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2017 AMC 10A Problem 24

Problem 24 of 25HarderAlgebra

For certain real numbers a,a, b,b, and c,c, the polynomial g(x)=x3+ax2+x+10g(x) = x^3 + ax^2 + x + 10 has three distinct roots, and each root of g(x)g(x) is also a root of the polynomial f(x)=x4+x3+bx2+100x+c. \begin{aligned} f(x) &= x^4 + x^3 \\ &\quad {}+ bx^2 + 100x + c. \end{aligned} What is f(1)?f(1)?

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Solution

Because the three distinct roots of the cubic gg are also roots of the monic quartic f,f, we can write f(x)=g(x)(xr)f(x)=g(x)(x-r) for some real number r.r. The coefficient of xx in this product is 10r,10-r, so 10r=10010-r=100 and r=90.r=-90. The coefficient of x3x^3 is ar,a-r, so ar=1a-r=1 and a=89.a=-89. Therefore, f(1)=g(1)(1r)=(189+1+10)(91)=(77)(91)=7007.\begin{aligned} f(1)&=g(1)(1-r)\\ &=(1-89+1+10)(91)\\ &=(-77)(91)\\ &=-7007. \end{aligned} Thus, C is the correct answer.

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Concepts: polynomial · factoring

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