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Algebra Difficulty 6.2 National Olympiad Find the answer Italy

Problem:

Let p(x)p(x) be a polynomial of degree 2010. What is the maximum degree that the polynomial p(x1)3p(x)+3p(x+1)p(x+2)p(x-1)-3 p(x)+3 p(x+1)-p(x+2) can have?

Pick one

Solution

Solution:

The answer is (D)(\mathbf{D}). Let us first note that if p(x)p(x) has degree dd, then p(x+1)p(x)p(x+1)-p(x) has degree exactly d1d-1. For simplicity we denote generically by \star a sum of terms of degree less than d1d-1. Setting p(x)=axd+bxd+1+p(x)=a x^{d}+b x^{d+1}+\star, we have
p(x+1)p(x)=a(x+1)daxd+b(x+1)d1bxd1+=(axd+adxd1+)axd+(bxd1+)bxd1+t=adxd1+. \begin{aligned} p(x+1)-p(x) & =a(x+1)^{d}-a x^{d}+b(x+1)^{d-1}-b x^{d-1}+\star \\ & =\left(a x^{d}+a d x^{d-1}+\star\right)-a x^{d}+\left(b x^{d-1}+\star\right)-b x^{d-1}+\boldsymbol{t} \\ & =a d x^{d-1}+\star . \end{aligned}
Thus p(x+1)p(x)p(x+1)-p(x) has degree exactly d1d-1. Now, let us denote r(x):=p(x+1)p(x)r(x):=p(x+1)-p(x) and s(x):=r(x+1)r(x)s(x):=r(x+1)-r(x); we have
s(x)=(p(x+2)p(x+1))(p(x+1)p(x))=p(x+2)2p(x+1)+p(x),s(x)s(x1)=(p(x+2)2p(x+1)+p(x))(p(x+1)2p(x)+p(x1))=p(x+2)3p(x+1)+3p(x)p(x1). \begin{aligned} s(x) & =(p(x+2)-p(x+1))-(p(x+1)-p(x)) \\ & =p(x+2)-2 p(x+1)+p(x), \\ s(x)-s(x-1) & =(p(x+2)-2 p(x+1)+p(x))-(p(x+1)-2 p(x)+p(x-1)) \\ & =p(x+2)-3 p(x+1)+3 p(x)-p(x-1) . \end{aligned}
Applying the result proved above several times, we then have that the degree of r(x)r(x) is 20101=20092010-1=2009, the degree of s(x)s(x) is 20082008, the degree of s(x)s(x1)s(x)-s(x-1) is 20072007 (to obtain this last one we must set y:=x1y:=x-1 and apply the result to s(y+1)s(y)s(y+1)-s(y)).

Second Solution

For every positive integer ii, define the polynomial
(xi)=x(x1)(xi+1)i! \binom{x}{i}=\frac{x \cdot(x-1) \cdots(x-i+1)}{i !}
Set (x0)=1\binom{x}{0}=1 and (xi)=0\binom{x}{i}=0 for every integer i<0i<0. The facts I need about these polynomials are two:
the first is that, for positive ii, (xi)\binom{x}{i} has degree ii, and, in particular, the coefficient of xix^{i} in (xi)\binom{x}{i} is 1i!\frac{1}{i !} (it suffices to observe that the coefficient of xx in each of the ii degree-one factors making up the numerator is 1)
the second is the equation (x+1i+1)(xi+1)=(xi)\binom{x+1}{i+1}-\binom{x}{i+1}=\binom{x}{i}, which holds for every integer ii: for positive values of ii we indeed have
(x+1i+1)(xi+1)=(x+1)x(xi+1)(i+1)!x(xi+1)(xi)(i+1)!=x+1i+1(xi)xii+1(xi)=(xi) \begin{aligned} \binom{x+1}{i+1}-\binom{x}{i+1}&=\frac{(x+1) \cdot x \cdots(x-i+1)}{(i+1) !}-\frac{x \cdots(x-i+1) \cdot(x-i)}{(i+1) !} \\ &=\frac{x+1}{i+1}\binom{x}{i}-\frac{x-i}{i+1}\binom{x}{i}=\binom{x}{i} \end{aligned}
for i=0i=0 the equation reduces to x+1x=1x+1-x=1, and for i<0i<0 it is an immediate consequence of the definition.
Applying this second fact, I obtain
(x1i)3(xi)+3(x+1i)(x+2i)==((xi)(x1i))+2((x+1i)(xi))((x+2i)(x+1i))=(xi1)+2(x+1i1)(x+2i1)=((x+1i1)(xi1))((x+2i1)(x+1i1))=(x+1i2)(x+2i2)=(x+2i3) \begin{aligned} & \binom{x-1}{i}-3\binom{x}{i}+3\binom{x+1}{i}-\binom{x+2}{i}= \\ & =-\left(\binom{x}{i}-\binom{x-1}{i}\right)+2\left(\binom{x+1}{i}-\binom{x}{i}\right)-\left(\binom{x+2}{i}-\binom{x+1}{i}\right) \\ & =-\binom{x}{i-1}+2\binom{x+1}{i-1}-\binom{x+2}{i-1} \\ & =\left(\binom{x+1}{i-1}-\binom{x}{i-1}\right)-\left(\binom{x+2}{i-1}-\binom{x+1}{i-1}\right) \\ & =\binom{x+1}{i-2}-\binom{x+2}{i-2} \\ & =-\binom{x+2}{i-3} \end{aligned}
where in the first and third steps I simply reordered the sum.
Consider now a polynomial p(x)p(x) of degree dd. I claim that it can be written in the form
p(x)=ad(xd)++a1(x1)+a0 p(x)=a_{d}\binom{x}{d}+\cdots+a_{1}\binom{x}{1}+a_{0}
for a suitable choice of real numbers a0,,ada_{0}, \ldots, a_{d}. Indeed, calling kk the leading coefficient of p(x)p(x) and setting ad=kd!a_{d}=k d!, we obtain that p(x)ad(xd)p(x)-a_{d}\binom{x}{d} has degree less than dd, since the degree-dd monomials cancel. Repeating the procedure on this new polynomial we obtain an ad1a_{d-1} such that the degree of p(x)ad(xd)ad1(xd1)p(x)-a_{d}\binom{x}{d}-a_{d-1}\binom{x}{d-1} is less than d1d-1. Continuing to lower the degree of the polynomial we arrive at the point where p(x)ad(xd)ad1(xd1)a1(x1)p(x)-a_{d}\binom{x}{d}-a_{d-1}\binom{x}{d-1}-\cdots-a_{1}\binom{x}{1} has degree 0, that is, it is a constant, and we set a0a_{0} equal to that constant.
Now it is easy to compute the polynomial required by the problem, by collecting the coefficients aia_{i}
p(x1)3p(x)+3p(x+1)p(x+2)==ad((x1d)3(xd)+3(x+1d)(x+2d))+=ad(x+2d3)ad1(x+2d4)a3 \begin{aligned} p(x-1)-3 p(x)+3 p(x+1)-p(x+2) & = \\ & =a_{d}\left(\binom{x-1}{d}-3\binom{x}{d}+3\binom{x+1}{d}-\binom{x+2}{d}\right)+\cdots \\ & =-a_{d}\binom{x+2}{d-3}-a_{d-1}\binom{x+2}{d-4}-\cdots-a_{3} \end{aligned}
and this is a polynomial of degree d3d-3, since the degree of (x+2d3)\binom{x+2}{d-3}, like that of (xd3)\binom{x}{d-3}, is d3d-3, while the degree of the other terms is less. The correct answer is therefore 2007.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from it; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.