This article contains my solution to the problem posed in the above video by

MindYourDecisions, a clickbait-y problem solving YouTube channel. The statement of

the problem is as follows.
Find a polynomial with integer coefficients through the points (1, 3) and (3, 2), or prove
it does not exist.
If it exists, this polynomial is not linear, so let us consider the special case of a
quadratic. We define
= ! ! + ! + ! ,
Where ! is an integer. Since this function goes through the points (1, 3) and (3, 2), the
following must be true.
! + ! + ! = 3
9! + 3! + ! = 2
Combining equations yields
8! 2! = 1,
Which is equivalent to
1
4! ! = .
2
This leads to a contradiction. One side of the equation is a sum of integers, implying it
must be an integer; however, the number 1/2 is not an integer. The general proof follows
the same line of reasoning.
Theorem. There exists no polynomial with integer coefficients through the points (1, 3)
and (3, 2).
Proof. Let () be the definition of a polynomial of degree , with the restriction that !
is an integer.
!

! !

=
!!!

Because () passes through the points (1, 3) and (3, 2), the following are true.
!

! = 3
!!!
!

! 3! = 2
Subtracting equations yields,

!!!

! 3! ! = 1
!!!

All powers of 3 are odd; therefore the difference between a power of 3 and 1 is even.
As a consequence, ! always has an even coefficient. This allows us to divide the
equation by 2 while being certain the sum still evaluates to an integer.
!

!!!

3! 1
1
! =
2
2

This reaches a contradiction, as no integer is equal to 1/2.