Polynomials

Mathematical Tapas
Level C

Pn
A polynomial of degree n can be expressed in the form i=0 ci xi , where
c0in are elements of a ring (more on this later). More generally, they can be
expressed as:
X
P (x1 , x2 , , xn ) =
x1 k1 xk22 xknn
k1 kn

Fundamental Theorem of Algebra

The field of complex numbers is algebraically closed. It also means that for any
polynomial with degree n, there are exactly n roots. The proof of this theorem
is beyond the scope of this class, so look it up yourselves if you want to learn
the proof.

Identity Theorem

There are two polynomials: P (x) and G(x), with both of them have degree less
than n. Suppose there are n values x1 ,x2 , ,xn such that
P (x1 ) = G(x1 )
P (x2 ) = G(x2 )
..
.
P (xn ) = G(xn )
Then P (x) and G(x) are the same polynomial.

Division Algorithm

If F (x) and G(x) are polynomials and G(x) is not the zero polynomial, there
exist unique polynomials Q(x) and R(x) such that F (x) = Q(x)G(x) + R(x).

Remainder and Factor Theorem

Let F (x) be a polynomial. When F (x) is divided by x a, the remainder is

F (a). Thus x = a is a root of the equation F (x) = 0 if and only if x a is a
factor of F (x).

Rational Root Theorem

Let f(x) be the polynomial an xn + an1 xn1 + + a1 x + a0 , where all the ai

are integers, and both an and a0 are nonzero. If p and q are relatively prime
integers and f ( pq ) = 0, then p is divisible by a0 and q is divisible by an .

Irrational Root Theorem

Let f(x) be a polynomial with real coefficients. Suppose a+bi is a root of the
equation f(x)=0, where a and b are real and b 0. Then a-bi is also a root of
the equation.

Vietas Formulas

For any polynomial in the form

an xn + an1 xn1 + + a1 x + a0
with its roots being r1 , r2 , , rk , the possible subproducts of the roots are
X
ank
)
(1)k (
an
1i1 <i2 <<ik n

where it can be rewritten as the following

r1 + r2 + r3 + + rk =
2

an1
an

..
.
r1 r2 r3 . . . rk = (1)n

ao
an

Eisensteins Criterion

Suppose we have a polynomial with integer coefficients,

f (x) = an xn + an1 xn1 + + a1 x + ao
If there exists a prime number p such that the following conditions all apply:
1. p divides each ai , for i 6= n
2. p does not divide an
3. p2 does not divide a0
then f is irredicible over the integers.

Vietas Algorithm

Let Equation (1) be defined as

ax3 + bx2 + cx + d
Dividing Equation (1) by a and substituting x by t
below, where we define as Equation (2).

b
3a

we get the equation

x3 + pt + q
Where

3ac b2
3a2
2b3 9abc + 27a2 b
q=
27a3
The left hand side of equation (2) is a monic trinomial called a depressed cubic.
Any formula for the roots of a depressed cubic may be transformed into a formula
for the roots of Equation (1) by substituting the above values for p and q and
b
using the relation x = t 3a
. Therefore, only Equation (2) is considered in the
following. Starting from the depressed cubic
p=

t3 + pt + q = 0
3

we make the following substitution, known as Vietas substitution:

t=w

p
3w

This results in the equation

w3 + q p3 27w3 = 0
Multiplying by w3 , it becomes a sextic equation in w, which is in fact a quadratic
equation in w3 :
p3
=0
w6 + qw3
27
The quadratic formula allows to solve it in w3 . If w1 , w2 and w3 are the three
cube roots of one of the solutions in w3 , then the roots of the original depressed
cubic are
p
t1 = w1
3w1
p
t2 = w2
3w2
p
t3 = w3
3w3
Which you can find the solution to the equation using the above substitution.

10

The Cubic Formula

The solution for the polynomial equation ax3 + bx2 + cx + d = 0 is

s
r

3
b3
b3
bc
d
bc
d 2  c
b2  3

+
x=
+

+
+

27a3
6a2
2a
27a3
6a2
2a
3a 9a2
s
r

3
b3
bc
d
b3
bc
d 2  c
b2  3
b
+
+ 2

+ 2
+
2
3
3
27a
6a
2a
27a
6a
2a
3a 9a
3a

11

Problems

1. Let p and q be the roots of x2 +rx+s and r and s be the roots of x2 +px+q.
Find all possible values of p + q + r + s.

2. Find all pairs of real numbers with the sum of their squares equal to 6
and the sum of their cubes equal to 10.

3. Solve the system of equations

x+y+z =4
x2 + y 2 + z 2 = 14
x3 + y 3 + z 3 = 34

4. Find the zeros of the polynomial

x4 6x3 + 18x2 30x + 25
, given that the sum of two of the roots is 4.

5. Solve the system below in complex numbers

x+

y z
+ =1
2 2

2x2 +

z2
y2
+
=1
2
2

4x3 +

y3
z3
+
=4
2
2

6. 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 )

7. Solve the system of equations

x+y+z =5
y
z
9
x
+
+
=
yz
xz
xy
4
x3 + y 3 + z 3 3xyz = 5

8. (B) Find all polynomials P , Q, such that P (x2 ) = Q(x3 ).

9. Let P (x) be a polynomial with integer coefficients. If P (0) and P (1) are
odd numbers, prove that P (x) cannot have integer roots.

10. Given the polynomial

P (x) = (1 + x + x2 )100 = a0 + a1 x + + a200 x200
compute the sums
S1 = a0 + a1 + a2 + a3 + + a2 00
S2 = a0 + a2 + a4 + + a2 00

11. Find all polynomials satisfying

(x + 1)P (x) = (x 10)P (x + 1)
.

12. Let P (x) = x4 + ax3 + bx2 + cx + d and Q(x) = x2 + px + q be two

polynomials with real coefficients. Suppose that there exists an interval
(r, s) of length greater than 2 such that both P (x) and Q(x) are negative
for x(r, s) and both are positive for x < r or x > s. Prove that there is a
real number x0 such that P (x0 ) < Q(x0 ).

13. Let a, b, and c be real numbers such that a < 3 and all zeroes of the
polynomial
p(x) = x3 + ax2 + bx + c
are negative numbers. Prove that b + c 6= 4.

14. Find the remainder when the polynomial x2013 is divided by (x2 + 1)(x2 +
x + 1).

15. The sum of the squares of the roots of the equation x2 + 2kx + 3 is 10.
Find the possible values of k.

16. Given that p > 0 and q < 0, how many positive roots does the equation
x2 + px + q = 0 have?

17. If x1 and x2 are integer roots of the equation x2 + mx + 2 n = 0 and

(x21 + 1)(x22 + 1) = 10 how many possible pairs (m, n) are there?

10

18. Let x1 and x2 be the two positive integer roots of the equation x2 + px +
1997 = 0. Find the value of
p
(x1 + 1)(x2 + 1)
.

19. The two roots of the equation x2 + px + 1 = 0 for p > 0 have a difference
of 1. Find p.

20. Distinct real numbers a and b satisfy the equations (a + 1)2 = 3 3(a + 1)
and (b + 1)2 = 3 3(b + 1). Find
r
r
b
a
b
+a
a
b

11

21. Aan l by w by h rectangular box has surface area 38 and volume 12. If
l + w + h = 8 find the dimensions of the box.

22. Let x1 , x2 , x3 , and x4 be the roots of x4 2x 1990 = 0. Find

1
1
1
1
+
+
+
x1
x2
x3
x4
.

23. Find the sum of 17th powers of the 17 roots of x17 3x + 1 = 0

12

24. Wwe know that x + y + z = 0 and x3 + y 3 + z 3 = 288. Find xyz.

25. Let x be a real number such that x3 + 4x = 8. Find x7 + 64x2 .

26. Find x31 + x32 + x33 if x1 , x2 , and x3 are the roots of the polynomial p(x) =
x3 + 2x2 5x + 1.

13

27. Let P (x) = (x 1)(x 2)(x 3). For how many polynomials Q(x)
does there exist a polynomial R(x) of degree three such that P (Q(x)) =
P (x)R(x)?

28. Find all the solutions for the system below systematically without assuming anything. (I know one solution is very apparent... just solve the system
algebraicly)
x+y+z =9
1 1
1
+ + =1
x y z
xyz = 27

29. Let g(x) = x5 + x4 + x3 + x2 + x + 1. What is the remainder when the

polynomial g(x12 ) is divided by the polynomial g(x)?

14

30. The graph of y = x6 10x5 +29x4 4x3 +ax2 lies above the line y = bx+c
except at three values of x, where the graph and the line intersect. What
is the largest of those values?

31. What is the number of real solutions (x, y, z, w) of the simultaneous equa17
17
17
tions 2y = x + 17
x , 2z = y + y , 2w = z + z , 2x = w + w ?

32. Monic quadratic polynomials P (x) and Q(x) have the property that P (Q(x))
has zeros at x = 23, 21, 17, and 15, and Q(P (x)) has zeros at
x = 59, 57, 51, and 49. What is the sum of the minimum values of
P (x) and Q(x)?

15

33. Let a > 0, and let P (x) be a polynomial with integer coefficients such that
P (1) = P (3) = P (5) = P (7) = a
, and
P (2) = P (4) = P (6) = P (8) = a
. What is the smallest possible value of a?

34. Consider all polynomials of a complex variable, P (z) = 4z 4 + az 3 + bz 2 +

cz + d, where a,b,c, and d are integers, 0 d c b a 4, and the
polynomial has a zero z0 with |z0 | = 1. What is the sum of all values P (1)
over all the polynomials with these properties?

35. Consider the polynomial

P (x) =

10
Y

(x2 + 2k ) = (x + 1)(x2 + 2)(x4 + 4) (x1024 + 1024)

k=0

. The coefficient of x2012 is equal to 2a . What is a?

16

36. Let a, b, and c be positive integers with a b c such that

a2 b2 c2 + ab = 2011
and
a2 + 3b2 + 3c2 3ab 2ac 2bc = 1997
. What is a?

37. What is the product of the real roots of the equation

p
x2 + 18x + 30 = 2 x2 + 18x + 45

38. Determine w2 + x2 + y 2 + z 2 if
y2
z2
w2
x2
+ 2
+ 2
+ 2
=1
2
2
1 2 3
2 5
2 72

22

x2
y2
z2
w2
+
+
+
=1
42 1 42 32
42 52
42 72
y2
z2
w2
x2
+
+
+
=1
62 1 62 32
62 52
62 72
17

x2
z2
w2
y2
+ 2
+ 2
=1
+ 2
2
2
1 8 3
8 5
8 72

82

39. The polynomial 1 x + x2 x3 + + x16 x17 may be written in the

form a0 + a1 y + a2 y 2 + + a16 y 16 + a17 y 17 , where y = x + 1 and the ai s
are constants. Find the value of a2 .

40. Compute
(104 + 324)(224 + 324)(344 + 324)(464 + 324)(584 + 324)
(44 + 324)(164 + 324)(284 + 324)(404 + 324)(524 + 324)

18

41. Find a if a and b are integers such that x2 x1 is a factor of ax17 +bx16 +1.

42. Assume that x1 , x2 , . . . , x7 are real numbers such that

x1 + 4x2 + 9x3 + 16x4 + 25x5 + 36x6 + 49x7 = 1
4x1 + 9x2 + 16x3 + 25x4 + 36x5 + 49x6 + 64x7 = 12
9x1 + 16x2 + 25x3 + 36x4 + 49x5 + 64x6 + 81x7 = 123
Find the value of
16x1 + 25x2 + 36x3 + 49x4 + 64x5 + 81x6 + 100x7

43. Find the positive solution to

1
2
1
+

=0
x2 10x 29 x2 10x 45 x2 10x 69

19

44. Find ax5 + by 5 if the real numbers a, b, x, andy satisfy the equations
ax + by = 3
ax2 + by 2 = 7
ax3 + by 3 = 16
ax4 + by 4 = 42

45. Find A2 , where A is the sum of the absolute values of all roots of the
following equation:
x=

19 +

91
19 +

20

91
19+

91
19+ 91
19+ 91
x

46. For how many real numbers a does the quadratic equation x2 +ax +6a = 0
have only integer roots for x? (1991)

47. Let P0 (x) = x3 + 313x2 77x 8 . For integers n 1 , define Pn (x) =

Pn1 (x n) . What is the coefficient of x in P20 (x) ?

48. Let f(n) be the integer closest to

n. Find

1995
X
k=1

21

1
f (k)

49. 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.

50. Let v and w be distinct, randomlyp

chosen roots of the equation z 1997 1 =

m
0. Let n be the probability that 2 + 3 |v + w|, where m and n are
relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

51. Suppose that x, y, and z are three positive numbers that satisfy the equations xyz = 1, x + z1 = 5, and y + x1 = 29. Then z + y1 = m
n , where m and
n are relatively prime positive integers. Find m + n.

22

5
52. The equation 2000x6 + 100x
+ 10x3 + x 2 = 0 has exactly two real

m+ n
roots, one of which is r , where m, n and r are integers, m and r are
relatively prime, and r > 0. Find m + n + r.

53. Find the sum of the roots, real and non-real, of the equation
2001

1
x
=0
x2001 +
2
, given that there are no multiple roots.

54. 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 ).

23

55. Two positive integers differ by 60. The sum of their square roots is the
square root of an integer that is not a perfect square. What is the maximum possible sum of the two integers?

56. 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|.

57. Let P be the product of the nonreal roots of x4 4x3 + 6x2 4x = 2005.
Find bP c.

24

58. The
104 6 + 468 10 + 144 15 + 2006 can be written as a 2+
number

b 3 + c 5, where a, b, and c are positive integers. Find a b c.

59. 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)?

60. Let f (x) be a polynomial with real coefficients such that f (0) = 1, f (2) +
f (3) = 125, and for all x, f (x)f (2x2 ) = f (2x3 + x). Find f (5).

25

61. Let r, s, and t be the three roots of the equation 8x3 + 1001x + 2008 = 0.
Find (r + s)3 + (s + t)3 + (t + r)3 .

62. Let P (x) be a quadratic polynomial with real coefficients satisfying x2

2x + 2 P (x) 2x2 4x + 3 for all real numbers x, and suppose P (11) =
181. Find P (16).

63. Find the number of second-degree polynomials f (x) with integer coefficients and integer zeros for which f (0) = 2010.

26

64. For some integer m, the polynomial x3 2011x + m has the three integer
roots a, b, and c. Find |a| + |b| + |c|.

65. Let z1 , z2 , z3 , . . ., z12 be the 12 zeroes of the polynomial z 12 236 . For

each j, let wj be one of zj or izj . Then the maximum possible value of
P12

the real part of j=1 wj can be written as m + n, where m and n are

positive integers. Find m + n.

66. Complex numbers a, b, and c are zeros of a polynomial P (z) = z 3 + qz + r,

and |a|2 + |b|2 + |c|2 = 250. The points corresponding to a, b, and c in
the complex plane are the vertices of a right triangle with hypotenuse h.
Find h2 .

27

67. The real

root
of the equation 8x3 3x2 3x 1 = 0 can be written in the

3
3
form a+c b+1 , where a, b, and c are positive integers. Find a + b + c.

68. Let x1 < x2 < x3 be the three real roots of the equation
4029x2 + 2 = 0. Find x2 (x1 + x3 ).

2014x3

69. Let m be the largest real solution to the equation

3x 3 + 5x 5 + 17x 17 + 19x 19 = x2 11x 4
p

There are positive integers a, b, and c such that m = a + b + c. Find

a + b + c.

28

70. 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|.

29