Problem:
The polynomial , of degree 42, takes the value 0 at the first 21 odd prime numbers and at their reciprocals (recall that the reciprocal of a positive integer is the rational number ). What is the value of the ratio ?
Problem:
The polynomial , of degree 42, takes the value 0 at the first 21 odd prime numbers and at their reciprocals (recall that the reciprocal of a positive integer is the rational number ). What is the value of the ratio ?
Pick one
Solution:
The answer is . Observe that the expression is a polynomial, since the monomial simplifies the denominator of . Moreover, it has degree at most 42, and if is one of the first 21 odd prime numbers, vanishes at and at : indeed, we have
where we used the fact that by hypothesis. Finally, vanishes at 1, because . Since vanishes at at least 43 distinct values of but has degree at most 42 we obtain that is the constant polynomial 0, hence holds for every . We therefore have