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Croatia Mathematical Competitions

Algebra Difficulty 5.0 AIME, harder Prove it Croatia

Let aa, bb, cc and dd be four pairwise distinct real numbers. If aa and bb are solutions of the equation x2−10cx−11d=0x^2 - 10c x - 11d = 0, and cc and dd are solutions of the equation x2−10ax−11b=0x^2 - 10a x - 11b = 0, determine the sum a+b+c+da + b + c + d.

Solution

From Vieta's formulae we have a+b=10ca + b = 10c and c+d=10ac + d = 10a. By adding these equations we get
a+b+c+d=10(a+c). a + b + c + d = 10(a + c).
Since aa is a solution of the equation x2−10cx−11d=0x^2 - 10c x - 11d = 0, and d=10a−cd = 10a - c, it follows that
0=a2−10ac−11d=a2−10ac−11(10a−c)=a2−110a+11c−10ac. 0 = a^2 - 10a c - 11d = a^2 - 10a c - 11(10a - c) = a^2 - 110a + 11c - 10a c.
Analogously, we get
c2−110c+11a−10ac=0. c^2 - 110c + 11a - 10a c = 0.
By subtracting these equations it follows that
(a−c)(a+c−121)=0. (a - c)(a + c - 121) = 0.
Since a≠ca \neq c, we get a+c=121a + c = 121. Therefore, a+b+c+d=10⋅121=1210a + b + c + d = 10 \cdot 121 = 1210.

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