Guessed correct but don't know the solution

I attempted a question which says:

$f(x)=3x^3 +2x^2 +14x -5.$

a = sum of real roots. Find 93a. I guessed the answer to be 31 and it was correct. Can anyone help me to solve it actually?

I have one more question. Can't we view the solutions of the practice problems we are unable to solve?

#Algebra #MathProblem #Math

Easy Math Editor

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Remember to wrap math in `$` ... `$` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
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Comments

Notice that: $3x^3 + 2x^2 + 14x -5 \equiv (3x-1)(x^2+x+5)$ Consider the nature of the roots of $x^2 + x + 5$ . We will use the discriminant for this: $1^2- 4 \times 1 \times 5 = -19 < 0$ Therefore, it is clear the $x^2 + x + 5$ has no real roots. From this we can see that the only real root is when: $3x - 1 = 0 \Rightarrow x = \frac{1}{3}$ Therefore: $a = \frac{1}{3} \Rightarrow 93a = \fbox{31}$

Oliver Welsh - 7 years, 8 months ago

Thanks!

Maharnab Mitra - 7 years, 8 months ago

I can't help with the question but I am curious as to how did you even guess that?

Pranav Arora - 7 years, 8 months ago

Maharnab must have guessed it as question was positive integer type. 93a is asked means a might not be integer but 93a must be. So factors of 93 are limited...

Piyushkumar Palan - 7 years, 8 months ago

Is this a question included in the Practice section?

Bhargav Das - 7 years, 8 months ago

Yes, it is. Is its solution available at Brilliant.org?

Maharnab Mitra - 7 years, 8 months ago

On the page for the question on the top right there is a grey icon like two chain links connected, like the on the bottom right of the original post. If you put the mouse on it it says "copy URL". Click copy and paste it into the website search bar. It should go to another page with the same problem and a button with reveal solution on it.

C D - 7 years, 8 months ago

@C D – I did this and now I'm stuck on one of my algebra topics and can't progress! :(

Jonathan Lowe - 7 years, 8 months ago

@Jonathan Lowe – Darn! Which topic did you encounter this bug in?

Peter Taylor Staff - 7 years, 8 months ago

@Peter Taylor – Polynomial inequalities 1. The 'next' button seems to have been removed and now there's just nothing (I believe it would happen for any problem within the practice sections however)

Jonathan Lowe - 7 years, 8 months ago

Just to say, every time I did this it worked but a glitch or something stops you from doing that problem set again. If you click "Next Problem" it doesn't work. I hope they fix it soon.

C D - 7 years, 8 months ago

@C D – Which topic are you experiencing this glitch in?

Peter Taylor Staff - 7 years, 8 months ago

@C D – We've fixed this glitch and added access to the solutions directly in Practice. I hope it's helpful.

Arron Kau Staff - 7 years, 8 months ago

@Arron Kau – Very helpful thanks!

Jonathan Lowe - 7 years, 8 months ago

Can you give the link to it?

Bhargav Das - 7 years, 8 months ago

We can see here that $\frac{1}{3}$ is a zero of the polynomial.Then we can divide the polynomial by $3x -1$ and get the quadratic polynomial $x^{2}+x+5$ , which is having all its zeroes imaginary.Hence, we get the result.

Bhargav Das - 7 years, 8 months ago

If certain fractions are the zeros of a polynomial, is there a better way to find them other than by observing and performing trials?

Maharnab Mitra - 7 years, 8 months ago

since the cubic polynomial may have 3 real roots or 1 real root but never 2 real roots as in that case the rest complex root will not have any conjugate pair left. now for three real roots we get a= (-2/3) i.e
93a= -62 which is impossible as the answer must be a positive integer.[just for checking] and then being convinced with the fact that only one real root is possible i used the factorisation method same as OLIVER W. and finally got the answer 93a= 31

Shubhabrota Chakraborty - 7 years, 8 months ago

graphically we can prove that a=1/3

Ravi Teja - 7 years, 8 months ago

Isn't there a cubic formula to get the roots of a cube without trial and error?

A Former Brilliant Member - 7 years, 8 months ago

I'm just curious is there any formula or something that can directly compute the value of x in this like the quadratic equation ?

Sadman Sakib - 7 years, 8 months ago

Math	Appears as
Remember to wrap math in `\(` ... `\)` or `\[` ... `\]` to ensure proper formatting.
`2 \times 3`	$2 \times 3$
`2^{34}`	$2^{34}$
`a_{i-1}`	$a_{i-1}$
`\frac{2}{3}`	$\frac{2}{3}$
`\sqrt{2}`	$\sqrt{2}$
`\sum_{i=1}^3`	$\sum_{i=1}^3$
`\sin \theta`	$\sin \theta$
`\boxed{123}`	$\boxed{123}$