Polynomials

C-U Math Circle

April 1, 2017

1. Find the solutions to x2 + 4x + 3 = 0.

2. Divide x + 3 into x5 + 3x4 + 2x3 − x2 + x − 7.
3. Prove the remainder theorem: The remainder upon dividing f (x) by x − a is f (a).
4. P (x) is a polynomial with real coefficients. When P (x) is divided by x − 1, the remainder
is 3. When P (x) is divided by x − 2, the remainder is 5. Find the remainder when P (x) is
divided by x2 − 3x + 2.
5. Find the remainder when x13 + 1 is divided by x − 1.
6. Find all values of m for which x + 2 is a factor of x3 + 3m2 x2 + mx + 4.
7. Polynomial P (x) contains only terms of odd degree. When P (x) is divided by x − 3, the
remainder is 6. What is the remainder when P (x) is divided by x2 − 9.
8. If P (x) is an polynomial of degree 8, with P (4) = 12, P (−1) = 0, P (0) = 4, and P (1) = 23,
then find the sum of the coefficients of P (x).
9. Find all the roots of x3 − 6x2 + 11x − 6.
10. Prove the Rational Root Theorem: If P (x) is a polynomial with integer coefficients
P (x) = an x2 + an−1 xn−1 + · · · + a1 x + a0 ,
and p/q is a rational root of P (x), then p | a0 and q | an .
11. Find all the roots of 2x3 − 5x2 + 4x − 1.
12. Find all solutions to the equation x4 − 10x3 + 35x2 − 50x + 24 = 0.
13. Prove that 11x10 + 10x9 + 10x + 11 = 0 has no real roots.
Vieta’s Formulas
Let r1 , r2 , . . . , rn be the roots of the polynomial p(x) = pn xn + pn−1 xn−1 + · · · + p0 , where
p(x) has degree n (i.e. p(x) = pn (x − r1 )(x − r2 ) · · · (x − rn )). Then the following relations
hold:
pn−1
− = r1 + r2 + · · · + rn
pn
pn−2
= r1 r2 + r1 r3 + · · · + r1 rn + r2 r3 + · · · + rn−1 rn
pn
..
.
n p0
(−1) = r1 r2 · · · rn
pn
where in the first line we have the sum of the roots, in the second line we have the sum of all
possible pairs of roots (order does not matter), and so forth.

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Math Circle Polynomials April 1, 2017

14. Find the constant term√of a quartic polynomial with rational coefficients that has two roots
equal to 2 + i and 2 + 3.

15. If three roots of x4 + ax2 + bx + c = 0 are -1, 2, and 3, then what is the value of 2c − a?

16. Find the largest solution of x3 − 27x2 + 242x − 720 = 0 given that one root equals the average
of the other two roots.

17. The equation x4 − 16x3 + 94x2 + px + q has two double roots. Find p + q.

18. If r1 , r2 , and r3 are the roots of x3 + 3x2 − 7x + 1 = 0, then find the value of r12 + r22 + r32 .

19. The equation x3 − 4x2 + 5x − 1.9 has real roots r, s, and t. Find the area of a triangle with
sides r, s, and t.

20. Let r, s, and t be the roots of x3 − 6x2 + 5x − 7 = 0. Find

1 1 1
2
+ 2 + 2.
r s t

21. Prove that if a, b, and c are real numbers, a + b + c > 0, ab + bc + ca > 0, and abc > 0, then
a > 0, b > 0, and c > 0.

22. The product of two of the four zeroes of the quartic equation

x4 − 18x3 + kx2 + 200x − 1984 = 0

is −32. Find k.

23. Find an equation whose roots are 3 greater than those of x4 − 3x3 − 3x2 + 4x − 6.

24. Find the polynomial whose roots are the reciprocals of the roots of x4 − 3x2 + x − 9 = 0.

25. Let
p(x) = an xn + an−1 xn−1 + · · · + a1 x + a0 ,
where the coefficients ai are integers. If p(0) and p(1) are both odd, show that p(x) has no
integral roots.

Fact: If we have n + 1 distinct points in the plane, then there exists a unique polynomial
of degree n whose graph passes through all n + 1 points.
If we have fewer, there will still be a polynomial of degree n, but it will not be unique. If we
have more, there might by a polynomial of degree n, but it is unlikely.

26. Find a quadratic polynomial containing the points (3, 0) and (5, 0).

27. Find the quadratic polynomial containing the points (0, 0), (3, 3), and (1, −1). Why are these
problems different?

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28. Use the remainder theorem and the above fact to find the remainder when dividing x100 −
2x51 + 1 by x2 − 1. What if we changed it to dividing by x3 − x?

29. Does there exist a nonzero polynomial f (x) with xf (x − 1) = (x + 1)f (x) for all real x?

30. If p(x) denotes a polynomial of degree n such that p(k) = 1/k for k = 1, 2, . . . , n+1, determine
p(n + 2).

31. The polynomial P (x) is cubic. What is the largest value of k for which the polynomials
Q1 (x) = x2 + (k − 29)x − k and Q2 (x) = 2x2 + (2k − 43)x + k are both factors of P (x)? [2007
AIME I #8]

32. For certain real values of a, b, c, and d, the equation x4 + ax3 + bx2 + cx + d = 0 has four
non-real roots. The √
product of two of these roots is 13 + i and the sum of the other two roots
is 3 + 4i, where i = −1. Find b. [1995 AIME #5]

33. Suppose that the roots of x3 + 3x2 + 4x − 11 = 0 are a, b, and c, and that the roots of
x3 + rx2 + sx + t = 0 are a + b, b + c, and c + a. Find t. [1996 AIME #5]

34. Real numbers r and s are roots of p(x) = x3 + ax + b, and r + 4 and s − 3 are roots of
q(x) = x3 + ax + b + 240. Find the sum of all possible values of |b|. [2014 AIME II #5]

35. Steve says to Jon, “I am thinking of a polynomial whose roots are all positive integers. The
polynomial has the form P (x) = 2x3 − 2ax2 + (a2 − 81)x − c for some positive integers a and
c. Can you tell me the values of a and c?”
After some calculations, Jon says, “There is more than one such polynomial.”
Steve says, “You’re right. Here is the value of a.” He writes down a positive integer and asks,
“Can you tell me the value of c?”
Jon says, “There are still two possible values of c.”
Find the sum of the two possible values of c. [2015 AIME II #6]

36. Let C be the coefficient of x2 in the expansion of the product (1 − x)(1 + 2x)(1 − 3x) · · · (1 +
14x)(1 − 15x). Find |C|. [2004 AIME I #7]

37. Let P (z) = z 3 + az 2 + bz + c, where a, b, and c are real. There exists a complex number
w such that the three roots of P (z) are w + 3i, w + 9i, and 2w − 4, where i2 = −1. Find
|a + b + c|. [2010 AIME II #7]

38. Consider the polynomials P (x) = x6 − x5 − x3 − x2 − x and Q(x) = x4 − x3 − x2 − 1. Given

that z1 , z2 , z3 , and z4 are the roots of Q(x) = 0, find P (z1 ) + P (z2 ) + P (z3 ) + P (z4 ). [2003
AIME II #9]

39. There are nonzero integers a, b, r, and s such that the complex number r + si is a zero of the
polynomial P (x) = x3 − ax2 + bx − 65. For each possible combination of a + b, let pa,b be the
sum of the zeroes of P (x). Find the sum of the pa,b ’s for all possible combinations of a and
b. [2013 AIME I #10]

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40. Find the number of second-degree polynomials f (x) with integer coefficients and integer zeros
for which f (0) = 2010. [2010 AIME II #10]

41. Let f (x) be a third-degree polynomial with real coefficients satisfying

|f (1)| = |f (2)| = |f (3)| = |f (5)| = |f (6)| = |f (7)| = 12.

Find |f (0)|. [2015 AIME I #10]

42. Let P (x) be a nonzero polynomial such that (x − 1)P (x + 1) = (x + 2)P (x) for every real x,
and (P (2))2 = P (3). Then P ( 72 ) = m
n , where m and n are relatively prime positive integers.
Find m + n.
[2016 AIME I #11]

43. Let P (x) be a polynomial with integer coefficients that satisfies P (17) = 10 and P (24) = 17.
Given that P (n) = n + 3 has two distinct integer solutions n1 and n2 , find the product n1 · n2 .
[2005 AIME II #13]