Find all values of such that the arithmetic mean of the roots is equal to one of the roots.
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The three roots can be represented by a − h , a , a + h , since the arithmetic mean of the roots must equal one of the roots. I then use Vieta's formulas to form a system of equations. a = 3 3 + t a ( a + h ) + a ( a − h ) + ( a − h ) ( a + h ) = 2 + 3 t a ( a + h ) ( a − h ) = 2 t The second equation can be rearranged as ( a + h ) ( a − h ) = 2 + 3 t − 2 a 2 , which can then be substituted into the third.Then use the first equation to get an equation only in t : ( 3 t + 3 ) ( 2 + 3 t − 2 ( 3 t + 3 ) 2 ) = 2 t ⇒ t ( 2 t 2 − 9 t + 9 ) = 0 ⇒ t = 0 , 2 3 , 3