Browse · harp
Printsmc
algebra senior
Problem
Let and be integers. Suppose that the product of the solutions for of the equation is the smallest possible integer. What is ?
(A)
(B)
(C)
(D)
Solution
Rearranging logs, the original equation becomes By Vieta's Theorem, the sum of the possible values of is . But the sum of the possible values of is the logarithm of the product of the possible values of . Thus the product of the possible values of is equal to . It remains to minimize the integer value of . Since , we can check that and work. Thus the answer is .
Final answer
A