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Algebra Difficulty 5.5 AIME, harder Find the answer

Let P(x)=x3+ax2+bx+2015P(x)=x^{3}+a x^{2}+b x+2015 be a polynomial all of whose roots are integers. Given that P(x)0P(x) \geq 0 for all x0x \geq 0, find the sum of all possible values of P(1)P(-1).

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

Solution

Since all the roots of P(x)P(x) are integers, we can factor it as P(x)=(xr)(xs)(xt)P(x)=(x-r)(x-s)(x-t) for integers r,s,tr, s, t. By Viete's formula, the product of the roots is rst=2015r s t=-2015, so we need three integers to multiply to -2015. P(x)P(x) cannot have two distinct positive roots u,vu, v since otherwise, P(x)P(x) would be negative at least in some infinitesimal region x<ux<u or x>vx>v, or P(x)<0P(x)<0 for u<x<vu<x<v. Thus, in order to have two positive roots, we must have a double root. Since 2015=5×13×312015=5 \times 13 \times 31, the only positive double root is a perfect square factor of 2015, which is at x=1x=1, giving us a possibility of P(x)=(x1)2(x+2015)P(x)=(x-1)^{2}(x+2015). Now we can consider when P(x)P(x) only has negative roots. The possible unordered triplets are (1,1,2015),(1,5,(1,31,65),(5,13,31)(-1,-1,-2015),(-1,-5,-(-1,-31,-65),(-5,-13,-31) which yield the polynomials (x+1)2(x+2015),(x+1)(x+5)(x+403),(x+1)(x+13)(x+155),(x+1)(x+31)(x+65),(x+5)(x+13)(x+31)(x+1)^{2}(x+2015),(x+1)(x+5)(x+403),(x+1)(x+13)(x+155),(x+1)(x+31)(x+65),(x+5)(x+13)(x+31), respectively. Noticing that P(1)=0P(-1)=0 for four of these polynomials, we see that the nonzero values are P(1)=(11)2(2014),(51)(131)(311)P(-1)=(-1-1)^{2}(2014),(5-1)(13-1)(31-1), which sum to 8056+1440=94968056+1440=9496.

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