, 9, 16, 25, 27, 32, 64, 81, 125, 243, 256, 625, 1024
Given two values for x and y, find the unique, sorted sequence given by the values a^b and b^a for 2≤a≤x and 2≤b≤y.
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3 Comments
What your problem description asks for and what your test suite asks for are different. Specifically, test case 4 requires that the operation be commutative, which, by your problem statement, it is not (since the power function itself is not commutative). This is reflected in the other test cases as well. (also, you call your arguments x and y in the description and a and b in the template).
You are correct. I had the "and b^a" in there originally, but I accidentally deleted it when I added the "for 2≤a≤x and 2≤b≤y" text. It's fixed now, and the description should be a bit clearer.
thanks James!
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