Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 5.7 AIME, harder Find the answer Italy

Problem:

Giulio writes a polynomial P1(x)P_{1}(x) and another polynomial P2(x)P_{2}(x), a product of first-degree factors, having degree strictly greater than the previous one. Performing the division of P2(x)P_{2}(x) by P1(x)P_{1}(x), one obtains remainder 00. Denoting by Q(x)Q(x) the quotient of this division, which of the following statements is always true?

Pick one

Solution

Solution:

The answer is (C)(\mathbf{C}). P2P_{2} can be written as a product of first-degree factors, so it will be of the form
(xα1)m1(xαk)mk \left(x-\alpha_{1}\right)^{m_{1}} \ldots\left(x-\alpha_{k}\right)^{m_{k}}
where α1,,αk\alpha_{1}, \ldots, \alpha_{k} are all and only the solutions of the equation P2(x)=0P_{2}(x)=0. Since P1P_{1} divides P2P_{2}, it follows that P1P_{1} can also be written as a product of first-degree factors, and in particular as a product of the same factors as P2P_{2} but with lower or equal multiplicity, that is
P1=(xα1)n1(xαk)nk P_{1}=\left(x-\alpha_{1}\right)^{n_{1}} \ldots\left(x-\alpha_{k}\right)^{n_{k}}
with n1m1,,nkmkn_{1} \leq m_{1}, \ldots, n_{k} \leq m_{k}. Since P1P_{1} has degree strictly less than P2P_{2}, at least one of the previous relations must be a strict inequality, which implies that there exists at least one first-degree factor that divides both P2P_{2} and QQ, that is, there exists at least one real number aa such that P2(a)=Q(a)=0P_{2}(a)=Q(a)=0.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from it; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.