Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 5.2 AIME, harder Prove it Philippines

Problem:
Find all complex numbers xx satisfying x3+x2+x+1=0x^{3} + x^{2} + x + 1 = 0.

Solution

Solution:
We have the equation:
x3+x2+x+1=0. x^{3} + x^{2} + x + 1 = 0.

We can factor the left side:
x3+x2+x+1=(x3+1)+(x2+1)x21+x2+1=(x3+1)+(x+1). x^{3} + x^{2} + x + 1 = (x^{3} + 1) + (x^{2} + 1) - x^{2} - 1 + x^{2} + 1 = (x^{3} + 1) + (x + 1).
But it's easier to factor by grouping:
x3+x2+x+1=(x3+x2)+(x+1)=x2(x+1)+1(x+1)=(x2+1)(x+1). x^{3} + x^{2} + x + 1 = (x^{3} + x^{2}) + (x + 1) = x^{2}(x + 1) + 1(x + 1) = (x^{2} + 1)(x + 1).
So,
(x2+1)(x+1)=0. (x^{2} + 1)(x + 1) = 0.
Therefore, the solutions are the roots of x2+1=0x^{2} + 1 = 0 and x+1=0x + 1 = 0.

1. x+1=0    x=1x + 1 = 0 \implies x = -1

2. x2+1=0    x2=1    x=ix^{2} + 1 = 0 \implies x^{2} = -1 \implies x = i or x=ix = -i

Thus, all complex solutions are:
x=1, i, i. x = -1,\ i,\ -i.

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