Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 5.8 AIME, harder Prove it Philippines

Problem:
Let aa, bb, and cc be real constants such that x2+x+2x^{2}+x+2 is a factor of ax3+bx2+cx+5a x^{3}+b x^{2}+c x+5, and 2x12 x-1 is a factor of ax3+bx2+cx2516a x^{3}+b x^{2}+c x-\frac{25}{16}. Find a+b+ca+b+c.

Solution

Solution:
4511\frac{45}{11}

Using long division, when ax3+bx2+cx+5a x^{3}+b x^{2}+c x+5 is divided by x2+x+2x^{2}+x+2, the quotient is ax+(ba)a x+(b-a) and the remainder is (cab)x+5+2a2b(c-a-b) x+5+2 a-2 b. Since x2+x+2x^{2}+x+2 is a factor of ax3+bx2+cx+5a x^{3}+b x^{2}+c x+5, we must have cab=0c-a-b=0 and 5+2a2b=05+2 a-2 b=0. On the other hand, since 2x12 x-1 is a factor of ax3+bx2+cx2516a x^{3}+b x^{2}+c x-\frac{25}{16}, by the Remainder Theorem, we must have
a(12)3+b(12)2+c(12)2516=0 a\left(\frac{1}{2}\right)^{3}+b\left(\frac{1}{2}\right)^{2}+c\left(\frac{1}{2}\right)-\frac{25}{16}=0
or
a8+b4+c22516=0 or 2a+4b+8c25=0 \frac{a}{8}+\frac{b}{4}+\frac{c}{2}-\frac{25}{16}=0 \quad \text{ or } \quad 2 a+4 b+8 c-25=0
Solving the following system of equations:
{cab=05+2a2b=02a+4b+8c25=0 \left\{\begin{aligned} c-a-b & =0 \\ 5+2 a-2 b & =0 \\ 2 a+4 b+8 c-25 & =0 \end{aligned}\right.
we get a=522a=-\frac{5}{22}, b=2511b=\frac{25}{11}, and c=4522c=\frac{45}{22}, so that a+b+c=4511a+b+c=\frac{45}{11}.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.