A polynomial is of degree . It is differentiated 2015 times to get .
If the equation has distinct roots, then what is the sum of all the possible values of ?
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Let P ( x ) = i = 0 ∑ 2 0 1 5 a i x i = a 0 + a 1 x + a 2 x 2 + ⋯ + a 2 0 1 5 x 2 0 1 5
After differentiating it 2 0 1 5 times, we get Q ( x ) = 2 0 1 5 ! × a 2 0 1 5
⟹ ⟹ P ( x ) = Q ( x ) a 0 + a 1 x + a 2 x 2 + ⋯ + a 2 0 1 5 x 2 0 1 5 = 2 0 1 5 ! × a 2 0 1 5 ( a 0 − 2 0 1 5 ! × a 2 0 1 5 ) + a 1 x + a 2 x 2 + ⋯ + a 2 0 1 5 x 2 0 1 5 = 0
This is just a polynomial of degree 2015 with real coefficients, and can have any number of distinct roots from 1 to 2 0 1 5 . This means n ∈ { 1 , 2 , 3 , … , 2 0 1 5 } .
Therefore sum of all possible values of n = 1 + 2 + 3 + ⋯ + 2 0 1 5 = 2 2 0 1 5 × 2 0 1 6 = 2 0 3 1 1 2 0 □