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Algebra Difficulty 6.5 National olympiad Find the answer

If ff is a polynomial, and f(2)=3f(-2)=3, f(1)=3=f(1)f(-1)=-3=f(1), f(2)=6f(2)=6, and f(3)=5f(3)=5, then what is the minimum possible degree of ff?

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

1. Given Points and Polynomial Degree:
We are given the points f(2)=3f(-2)=3, f(1)=3f(-1)=-3, f(1)=3f(1)=-3, f(2)=6f(2)=6, and f(3)=5f(3)=5. To determine the minimum possible degree of the polynomial ff, we start by noting that a polynomial of degree nn is uniquely determined by n+1n+1 points. Since we have 5 points, the polynomial could be of degree at most 4.

2. Checking for Degree 3:
To check if a polynomial of degree 3 could fit these points, we assume f(x)f(x) is a cubic polynomial:
f(x)=ax3+bx2+cx+d f(x) = ax^3 + bx^2 + cx + d
We need to determine if there exist coefficients aa, bb, cc, and dd such that the polynomial passes through the given points.

3. System of Equations:
Substituting the given points into the polynomial, we get the following system of equations:
{a(2)3+b(2)2+c(2)+d=3a(1)3+b(1)2+c(1)+d=3a(1)3+b(1)2+c(1)+d=3a(2)3+b(2)2+c(2)+d=6a(3)3+b(3)2+c(3)+d=5 \begin{cases} a(-2)^3 + b(-2)^2 + c(-2) + d = 3 \\ a(-1)^3 + b(-1)^2 + c(-1) + d = -3 \\ a(1)^3 + b(1)^2 + c(1) + d = -3 \\ a(2)^3 + b(2)^2 + c(2) + d = 6 \\ a(3)^3 + b(3)^2 + c(3) + d = 5 \end{cases}
Simplifying these equations, we get:
{8a+4b2c+d=3a+bc+d=3a+b+c+d=38a+4b+2c+d=627a+9b+3c+d=5 \begin{cases} -8a + 4b - 2c + d = 3 \\ -a + b - c + d = -3 \\ a + b + c + d = -3 \\ 8a + 4b + 2c + d = 6 \\ 27a + 9b + 3c + d = 5 \end{cases}

4. Solving the System:
We solve this system of linear equations to find the coefficients aa, bb, cc, and dd. However, solving this system shows that there is no consistent solution for aa, bb, cc, and dd that satisfies all five equations simultaneously. This indicates that a cubic polynomial cannot fit all the given points.

5. Conclusion:
Since a cubic polynomial (degree 3) cannot fit the given points, the minimum possible degree of the polynomial ff must be 4.

The final answer is 4\boxed{4}.

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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.