What is the sum of all real x such that
( 2 x − 4 ) 3 + ( 4 x − 2 ) 3 = ( 4 x + 2 x − 6 ) 3 ?
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Excellent :D
We know that ( 2 x − 4 ) + ( 4 x − 2 ) = 4 x + 2 x − 6
So we can rewrite this question as a 3 + b 3 = ( a + b ) 3
By expanding and simplifying, we find that 0 = a 2 b + b 2 a = a b ( a + b )
By re-substituting a and b, we find that ( 2 x − 4 ) ( 4 x − 2 ) ( 4 x + 2 x − 6 ) = 0
If any individual multiplier is 0, this statement will be true so
2 x − 4 = 0
4 x − 2 = 0
4 x + 2 x − 6 = 0
The first two are fairly easy to simplify and we find that x = 2 , 2 1
The third is not as clear to see, but it can be rewritten as a "quadratic" and factored as ( 2 x ) 2 + 2 x − 6 = 0
( 2 x + 3 ) ( 2 x − 2 ) = 0
Now we can see our final x value of x = 1
Overall S u m = 3 . 5
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Take 2 x − 4 as a , 4 x − 2 as b , and apply a 3 + b 3 = ( a + b ) 3 , which gives a + b = 0 and a b = 0 . Solving, we get x = 2 , 2 1 , 1 . Summing up, we get x = 2 7 .