Maths Olympiad Prep

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HMMT February

Algebra Difficulty 4.6 AIME Find the answer

Find the sum of all real numbers xx such that 5x4−10x3+10x2−5x−11=05 x^{4}-10 x^{3}+10 x^{2}-5 x-11=0.

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

Solution

Rearrange the equation to x5+(1−x)5−12=0x^{5}+(1-x)^{5}-12=0. It's easy to see this has two real roots, and that rr is a root if and only if 1−r1-r is a root, so the answer must be 1.

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