Let a, b, c be nonzero real numbers such that a+b+c=0 and a3+b3+c3=a5+b5+c5. Find the value of a2+b2+c2.
Solution — click to reveal
From the factorization a3+b3+c3−3abc=(a+b+c)(a2+b2+c2−ab−ac−bc),we know that a3+b3+c3=3abc.
Since a+b+c=0,c=−a−b, so a5+b5+c5=a5+b5−(a+b)5=−5a4b−10a3b2−10a2b3−5ab4=−5ab(a3+2a2b+2ab2+b3)=−5ab[(a3+b3)+(2a2b+2ab2)]=−5ab[(a+b)(a2−ab+b2)+2ab(a+b)]=−5ab(a+b)(a2+ab+b2)=5abc(a2+ab+b2),so 3abc=5abc(a2+ab+b2).Since a,b,c are all nonzero, we can write a2+ab+b2=53.Hence, a2+b2+c2=a2+b2+(a+b)2=a2+b2+a2+2ab+b2=2a2+2ab+2b2=2(a2+ab+b2)=56.