Consider the polynomial P(x)=x3+x2−x+2. Determine all real numbers r for which there exists a complex number z not in the reals such that P(z)=r.
A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.
Solution
Because such roots to polynomial equations come in conjugate pairs, we seek the values r such that P(x)=r has just one real root x. Considering the shape of a cubic, we are interested in the boundary values r such that P(x)−r has a repeated zero. Thus, we write P(x)−r=x3+x2−x+(2−r)=(x−p)2(x−q)=x3−(2p+q)x2+p(p+2q)x−p2q. Then q=−2p−1 and 1=p(p+2q)=p(−3p−2) so that p=1/3 or p=−1. It follows that the graph of P(x) is horizontal at x=1/3 (a maximum) and x=−1 (a minimum), so the desired values r are r>P(−1)=3 and r<P(1/3)=1/27+1/9−1/3+2=49/27.
Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track
puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.
Source: Omni-MATH,
licensed Apache-2.0.
Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.