Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /244 of 377

Algebra Difficulty 5.3 AIME, harder Prove it United States

Problem:

How many polynomials PP with integer coefficients and degree at most 55 satisfy 0P(x)<1200 \leq P(x) < 120 for all x{0,1,2,3,4,5}x \in \{0,1,2,3,4,5\}?

Solutions — 2

Solution 1

Solution:

Answer: 8640000086400000

For each nonnegative integer ii, let xi=x(x1)(xi+1)x^{\underline{i}} = x(x-1) \cdots (x-i+1). (Define x0=1x^{0} = 1.)

Lemma: Each polynomial with integer coefficients ff can be uniquely written in the form
f(x)=anxn++a1x1+a0x0,an0 f(x) = a_{n} x^{\underline{n}} + \ldots + a_{1} x^{\underline{1}} + a_{0} x^{\underline{0}}, \quad a_{n} \neq 0
Proof: Induct on the degree. The base case (degree 00) is clear. If ff has degree mm with leading coefficient cc, then by matching leading coefficients we must have m=nm = n and an=ca_{n} = c. By the induction hypothesis, f(x)cxnf(x) - c x^{\underline{n}} can be uniquely written as an1xn1++a1x1+a0x0a_{n-1} x^{\underline{n-1}} + \ldots + a_{1} x^{\underline{1}} + a_{0} x^{\underline{0}}.

There are 120120 possible choices for a0a_{0}, namely any integer in [0,120)[0,120). Once a0,,ai1a_{0}, \ldots, a_{i-1} have been chosen so 0P(0),,P(i1)<1200 \leq P(0), \ldots, P(i-1) < 120, for some 0i50 \leq i \leq 5, then we have
P(i)=aii!+ai1ii1++a0 P(i) = a_{i} i! + a_{i-1} i^{\underline{i-1}} + \cdots + a_{0}
so by choosing aia_{i} we can make P(i)P(i) any number congruent to ai1ii1++a0a_{i-1} i^{\underline{i-1}} + \cdots + a_{0} modulo i!i!. Thus there are 120i!\frac{120}{i!} choices for aia_{i}. Note the choice of aia_{i} does not affect the value of P(0),,P(i1)P(0), \ldots, P(i-1). Thus all polynomials we obtain in this way are valid. The answer is
i=05120i!=86400000 \prod_{i=0}^{5} \frac{120}{i!} = 86400000

Solution 2

Solution:
For each nonnegative integer ii, let xi=x(x1)(xi+1)x^{\underline{i}} = x(x-1) \cdots (x-i+1). (Define x0=1x^{0} = 1.)

Lemma: Each polynomial with integer coefficients ff can be uniquely written in the form
f(x)=anxn++a1x1+a0x0,an0 f(x) = a_{n} x^{\underline{n}} + \ldots + a_{1} x^{\underline{1}} + a_{0} x^{\underline{0}}, \quad a_{n} \neq 0
Proof: Induct on the degree. The base case (degree 00) is clear. If ff has degree mm with leading coefficient cc, then by matching leading coefficients we must have m=nm = n and an=ca_{n} = c. By the induction hypothesis, f(x)cxnf(x) - c x^{\underline{n}} can be uniquely written as an1xn1++a1x1+a0x0a_{n-1} x^{\underline{n-1}} + \ldots + a_{1} x^{\underline{1}} + a_{0} x^{\underline{0}}.

There are 120120 possible choices for a0a_{0}, namely any integer in [0,120)[0,120). Once a0,,ai1a_{0}, \ldots, a_{i-1} have been chosen so 0P(0),,P(i1)<1200 \leq P(0), \ldots, P(i-1) < 120, for some 0i50 \leq i \leq 5, then we have
P(i)=aii!+ai1ii1++a0 P(i) = a_{i} i! + a_{i-1} i^{\underline{i-1}} + \cdots + a_{0}
so by choosing aia_{i} we can make P(i)P(i) any number congruent to ai1ii1++a0a_{i-1} i^{\underline{i-1}} + \cdots + a_{0} modulo i!i!. Thus there are 120i!\frac{120}{i!} choices for aia_{i}. Note the choice of aia_{i} does not affect the value of P(0),,P(i1)P(0), \ldots, P(i-1). Thus all polynomials we obtain in this way are valid. The answer is
i=05120i!=86400000 \prod_{i=0}^{5} \frac{120}{i!} = 86400000

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

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