Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /1 of 3

Number theory Difficulty 4.8 AIME Prove it United States

Problem:
Let PP be a polynomial with integer coefficients such that P(2020)=P(2021)=2021P(2020) = P(2021) = 2021. Prove that PP has no integer roots.

Solution

Solution:
Let
P(x)=anxn+an1xn1++a1x+a0. P(x) = a_n x^n + a_{n-1} x^{n-1} + \cdots + a_1 x + a_0.
If we plug in x=2020x = 2020, all terms except a0a_0 will be even, so since P(2020)P(2020) is odd, a0a_0 must be odd. But then if we plug in any other even number for xx, P(x)P(x) will still be odd since all the terms except a0a_0 will still be even, so P(x)P(x) cannot be 00. Thus, P(x)P(x) can have no even roots.

However, if we plug in an odd number for xx, the term aixia_i x^i in P(x)P(x) has the same parity as the term ai2021ia_i \cdot 2021^i in P(2021)P(2021) for each i=1,,ni = 1, \ldots, n. Thus, the sum P(x)P(x) has the same parity as the sum P(2021)P(2021). But P(2021)P(2021) is odd, so P(x)P(x) must be odd as well, and so not 00. Thus, P(x)P(x) cannot have odd roots either, so it has no integer roots.

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.