TITLE: Why is $a^n - b^n$ divisible by $a-b$?
QUESTION [45 upvotes]: I did some mathematical induction problems on divisibility

$9^n$ $-$ $2^n$ is divisible by 7.
$4^n$ $-$ $1$ is divisible by 3.
$9^n$ $-$ $4^n$ is divisible by 5.

Can these be generalized as
$a^n$ $-$ $b^n$$ = (a-b)N$, where N is an integer?
But why is $a^n$ $-$ $b^n$$ = (a-b)N$ ?
I also see that $6^n$ $- 5n + 4$ is divisible by $5$ which is $6-5+4$ and $7^n$$+3n + 8$ is divisible by $9$ which is $7+3+8=18=9\cdot2$.
Are they just a coincidence or is there a theory behind?
Is it about modular arithmetic?

REPLY [2 votes]: Let $d=a-b$. By the binomial theorem, $a^n = (d+b)^n = dt+b^n$. So $a^n-b^n=dt=(a-b)t$.