Find the sum of possible positive values of b. [ Both the roots of f(x,0) are equal and have value 2 ]
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If f ( x , 0 ) = 0 has both roots equal to x = 2 , then x 2 + 2 a x + c = ( x − 2 ) 2 = x 2 − 4 x + 4 = 0 ⇒ a = − 2 , c = 4 . If f ( 0 , y ) = 0 has only integral roots, then y 2 + 2 b y + 4 = 0 , or:
y = 2 − 2 b ± 4 b 2 − 1 6 = − b ± b 2 − 4 (i).
We require the discriminant in (i) to be a perfect square if y ∈ Z . Thus, b 2 − 4 = N 2 ⇒ b 2 − N 2 = ( b + N ) ( b − N ) = 4 . The positive divisors of 4 are just 1, 2, or 4, which testing in each factor gives:
b + N = 2 , b − N = 2 ⇒ b = 2 (ii)
b + N = 4 , b − N = 1 ⇒ b = 2 5 (iii).
Substituting (ii) and (iii) back into (i) yields:
b = 2 ⇒ y = − 2 ± 4 − 4 = − 2
b = 2 5 ⇒ y = − 2 5 ± 4 2 5 − 4 = − 2 5 ± 2 3 = − 1 , − 4 .
So the sum of all positive b equals 2 + 2 5 = 4 . 5 .