Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 5.1 AIME, harder Find the answer

Six. (25 points) Let nn be a positive integer, and the integer aa be a root of the equation x4+3ax2+2ax2×3n=0x^{4}+3 a x^{2}+2 a x-2 \times 3^{n}=0. Find all pairs (n,a)(n, a) that satisfy the condition. (Provided by Lu Xiushuang)

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

Solution

Six, since aa is a root of the equation, then
a4+3a3+2a2=2×3n a^{4}+3 a^{3}+2 a^{2}=2 \times 3^{n} \text {, }

which means a2(a+2)(a+1)=2×3na^{2}(a+2)(a+1)=2 \times 3^{n}
From this, we get a0,1,2a \neq 0,-1,-2.
If aa is even, then the left side of the equation is a multiple of 4, while the right side is not, leading to a contradiction. Therefore, aa is odd.

When aa is odd, aa and a+2a+2 have only one that is a multiple of 3.
If aa is a multiple of 3, then
a+2=1a=1|a+2|=1 \Rightarrow a=-1 (discard), a=3a=-3.
When a=3a=-3, n=2n=2.
If a+2a+2 is a multiple of 3, then
a=1a=1|a|=1 \Rightarrow a=-1 (discard), a=1a=1.
When a=1a=1, n=1n=1.
Therefore, the pairs that satisfy the condition are
(n,a)=(2,3),(1,1). (n, a)=(2,-3),(1,1) .

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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.