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Croatia algebra
Problem
Let be a real number. Determine the sum of all three solutions of the equation
Solution
Let us write the equation as: Group the terms: This is a cubic equation of the form: where and .
By Vieta's formulas, the sum of the roots of the cubic equation is (since the coefficient of is ).
Therefore, the sum of all three solutions is .
By Vieta's formulas, the sum of the roots of the cubic equation is (since the coefficient of is ).
Therefore, the sum of all three solutions is .
Final answer
0
Techniques
Vieta's formulas