Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 4.9 AIME Find the answer

Consider the graph in 3-space of 0=xyz(x+y)(y+z)(z+x)(xy)(yz)(zx)0=xyz(x+y)(y+z)(z+x)(x-y)(y-z)(z-x). This graph divides 3-space into NN connected regions. What is NN?

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

Solution

Note that reflecting for each choice of sign for x,y,zx, y, z, we get new regions. Therefore, we can restrict to the case where x,y,z>0x, y, z>0. In this case, the sign of the expression only depends on (xy)(yz)(zx)(x-y)(y-z)(z-x). It is easy to see that for this expression, every one of the 3!=63!=6 orderings for {x,y,z}\{x, y, z\} contributes a region. Therefore, our answer is 233!=482^{3} \cdot 3!=48.

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