2004 AMC 12A Problem 23

Since $z_1 = a_1 + b_1 i = 0$ is a root, $c_0 = P(0) = 0.$ The nonreal zeros occur in conjugate pairs, so $\sum b_k = 0,$ and the hypothesis then forces $\sum a_k = 0.$ The coefficient $c_{2003}$ equals $-c_{2004}$ times the sum of the roots $\sum a_k + i \sum b_k = 0,$ so $c_{2003} = 0.$ Because the degree is even, at least one of $z_2, \ldots, z_{2004}$ is real, making one $b_k = 0,$ so $b_2 b_3 \cdots b_{2004} = 0.$ Thus (A) through (D) all must be $0.$ On the other hand, $\sum_{k=1}^{2004} c_k = P(1),$ and a valid polynomial such as $P(x) = x(x - 2)(x - 3) \cdots$ $\cdot (x - 2003)$ $\cdot \left(x + \sum_{k=2}^{2003} k\right)$ has $P(1) \ne 0.$ So only $\sum c_k$ can be nonzero. Thus, the correct answer is E.