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2007 AMC 12A Problem 21

Problem 21 of 25HarderAlgebra

The sum of the zeros, the product of the zeros, and the sum of the coefficients of the function f(x)=ax2+bx+cf(x)=ax^2+bx+c are equal. Their common value must also be which of the following?

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Solution

The product of the zeros is ca\tfrac ca and the sum of the zeros is −ba.-\tfrac ba. Equating them gives c=−b.c=-b. Then the sum of the coefficients is a+b+c=a,a+b+c=a, which is the coefficient of x2.x^2. The other choices fail in general: for f(x)=−2x2−4x+4f(x)=-2x^2-4x+4 the common value is −2,-2, but the coefficient of xx is −4,-4, the yy-intercept is 4,4, the xx-intercepts are −1±3,-1\pm\sqrt3, and their mean is −1.-1. Thus, the correct answer is A.
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Tagged: Vieta’s Formulas · quadratic

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