Maths Olympiad Prep

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Number theory Difficulty 6.2 National olympiad Prove it

2. If x2+ax+b=0x^{2}+a x+b=0 has an integer root x00x_{0} \neq 0, then x0bx_{0} \mid b. Generally, if
xn+an1xn1++a0=0x^{n}+a_{n-1} x^{n-1}+\cdots+a_{0}=0

has an integer root x00x_{0} \neq 0, then x0a0x_{0} \mid a_{0}.

Solution

2. a0=x0(x0n1+an1x0n2++a1)a_{0}=-x_{0}\left(x_{0}^{n-1}+a_{n-1} x_{0}^{n-2}+\cdots+a_{1}\right).

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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.