8. (NET 4) Determine whether there exist distinct real numbers for which: (i) the equation has two distinct real roots , (ii) the equation has two distinct real roots , (iii) the equation has two distinct real roots .
Solution
8. Suppose that satisfy all the conditions. Then and
Multiplying these equations, we obtain , and hence . From (1) we get . Substituting in the first equation, we get , which gives us
Analogously, and , and therefore ; i.e., , since it is real. This also implies together with (1) that , and , and consequently
Thus the three equations in the problem are equal, which is impossible. Hence, such do not exist.
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