Waring's problem is a question in number theory that asks whether every positive integer can be expressed as a sum of a fixed number of positive integer powers. Specifically, it seeks to determine the smallest number of terms needed to represent any integer as a sum of k-th powers, where k is a positive integer. The problem was first proposed by the mathematician Edward Waring in 1770. For example, it is known that every positive integer can be expressed as a sum of at most four squares, a result known as Lagrange's four-square theorem. Waring's problem has been studied extensively, leading to various results and generalizations over the years.