Just apply Vieta's

Algebra Level 5

Find the number of ordered pairs ( m , n ) (m,n) such that for the function

f ( x ) = x 2 + m x + n , f(x) = x^2 + mx + n ,

we have f ( m ) = 0 , f ( n ) = 0 f(m) = 0, f(n) = 0 .

4 2 0 3 1

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1 solution

Sharky Kesa
Apr 2, 2016

Let f ( x ) = x 2 + m x + n f(x)=x^2 + mx + n . We have

f ( m ) = 2 m 2 + n = 0 f ( n ) = n 2 + m n + n = 0 n = 2 m 2 and n ( n + m + 1 ) = 0 2 m 2 ( 2 m 2 + m + 1 ) = 0 2 m 2 ( m 1 ) ( 2 m + 1 ) = 0 \begin{aligned} f(m) &= 2m^2+n &= 0\\ f(n) &= n^2 + mn + n &= 0\\ \Rightarrow n&=-2m^2 \text{ and } n(n+m+1) &= 0\\ \Rightarrow \quad & -2m^2 (-2m^2 + m + 1) &= 0\\ \Rightarrow \quad & 2m^2(m-1)(2m+1) &= 0 \end{aligned}

Thus, we have 3 solutions for m m , which are m = 1 2 , 0 , 1 m= - \frac {1}{2}, 0, 1 . From this, we get all solutions are

( m , n ) = ( 1 2 , 1 2 ) , ( 0 , 0 ) , ( 1 , 2 ) (m, n) = (-\dfrac{1}{2}, -\dfrac {1}{2}), (0, 0), (1, -2)

Thus, there are 3 ordered solutions.

This is already posted on Brilliant. Free Points .

Nihar Mahajan - 5 years, 2 months ago

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LOL, didn't know about that, but it was years ago.

Sharky Kesa - 5 years, 2 months ago

What's the problem with Vieta's?

Saurabh Chaturvedi - 5 years, 2 months ago

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The question asks for ordered pairs, not the roots.

Nihar Mahajan - 5 years, 2 months ago

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Thanks. The title is misleading...

Saurabh Chaturvedi - 5 years, 2 months ago

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@Saurabh Chaturvedi I know, this question is a bit tricky :P

Nihar Mahajan - 5 years, 2 months ago

mn=n implies n=0 or m=1. How -1/2 came from this?

Prince Loomba - 4 years, 9 months ago

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