Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /26 of 43

, 2006

Algebra Difficulty 5.5 AIME, harder Find the answer Italy

Problem:
Which of the following expressions is equivalent to (x+y+z)3x3y3z3(x+y+z)^{3}-x^{3}-y^{3}-z^{3}?

Pick one

Solution

Solution:
The answer is (C)(\mathbf{C}). Expanding the cube, we get
(x+y+z)3x3y3z3=6xyz+3x2y+3xy2+3x2z+3xz2+3y2z+3yz2(x+y+z)^{3}-x^{3}-y^{3}-z^{3}=6 x y z+3 x^{2} y+3 x y^{2}+3 x^{2} z+3 x z^{2}+3 y^{2} z+3 y z^{2}
=3xy(x+y+z)+3xz(x+y+z)+3yz(y+z)=3 x y(x+y+z)+3 x z(x+y+z)+3 y z(y+z)
=3x(x+y+z)(y+z)+3yz(y+z)=3 x(x+y+z)(y+z)+3 y z(y+z)
=3(y+z)(x(x+y+z)+yz)=3(y+z)(x(x+y+z)+y z)
=3(y+z)(x(x+y)+zx+zy)=3(y+z)(x(x+y)+z x+z y)
=3(y+z)(x(x+y)+z(x+y))=3(y+z)(x(x+y)+z(x+y))
=3(y+z)(x+z)(x+y)=3(y+z)(x+z)(x+y)

SECOND SOLUTION
The expression (x+y+z)3x3y3z3(x+y+z)^{3}-x^{3}-y^{3}-z^{3} contains the monomial 6xyz6 x y z. This rules out answers (A) and (D) because that monomial does not appear there, in answer (B) 18xyz18 x y z appears, in answer (E) 9xyz-9 x y z appears (moreover this polynomial is not homogeneous). The answer is therefore (C).

THIRD SOLUTION
The expression (x+y+z)3x3y3z3(x+y+z)^{3}-x^{3}-y^{3}-z^{3} is made up of 333=243^{3}-3=24 monomials (without combining like terms), all having coefficient 1. Of the 5 proposed expressions, (A), (B), (D) and (E) are made up of 323=183 \cdot 2 \cdot 3=18 monomials (even if some are like terms) all having coefficient 1, only (C)(\mathbf{C}) is made up of 323=243 \cdot 2^{3}=24 monomials all having coefficient 1.

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