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jmc

algebra senior

Problem

Let be a quadratic with roots and . If and are integers, how many different values of are possible?
Solution
Without loss of generality, let be the smaller root. In the quadratic , the roots sum to and multiply to . Therefore, and . Since and must be integers, there are only 4 positive integer pairs of such that the two multiply to 24 -- -- and the 4 corresponding negations of those values. Note that for each of these , each is distinct. Because , the value of does not change if the order of the roots are reversed, so there are only possible values of .
Final answer
8