Let f ( x ) be a polynomial with four real zeros and with a property
f ( 1 0 + x ) = f ( 1 0 − x )
Then what is the sum of its zeros?
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@Tom Engelsman solution involves Vieta's Formulas but there is a little faster method.
Let f ( x ) = Q ( x ) ( x − a ) ( x − b ) ( x − c ) ( x − d ) : f ( 1 0 − x ) = f ( 1 0 + x ) with a , b , c , d ∈ R
From the symmetry, we know WLOG that
2 a + b = 1 0 ∧ 2 c + d = 1 0
Adding these:
2 a + b + 2 c + d = 1 0 + 1 0 = 2 0
And finally, we get
a + b + c + d = 4 0
Yup, it's a good solution too. Thanks, Henri!
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Let f ( x ) = ( x − a ) ( x − b ) ( x − c ) ( x − d ) with a , b , c , d ∈ R . If f ( 1 0 + x ) = f ( 1 0 − x ) , then:
[ ( 1 0 − a ) + x ] [ ( 1 0 − b ) + x ] [ ( 1 0 − c ) + x ] [ ( 1 0 − d ) + x ] = [ ( 1 0 − a ) − x ] [ ( 1 0 − b ) − x ] [ ( 1 0 − c ) − x ] [ ( 1 0 − d ) − x ] (i).
By Vieta's Formulae, the sum of the four zeros of f is computed via:
( 1 0 − a ) + ( 1 0 − b ) + ( 1 0 − c ) + ( 1 0 − d ) = − ( 1 0 − a ) − ( 1 0 − b ) − ( 1 0 − c ) − ( 1 0 − d ) ;
or 4 0 − ( a + b + c + d ) = − 4 0 + ( a + b + c + d ) ;
or 8 0 = 2 ( a + b + c + d ) ;
or 4 0 = a + b + c + d .