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2010 AMC 10A Problem 21

Problem 21 of 25HarderAlgebraNumber Theory

The polynomial x3ax2+bx2010x^3-ax^2+bx-2010 has three positive integer zeros. What is the smallest possible value of a?a?

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Solution

Let the roots be positive integers rst.r\le s\le t. By Vieta’s formulas, rst=2010rst=2010 and a=r+s+t.a=r+s+t. Since 2010=23567,2010=2\cdot3\cdot5\cdot67, one root must be divisible by 67.67. If that root is larger than 67,67, then it is at least 134,134, which is already worse than the construction below. Thus take t=67t=67 and minimize r+sr+s with rs=30.rs=30. The factor pair with smallest sum is 55 and 6,6, so a=5+6+67=78.a=5+6+67=78. Thus, A is the correct answer.

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Concepts: Vieta’s Formulas · prime factorization · optimization

Problem text and solution from the LIVE past-contest archive. See also the AoPS wiki page for community solutions.