Find the quadratic function f(x)=x2+ax+b such that f(x)f(f(x)+x)=x2+1776x+2010.
Solution — click to reveal
We have that f(f(x)+x)=f(x2+(a+1)x+b)=(x2+(a+1)x+b)2+a(x2+(a+1)x+b)+b=x4+(2a+2)x3+(a2+3a+2b+1)x2+(a2+2ab+a+2b)x+(ab+b2+b).We can write this as x4+(2a+2)x3+(a2+3a+2b+1)x2+(a2+2ab+a+2b)x+(ab+b2+b)=x2(x2+ax+b)+(a+2)x3+(a2+3a+b+1)x2+(a2+2ab+a+2b)x+(ab+b2+b)=x2(x2+ax+b)+(a+2)x⋅(x2+ax+b)+(a+b+1)x2+(a2+ab+a)x+(ab+b2+b)=x2(x2+ax+b)+(a+2)x⋅(x2+ax+b)+(a+b+1)(x2+ax+b)=(x2+ax+b)(x2+(a+2)x+(a+b+1)).(The factor of f(x)=x2+ax+b should not be surprising. Why?)
Thus, we want a and b to satisfy a+2=1776 and a+b+1=2010. Solving, we find a=1774 and b=235, so f(x)=x2+1774x+235.