Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 4.9 AIME Find the answer

Let xx be a real number such that x3+4x=8x^{3}+4 x=8. Determine the value of x7+64x2x^{7}+64 x^{2}.

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

Solution

For any integer n0n \geq 0, the given implies xn+3=4xn+1+8xnx^{n+3}=-4 x^{n+1}+8 x^{n}, so we can rewrite any such power of xx in terms of lower powers. Carrying out this process iteratively gives x7=4x5+8x4=8x4+16x332x2=16x364x2+64x=64x2+128.\begin{aligned} x^{7} & =-4 x^{5}+8 x^{4} \\ & =8 x^{4}+16 x^{3}-32 x^{2} \\ & =16 x^{3}-64 x^{2}+64 x \\ & =-64 x^{2}+128 . \end{aligned} Thus, our answer is 128.

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