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Algebra Difficulty 5.8 AIME, harder Find the answer

2. [6 points] Solve the equation x+23x+3=26+xx2\sqrt{x+2}-\sqrt{3-x}+3=2 \sqrt{6+x-x^{2}}.

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

Answer: 2,12622, \frac{1-2 \sqrt{6}}{2}.

Solution. Let x+23x=t\sqrt{x+2}-\sqrt{3-x}=t. Squaring both sides of this equation, we get (x+2)2(x+2)(3x)+(3x)=t2(x+2)-2 \sqrt{(x+2)(3-x)}+(3-x)=t^{2}, from which 26+xx2=5t22 \sqrt{6+x-x^{2}}=5-t^{2}. The equation becomes t+3=5t2t+3=5-t^{2}; hence t2+t2=0t^{2}+t-2=0, i.e., t=1t=1 or t=2t=-2. We consider each case separately.

x+23x=1x+2=1+3x{x+2=1+3x+23x2x3{3x=x1,2x3{3x=x22x+1,1x3{x2x2=0,1x3{x=1 or x=2,1x3x=2x+23x=2x+2+2=3x{x+2+4x+2+4=3x2x3{4x+2=32x,2x3{16x+32=9+12x+4x2,2x1.5{4x24x23=0,2x1.5{x=1±262,2x1.5x=1262. \begin{aligned} & \sqrt{x+2}-\sqrt{3-x}=1 \Leftrightarrow \sqrt{x+2}=1+\sqrt{3-x} \Leftrightarrow\left\{\begin{array}{l} x+2=1+3-x+2 \sqrt{3-x} \\ -2 \leqslant x \leqslant 3 \end{array}\right. \\ & \Leftrightarrow\left\{\begin{array} { l } { \sqrt { 3 - x } = x - 1 , } \\ { - 2 \leqslant x \leqslant 3 } \end{array} \Leftrightarrow \left\{\begin{array}{l} 3-x=x^{2}-2 x+1, \\ 1 \leqslant x \leqslant 3 \end{array}\right.\right. \\ & \Leftrightarrow\left\{\begin{array} { l } { x ^ { 2 } - x - 2 = 0 , } \\ { 1 \leqslant x \leqslant 3 } \end{array} \Leftrightarrow \left\{\begin{array}{l} x=-1 \text { or } x=2, \\ 1 \leqslant x \leqslant 3 \end{array} \quad \Leftrightarrow x=2\right.\right. \\ & \sqrt{x+2}-\sqrt{3-x}=-2 \Leftrightarrow \sqrt{x+2}+2=\sqrt{3-x} \Leftrightarrow\left\{\begin{array}{l} x+2+4 \sqrt{x+2}+4=3-x \\ -2 \leqslant x \leqslant 3 \end{array}\right. \\ & \Leftrightarrow\left\{\begin{array} { l } { 4 \sqrt { x + 2 } = - 3 - 2 x , } \\ { - 2 \leqslant x \leqslant 3 } \end{array} \Leftrightarrow \left\{\begin{array}{l} 16 x+32=9+12 x+4 x^{2}, \\ -2 \leqslant x \leqslant-1.5 \end{array}\right.\right. \\ & \Leftrightarrow\left\{\begin{array} { l } { 4 x ^ { 2 } - 4 x - 23 = 0 , } \\ { - 2 \leqslant x \leqslant - 1.5 } \end{array} \Leftrightarrow \left\{\begin{array}{l} x=\frac{1 \pm 2 \sqrt{6}}{2}, \\ -2 \leqslant x \leqslant-1.5 \end{array} \quad \Leftrightarrow x=\frac{1-2 \sqrt{6}}{2} .\right.\right. \end{aligned}

Thus, the equation has two roots: x=1262x=\frac{1-2 \sqrt{6}}{2} and x=2x=2.

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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.