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Mathematica competitions in Croatia

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 .
Final answer
0

Techniques

Vieta's formulas