Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /27 of 65

Geometry Difficulty 5.9 AIME, harder Prove it Bulgaria

Problem:
Find all values of the real parameters aa and bb such that the graph of the function y=x3+ax+by = x^{3} + a x + b has exactly three common points with the coordinate axes and they are vertices of a right triangle.

Solution

Solution:
The first condition of the problem is equivalent to the assertion that the equation x3+ax+b=0x^{3} + a x + b = 0 has a double real root x10x_{1} \neq 0 and a simple real root x20x_{2} \neq 0, where x2x1x_{2} \neq x_{1}. Therefore
x3+ax+b=(xx1)2(xx2) x^{3} + a x + b = (x - x_{1})^{2}(x - x_{2})
We also have ACB=90\angle ACB = 90^{\circ}, where A=(x1,0)A = (x_{1}, 0), B=(x2,0)B = (x_{2}, 0), C=(0,b)C = (0, b) and x1x2<0x_{1} x_{2} < 0. Hence AOBO=CO2AO \cdot BO = CO^{2}, i.e. x1x2=b2-x_{1} x_{2} = b^{2}. Since b=x12x2b = -x_{1}^{2} x_{2} and x1,x20x_{1}, x_{2} \neq 0, we get x13x2=1x_{1}^{3} x_{2} = -1. On the other hand, we have 2x1+x2=02 x_{1} + x_{2} = 0 and therefore 2x1=x2=1x132 x_{1} = -x_{2} = \frac{1}{x_{1}^{3}}. Hence x1=±124x_{1} = \pm \frac{1}{\sqrt[4]{2}} and x2=84x_{2} = \mp \sqrt[4]{8}. Then
a=x12+2x1x2=32a = x_{1}^{2} + 2 x_{1} x_{2} = -\frac{3}{\sqrt{2}} and b=x12x2=±24b = -x_{1}^{2} x_{2} = \pm \sqrt[4]{2}. The above arguments imply as well that these two values of bb are solutions indeed.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

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