Olympiad Maths Prep

Track / Stage 4 / 94 of 340 #354 of 2000

Problem 354

AMC 12 late, AIME early
Algebra Difficulty 4.7 Find the answer

3.5 The number of real solutions to the system of equations {x+y=2,xyz2=1.\left\{\begin{array}{l}x+y=2, \\ x y-z^{2}=1 .\end{array}\right. is
(A) 1 .
(B) 2 .
(C) 3 .
(D) infinitely many.
(Shanghai Junior High School Mathematics Competition, 1987)

Official solution

[Solution] From the given, we have x+y=2,xy=1+z2x+y=2, xy=1+z^{2}.
Thus, x,yx, y are the two roots of the equation t22t+(1+z2)=0t^{2}-2t+(1+z^{2})=0. The discriminant of this equation is
Δ=44(1+z2)=4z20, \Delta=4-4(1+z^{2})=-4z^{2} \leqslant 0,

which is equal to zero if and only if z=0z=0. When Δ=0\Delta=0, the equation has real roots, and only x=y=1x=y=1 satisfies the system of equations, so the system has only one solution.
Therefore, the answer is (A)(A).

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic, difficulty and ordering added by this site.