An algebra problem by yaman malla

Algebra Level 2

If x + 1 x = 3 x + \dfrac{1}{x} = 3 , then what is x 5 + 1 x 5 x^5 + \dfrac{1}{ x^5 } ?


The answer is 123.

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10 solutions

Zach Abueg
Feb 2, 2017

x + 1 x = 3 \displaystyle \color{#D61F06}{x + \dfrac 1x = 3}

( x + 1 x ) 2 = 9 \displaystyle (x + \dfrac 1x)^2 = 9

x 2 + 1 x 2 + 2 = 9 x 2 + 1 x 2 = 7 x^2 + \dfrac {1}{x^2} + 2 = 9 \Longrightarrow \color{#CEBB00}{x^2 + \dfrac {1}{x^2} = 7}

( x + 1 x ) ( x 2 + 1 x 2 ) = 3 × 7 = 21 \displaystyle (x + \dfrac 1x)(x^2 + \dfrac {1}{x^2}) = {\color{#D61F06}{3}} \times {\color{#CEBB00}{7}} = 21

x 3 + 1 x 3 + x + 1 x = 21 x^3 + \dfrac {1}{x^3} + x + \dfrac 1x = 21

x 3 + 1 x 3 = 21 ( x + 1 x ) = 21 3 = 18 \displaystyle {\color{#20A900}{x^3 + \dfrac {1}{x^3}}} = 21 - (x + \dfrac 1x) = 21 - {\color{#D61F06}{3}} = \color{#20A900}{18}

( x 2 + 1 x 2 ) 2 = 49 \displaystyle (x^2 + \dfrac {1}{x^2})^2 = 49

x 4 + 1 x 4 + 2 = 49 x 4 + 1 x 4 = 47 x^4 + \dfrac {1}{x^4} + 2 = 49 \Longrightarrow \color{#EC7300}{x^4 + \dfrac {1}{x^4} = 47}

( x + 1 x ) ( x 4 + 1 x 4 ) = 3 × 47 \displaystyle (x + \dfrac 1x)(x^4 + \dfrac {1}{x^4}) = {\color{#D61F06}{3}} \times {\color{#EC7300}{47}}

x 5 + 1 x 5 + x 3 + 1 x 3 = 141 x^5 + \dfrac {1}{x^5} + x^3 + \dfrac {1}{x^3} = 141

x 5 + 1 x 5 = 141 ( x 3 + 1 x 3 ) = 141 18 x^5 + \dfrac {1}{x^5} = 141 - (x^3 + \dfrac {1}{x^3}) = 141 - \color{#20A900}{18}

x 5 + 1 x 5 = 123 \color{#3D99F6}{x^5 + \dfrac {1}{x^5}} = 123

This is a very colorful and clear solution!

It would be much harder to evaluate x 2017 + 1 x 2017 x^{2017} + \dfrac1{x^{2017}} , don't you think?

Pi Han Goh - 4 years, 3 months ago

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Thank you! Most definitely haha :)

Zach Abueg - 4 years, 3 months ago

It wasn't clear to me what Zach was doing until the last few lines . Why do you expand it to a power of two, three and four when the problem clearly asked for the fifth power!?

Christopher Boo - 4 years, 3 months ago

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Ah good point! A good way to make the solution clear(er) is to state that we want to find the values of (x^n + 1/x^n) is ascending order first, which is what his solution entails

Pi Han Goh - 4 years, 3 months ago

Why did you add 2 in 3rd and 8th line?

Tomáš Hulla - 4 years, 3 months ago

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(a + 1/a)^2 = a^2 + 1/a^2 + 2 ==> a^2 + 1/a^2 = (a+1/a)^2 - 2

Pi Han Goh - 4 years, 3 months ago

For this problem it neednt to be that complex. Just multiply x^2+1/x^2 and x^3+1/x^3 you can get what you want

Auguste Richards - 4 years ago

Brainiest answer

Chitra Paty - 3 years, 3 months ago
Arjen Vreugdenhil
Feb 13, 2017

The fun solution

Let L n L_n be the Lucas sequence, defined recursively by L 0 = 2 , L 1 = 1 , L n = L n 1 + L n 2 for n 2. L_0 = 2, L_1 = 1, L_n = L_{n-1} + L_{n-2}\ \text{for}\ n \geq 2. (These are like the Fibonacci numbers, but with different initial values.)

Then L n = ϕ n + ϕ ˉ n L_n = \phi^n + \bar\phi^n , where ϕ = 1 2 + 1 2 5 \phi = \tfrac12+\tfrac12\sqrt 5 and ϕ ˉ = 1 2 1 2 5 = 1 / ϕ \bar\phi = \tfrac12-\tfrac12\sqrt 5 = -1/\phi .

Now x + 1 / x = 3 = L 2 x + 1/x = 3 = L_2 implies that { x , 1 x } = { ϕ 2 , ϕ ˉ 2 } \{x,\tfrac1x\} = \{\phi^2,\bar\phi^2\} .

Immediately we find that x 5 + 1 x 5 = ( ϕ 2 ) 5 + ( ϕ ˉ 2 ) 5 = ϕ 10 + ϕ ˉ 10 = L 10 . x^5 + \frac1{x^5} = (\phi^2)^5 + (\bar\phi^2)^5 = \phi^{10} + \bar\phi^{10} = L_{10}. Generating the tenth Lucas number is not hard: L 0 = ( 2 , 1 , 3 , 4 , 7 , 11 , 18 , 29 , 47 , 76 , 123 , ) . L_{0\dots} = (2,1,3,4,7,11,18,29,47,76,\boxed{123},\dots).


The boring solution

Let N = x + 1 / x N = x + 1/x .

To generate something with x 5 x^5 and 1 / x 5 1/x^5 in it, I start with the fifth power of the given expression: N 5 = ( x + 1 x ) 5 = x 5 + 5 x 3 + 10 x + N^5 = \left(x+\frac1x\right)^5 = x^5 + 5x^3 + 10x + \cdots (The dots represent the same terms with 1 / x 1/x instead of x x .) This is a good start, but we need to get rid of the x 3 x^3 term. Therefore consider N 3 = ( x + 1 x ) 3 = x 3 + 3 x + N^3 = \left(x+\frac1x\right)^3 = x^3 + 3x + \cdots So we'll subtract N 5 5 N 3 = ( x 5 + 5 x 3 + 10 x + ) 5 ( x 3 + 3 x + ) = x 5 5 x + N^5 - 5N^3 = (x^5 + 5x^3 + 10x + \cdots) - 5(x^3 + 3x + \cdots) = x^5 - 5x + \cdots Finally, add 5 N 5N to get N 5 5 N 3 + 5 N = x 5 + 1 x 5 . N^5 - 5N^3 + 5N = x^5 + \frac{1}{x^5}. Since N = x + 1 / x = 3 N = x + 1/x = 3 , we find the solution N 5 5 N 3 + 5 N = 3 5 5 3 3 + 5 3 = 123 . N^5 - 5N^3 + 5N = 3^5 - 5\cdot 3^3 + 5\cdot 3 = \boxed{123}.

Comparing my two solutions, I essentially have proven that for Lucas numbers, when n n is even, L 5 n = L n 5 5 L n 3 + 5 L n . L_{5n} = L_n^5 - 5\cdot L_n^3 + 5L_n. For n = 0 , 2 , 4 , 6 n = 0, 2, 4, 6 we have L 0 = 2 = 2 5 5 2 3 + 5 2 ; L 10 = 123 = 3 5 5 3 3 + 5 3 ; L 20 = 15127 = 7 5 5 7 3 + 5 7 ; L 30 = 1860398 = 1 8 5 5 1 8 3 + 5 18. L_0 = 2 = 2^5 -5\cdot 2^3 + 5\cdot 2; \\ L_{10} = 123 = 3^5 - 5\cdot 3^3 + 5\cdot 3; \\ L_{20} = 15127 = 7^5 - 5\cdot 7^3 + 5\cdot 7; \\ L_{30} = 1860398 = 18^5 - 5\cdot 18^3 + 5\cdot 18. This only works for even N N because of the negative sign in 1 / ϕ = ϕ ˉ 1/\phi = -\bar\phi .

To account for odd values of N N , we need to generalize: if x ± 1 / x = N x \pm 1/x = N then x 5 ± 1 / x 5 = N 5 5 N 3 + 5 N x^5 \pm 1/x^5 = N^5 \mp 5N^3 + 5N , so that in this case L 5 n = L n 5 ( ) n 5 L n 3 + 5 L n . L_{5n} = L_n^5 - (-)^n 5 L_n^3 + 5L_n. And with n = 1 , 3 , 5 n = 1, 3, 5 we get L 5 = 11 = 1 5 + 5 1 3 + 5 1 ; L 15 = 1364 = 4 5 + 5 4 3 + 5 4 ; L 25 = 167761 = 1 1 5 + 5 1 1 3 + 5 11. L_5 = 11 = 1^5 + 5\cdot 1^3 + 5\cdot 1; \\ L_{15} = 1364 = 4^5 + 5\cdot 4^3 + 5\cdot 4; \\ L_{25} = 167761 = 11^5 + 5\cdot 11^3 + 5\cdot 11.

Arjen Vreugdenhil - 4 years, 3 months ago

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Oh wow! I didn't know you can connect Lucas numbers to this seemingly random algebraic equation!

And I didn't know you can create various formulas regarding this! You should really consider writing up a wiki page for this!

Pi Han Goh - 4 years, 3 months ago

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I didn't know either. Discovered it yesterday :)

Arjen Vreugdenhil - 4 years, 3 months ago

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@Arjen Vreugdenhil Do you see why there is such a connection?

More generally, if x + 1 x = α x + \frac{1}{x} = \alpha , and we set X n = x n + 1 x n X_n = x^n + \frac{1}{x^n} , then it satisfies the linear recurrence relation X n + 2 = α X n + 1 X n X_{n+2} = \alpha X_{n+1} - X_{n} .

You then made the "magical observation" that X n = L 2 n X_n = L_{2n} when α = 3 \alpha = 3 .

Calvin Lin Staff - 4 years, 3 months ago

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@Calvin Lin That is a nice observation, and shows how to solve this kind of problem quickly. With this recurrence, the simple solution to the problem would be: 1 + 1 1 = 2 1 + \frac 1 1 = 2 x + 1 x = 3 x + \frac 1 x = 3 x 2 + 1 x 2 = 3 3 2 = 7 x^2 + \frac 1{x^2} = 3\cdot 3 - 2 = 7 x 3 + 1 x 3 = 3 7 3 = 18 x^3 + \frac 1{x^3} = 3\cdot 7 - 3 = 18 x 4 + 1 x 4 = 3 18 7 = 47 x^4 + \frac 1{x^4} = 3\cdot 18 - 7 = 47 x 5 + 1 x 5 = 3 47 18 = 123 x^5 + \frac 1{x^5} = 3\cdot 47 - 18 = 123

Arjen Vreugdenhil - 4 years, 3 months ago

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@Arjen Vreugdenhil Yes. Written this way, it's clear how this approach relates to the newton's identities idea, where x , 1 x x, \frac{1}{x} are the roots of the equation X 2 3 X + 1 = 0 X^2 - 3X + 1 = 0 .

It also begins to explain how the chebyshev polynomials come into play, which occurs when we treat x + 1 x = 2 cos θ x + \frac{1}{x} = 2 \cos \theta or 2 cosh θ 2 \cosh \theta .

Calvin Lin Staff - 4 years, 3 months ago

@Calvin Lin Proof: X n + 2 = x n + 2 + 1 x n + 2 = x n + 2 + x n + 1 x n + 1 x n + 2 x n 1 x n = ( x + 1 x ) ( x n + 1 + 1 x n + 1 ) ( x n + 1 x n ) = α X n + 1 X n . X_{n+2} = x^{n+2} + \frac 1{x^{n+2}} \\ = x^{n+2} + x^n + \frac 1{x^n} + \frac 1{x^{n+2}} - x^n - \frac 1{x^n} \\ = \left(x + \frac 1x\right)\left(x^{n+1} + \frac 1{x^{n+1}}\right) - \left(x^n + \frac 1{x^n}\right) \\ = \alpha X_{n+1} - X_n.

Arjen Vreugdenhil - 4 years, 3 months ago
Brian Moehring
Feb 2, 2017

Take both sides of 3 = x + 1 x 3 = x + \frac{1}{x} to the third and fifth powers, grouping terms in each case: 27 = ( x + 1 x ) 3 = ( x 3 + 1 x 3 ) + 3 ( x + 1 x ) 27 = \left(x + \frac{1}{x}\right)^3 = \left(x^3 + \frac{1}{x^3}\right) + 3\left(x + \frac{1}{x}\right) 243 = ( x + 1 x ) 5 = ( x 5 + 1 x 5 ) + 5 ( x 3 + 1 x 3 ) + 10 ( x + 1 x ) 243 = \left(x + \frac{1}{x}\right)^5 = \left(x^5 + \frac{1}{x^5}\right) + 5\left(x^3+\frac{1}{x^3}\right) + 10\left(x+\frac{1}{x}\right)

Solving for x 3 + 1 x 3 x^3+\frac{1}{x^3} in the first equation: x 3 + 1 x 3 = 27 3 ( x + 1 x ) = 27 3 ( 3 ) = 18 x^3 + \frac{1}{x^3} = 27 - 3\left(x + \frac{1}{x}\right) = 27 - 3(3) = 18 and then solving for x 5 + 1 x 5 x^5 + \frac{1}{x^5} in the second equation: x 5 + 1 x 5 = 243 5 ( x 3 + 1 x 3 ) 10 ( x + 1 x ) = 243 5 ( 18 ) 10 ( 3 ) = 123 x^5 + \frac{1}{x^5} = 243 - 5\left(x^3+\frac{1}{x^3}\right) - 10\left(x+\frac{1}{x}\right) = 243 - 5(18) - 10(3) = \boxed{123}

Ah, to be clear, what Brian did was to expand the identities (a+b)^3 and (a+b)^5 to get (a^3+3a^2 b + 3ab^2 + b^3) and (a^5 + 5a^4 b + 10a^3 b^2 + 10a^2 b^3 + 5ab^4 + b^5), respectively.

Very nicely presented!

Pi Han Goh - 4 years, 3 months ago
Naren Bhandari
Feb 11, 2017

Using Binomial expansion ( x + 1 x ) 5 = ( 5 0 ) x 5 + ( 5 1 ) x 4 1 x + ( 5 2 ) x 3 1 x 2 + ( 5 3 ) x 2 1 x 3 + ( 5 4 ) x 1 x 4 + ( 5 5 ) 1 x 5 ( x + 1 x ) 5 = x 5 + 5 x 3 + 10 x + 10 x + 5 x 3 + 1 x 5 243 = ( x 5 + 1 x 5 ) + 10 ( x + 1 x ) + 5 ( x 3 + 1 x 3 ) Note ( x 5 + 1 x 5 ) = 243 30 90 = 123 \left(x+\dfrac{1}{x}\right)^5 = \binom{5}{0}x^5 + \binom{5}{1}x^4\cdot\dfrac{1}{x} + \binom{5}{2}x^3\cdot\dfrac{1}{x^2}+\binom{5}{3}x^2\cdot\dfrac{1}{x^3} + \binom{5}{4}x\cdot\dfrac{1}{x^4}+\binom{5}{5}\cdot\dfrac{1}{x^5} \\ \left(x+\dfrac{1}{x}\right)^5 = x^5+5x^3 +10x + \dfrac{10}{x} + \dfrac{5}{x^3} +\dfrac{1}{x^5} \\ 243 = \left(x^5+\dfrac{1}{x^5}\right) +10\left(x+ \dfrac{1}{x}\right) +5\underbrace{{\color{#3D99F6}\left(x^3+\dfrac{1}{x^3}\right)}}_{\text{Note}} \implies \left(x^5 +\dfrac{1}{x^5}\right) = 243 -30 - 90 =\boxed{ 123 }

Note:

( x + 1 x ) 3 = x 3 + 1 x 3 + 3 x 2 x + 3 x x 2 = x 3 + 1 x 3 + 3 ( x + 1 x ) x 3 + 1 x 3 = 3 3 3 ( 3 ) = 18 \left(x+\dfrac{1}{x}\right)^3 = x^3 + \dfrac{1}{x^3} +\dfrac{3x^2}{x} +\dfrac{3x}{x^2}=x^3+\dfrac{1}{x^3} +3\left(x+\dfrac{1}{x}\right) \\x^3+\dfrac{1}{x^3} = 3^3 -3\,(3) = 18

Not everyone is aware of Binomial Theorem, so it's always good to add a hyperlink on the term. For example, Binomial Theorem .

Christopher Boo - 4 years, 3 months ago
Tapas Mazumdar
Feb 13, 2017

First square and cube both sides to the equation to get

x 2 + 1 x 2 = 7 x^2 + \dfrac{1}{x^2} = 7

and

x 3 + 1 x 3 = 18 x^3 + \dfrac{1}{x^3} = 18

Multiplying these two equation gives

x 5 + 1 x 5 + ( x + 1 x ) = 3 = 126 x 5 + 1 x 5 = 123 x^5 + \dfrac{1}{x^5} + \underbrace{\left(x + \dfrac 1x \right)}_{= \ 3} = 126 \\ \therefore \ x^5 + \dfrac{1}{x^5} = \boxed{123}

It is not clear to me what is the idea behind finding the square and cubic? How do you know that you'll need them?

Christopher Boo - 4 years, 3 months ago

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I guessed the author consider some FOIL method of (x^2 + 1/x^2)(x^3 + 1/x^3) or something, which motivates then first 2 steps~

Pi Han Goh - 4 years, 3 months ago

Let f n ( x ) = x n + x n f_n(x)=x^n+x^{-n} And given that f 1 ( x ) = 3 f_1(x)=3 Multiplying this on both sides, we get 3 f n ( x ) = x n + 1 + x n 1 + x n + 1 + x n 1 = f n + 1 ( x ) + f n 1 ( x ) 3f_n(x)=x^{n+1}+x^{n-1}+x^{-n+1}+x^{-n-1}=f_{n+1}(x)+f_{n-1}(x) Thus we have obtained a recurrence relation where f 0 ( x ) = 2 f_0(x)=2 (trivially) and f 1 ( x ) = 3 f_1(x)=3 and f n + 2 ( x ) = 3 f n + 1 ( x ) f n ( x ) f_{n+2}(x)=3f_{n+1}(x)-f_n(x)

Since we need to only find f 5 ( x ) f_5(x) we need not solve this reccurence but instead just get next values step wise. However, if a significantly large number is to be calculated like f 2017 ( x ) f_{2017}(x) then It would be much easier to solve the recurrence relation and plug the values.

Using the former method, f 2 ( x ) = 3 3 2 = 7 f_2(x)=3*3-2=7 f 3 ( x ) = 3 7 3 = 18 f_3(x)=3*7-3=18 f 4 ( x ) = 3 18 7 = 47 f_4(x)=3*18-7=47 f 5 ( x ) = 3 47 18 = 123 f_5(x)=3*47-18=123 and using the latter equation, f n ( x ) = 2 n ( ( 3 5 ) n + ( 3 + 5 ) n ) f_n(x) = 2^{-n} ((3 - \sqrt{5})^n + (3 + \sqrt{5})^n) or f n ( x ) 0.38196 6 n + 2.6180 3 n f_n(x)≈0.381966^n + 2.61803^n f 5 ( x ) = 122.990 + 0.00813 = 122.998 f_5(x)=122.990+0.00813=122.998

Rather than raising the former expression to the fifth power, we can solve for x x in the former expression using the quadratic formula and then plug the answer into the latter expression. First, multiply all terms by x x and rearrange. x 2 + 1 = 3 x x^{2} + 1 = 3x x 2 3 x + 1 = 0 x^{2} - 3x + 1 = 0 Next, use the quadratic formula ( x = b ± b 2 4 a c 2 a x = \frac{-b \pm\sqrt{b^{2}-4ac}}{2a} ) to solve for x x . For clarity's sake, a = 1 a = 1 , b = 3 b = -3 , c = 1 c = 1 . x = 3 ± ( 3 ) 2 4 2 x = \frac{3 \pm\sqrt{(-3)^{2}-4}}{2} Simplify, x = 3 ± 5 2 x = \frac{3 \pm\sqrt{5}}{2} Both 3 + 5 2 \frac{3+\sqrt{5}}{2} and 3 5 2 \frac{3-\sqrt{5}}{2} are valid solutions; however, I will only use 3 + 5 2 \frac{3+\sqrt{5}}{2} for simplicity's sake. Plugging this answer into the latter expression, we get ( 3 + 5 2 ) 5 + ( 1 3 + 5 2 ) 5 ( 3 + 5 2 ) 5 + ( 2 3 + 5 ) 5 = 123 {\left(\frac{3+\sqrt{5}}{2}\right)}^5 +{\left(\frac{1}{\frac{3+\sqrt{5}}{2}}\right)}^5 \Longrightarrow {\left(\frac{3+\sqrt{5}}{2}\right)}^5 + {\left(\frac{2}{3+\sqrt{5}}\right)}^5 = \boxed{123}

Alan Yan
Jun 25, 2017

We define F n = x n + 1 / x n F_n = x^n + 1/x^n and there exists a recursion for this sequence: F n = F 1 F n 1 F n 2 = 3 F n 1 F n 2 . F_n = F_1F_{n-1} - F_{n-2} = 3F_{n-1} - F_{n-2}.

Thus, we can calculate F 1 = 3 , F 2 = 7 , F 3 = 18 , F 4 = 47 , F 5 = 123. F_1 = 3, F_2 = 7, F_3 = 18, F_4 = 47, F_5 = 123.

Adrian Ciurea
May 21, 2017

Appylying Newton's binomail theorem for (x+ 1 x \frac{1}{x} )^5 we will obatin: x^5+5 x^3+10 x+ 10 x \frac{10}{x} + 5 x 3 \frac{5}{x^3} + 1 x 5 \frac{1}{x^5} =3^5=243 Now we will group the therms in a convenable way. x^5+ 1 x 5 \frac{1}{x^5} +5(x^3+ 1 x 3 \frac{1}{x^3} )+10(x+ 1 x \frac{1}{x} )=243 but we know that x+ 1 x \frac{1}{x} =3, so . x^5+ 1 x 5 \frac{1}{x^5} +5(x^3+ 1 x 3 \frac{1}{x^3} )=243-10 3=213. Now we apply Newton's binomail theorem for (x+ 1 x \frac{1}{x} )^3=3^3=27. I'll skip to grouping. x^3+ 1 x 3 \frac{1}{x^3} +3(x+ 1 x \frac{1}{x} )=27 => x^3+ 1 x 3 \frac{1}{x^3} =27-8=18. x^5+ 1 x 5 \frac{1}{x^5} +5 18=213, so x^5+ 1 x 5 \frac{1}{x^5} =213-(5*18)=123. No need to apply the binome for x∈[1;5] ∩N.

Nikola Djuric
Feb 13, 2017

x+1/x=3, so x²+1=3x, x^5=x³(3x-1)=3x⁴-x³=(3x-1)(3x²-x)= (3x-1)(3(3x-1)-x)=(3x-1)(8x-3)= 24(3x-1)-17x+3=55x-21 so x^5+1/x^5=((55x-21)²+1)/(55x-21) =(3025(3x-1)-2310x+442)/(55x-21)= (6765x-2583)/(55x-21)=123

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