AlgebraDifficulty 3.7AMC 10/12Find the answerItaly
Problem:
Knowing that the polynomial p is such that, for every integer n, p(5n−1)=55n−1, what will p(3) be equal to?
Pick one
Solution
Solution:
The answer is (A). Let us consider the polynomial q(x)=(x+1)5−1. For every integer n we have q(5n−1)=(5n−1+1)5−1=55n−1=p(5n−1) so the difference polynomial p(x)−q(x) vanishes for infinitely many values of x (all those of the form 5n−1 with n an integer). It follows that the difference p(x)−q(x) is identically zero, that is p(x)=q(x), so that p(3)=q(3)=45−1=1023.
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Source: MathNet,
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