Let be a positive integer. Prove that all roots of the equation
are real and irrational.
Solution
Consider the polynomial function
We have and the leading coefficient is .
Observe that for ,
and
It is clear that , that is, the interval contains a root of for any . Because is of degree and it has real roots, it follows that has real roots.
It is clear that has integer coefficients. If has a rational root , then must be integer since the leading coefficient is .
If is even, then from we get
that is, an odd number is equal to , not possible.
If is odd, then from , it follows again that an odd number is equal to , not possible.
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