Skip to main content
OlympiadHQ

Browse · MATH

Print

jmc

algebra junior

Problem

If is a constant such that is equal to the square of a binomial, then what is ?
Solution
If is the square of a binomial, then because the coefficient of is , the binomial must be of the form for some .

Expanding, we have . For this to be equal to , the coefficients of must agree, so must be equal to . This gives , and so the constant term is .
Final answer
2500