AlgebraDifficulty 5.0AIME, harderFind the answerPhilippines
Problem: Let x=−2+3+5, y=2−3+5, and z=2+3−5. What is the value of the expression below? (x−y)(x−z)x4+(y−z)(y−x)y4+(z−x)(z−y)z4
A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.
Solution
Solution: Writing the expression as a single fraction, we have (x−y)(x−z)(y−z)x4y−xy4+y4z−yz4−zx4+xz4 Note that if x=y, x=z, or y=z, then the numerator of the expression above will be 0. Thus, (x−y)(x−z)(y−z) divides x4y−xy4+y4z−yz4−zx4+xz4. Moreover, the numerator can be factored as follows. (x−y)(x−z)(y−z)(x2+y2+z2+xy+yz+zx) Hence, we are only evaluating x2+y2+z2+xy+yz+zx, which is equal to 21[(x+y)2+(y+z)2+(z+x)2]=21[(25)2+(22)2+(23)2]=2(5+2+3)=20
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