Browse · MATH
Printjmc
algebra senior
Problem
Consider all polynomials of the form where for all Find the number of such polynomials that have exactly two different integer roots.
Solution
If all the are equal to 0, then the polynomial becomes which has only one integer root, namely Thus, we can assume that there is some coefficient that is non-zero. Let be the smallest integer such that ; then we can take out a factor of to get By the Integer Root Theorem, any integer root of must divide so the only possible integer roots are 1 and However, if we plug in we see that and all the other terms are nonnegative, so cannot be a root.
Therefore, for the original polynomial to have two different integer roots, they must be 0 and For 0 to be a root, it suffices to take and the polynomial is We also want to be a root. We have that so in order for the polynomial to become 0 at we must choose some of the to be equal to 1. Specifically, if is the number of such that and is odd, then the number of such that and is even must be
There are four indices that are odd (1, 3, 5, 7), and four indices that are even (2, 4, 6, 8), so the possible values of are 0, 1, 2, and 3. Furthermore, for each so the number of ways to choose odd indices and even indices is Therefore, the number of such polynomials is
Therefore, for the original polynomial to have two different integer roots, they must be 0 and For 0 to be a root, it suffices to take and the polynomial is We also want to be a root. We have that so in order for the polynomial to become 0 at we must choose some of the to be equal to 1. Specifically, if is the number of such that and is odd, then the number of such that and is even must be
There are four indices that are odd (1, 3, 5, 7), and four indices that are even (2, 4, 6, 8), so the possible values of are 0, 1, 2, and 3. Furthermore, for each so the number of ways to choose odd indices and even indices is Therefore, the number of such polynomials is
Final answer
56