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AMC 12 Mock Exam 2 Problem 22

Problem 22 of 25

The polynomial P(x)=x3+ax2+bx+cP(x)=x^3+ax^2+bx+c has integer coefficients and three integer roots, not necessarily distinct, and a+b+c=23a+b+c=23. How many such polynomials are there?

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Solution

If the roots are r,s,tr,s,t, then P(x)=(x−r)(x−s)(x−t)P(x)=(x-r)(x-s)(x-t), so (1−r)(1−s)(1−t)=P(1)=1+a+b+c=24.(1-r)(1-s)(1-t)=P(1)=1+a+b+c=24. Conversely, any multiset {r,s,t}\{r,s,t\} of integers with (1−r)(1−s)(1−t)=24(1-r)(1-s)(1-t)=24 gives a valid polynomial, and different multisets give different polynomials. With u=1−ru=1-r, v=1−sv=1-s, w=1−tw=1-t, we count multisets {u,v,w}\{u,v,w\} of nonzero integers with product 2424. Either all three are positive or exactly two are negative.

All positive: {1,1,24},{1,2,12},{1,3,8},{1,4,6},{2,2,6},{2,3,4}\{1,1,24\},\{1,2,12\},\{1,3,8\},\{1,4,6\},\{2,2,6\},\{2,3,4\}: 66 multisets.

Two negative: start from one of these six and choose which value stays positive. A multiset with three different values gives 33 choices; {1,1,24}\{1,1,24\} and {2,2,6}\{2,2,6\} give 22 each. That is 4⋅3+2⋅2=164\cdot3+2\cdot2=16.

The total is 6+16=226+16=\boxed{22}.

Tagged: Vieta with integer roots · signed factorizations