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2017 AMC 12B Problem 23

Problem 23 of 25HarderAlgebra

The graph of y=f(x),y = f(x), where f(x)f(x) is a polynomial of degree 3,3, contains points A(2,4),A(2, 4), B(3,9),B(3, 9), and C(4,16).C(4, 16). Lines AB,AB, AC,AC, and BCBC intersect the graph again at points D,D, E,E, and F,F, respectively, and the sum of the xx-coordinates of D,D, E,E, and FF is 24.24. What is f(0)?f(0)?

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Solution

The points A,B,CA, B, C lie on y=x2,y = x^2, so g(x)=f(x)−x2g(x) = f(x) - x^2 has roots 2,3,4:2, 3, 4: g(x)=a(x−2)(x−3)(x−4)g(x) = a(x-2)(x-3)(x-4) for some a≠0.a \ne 0. The coefficients of x3x^3 and x2x^2 in ff are aa and 1−9a,1 - 9a, so by Vieta the three roots of f(x)−L(x)f(x) - L(x) (for any linear LL) sum to 9−1a.9 - \tfrac1a. The lines AB,AC,BCAB, AC, BC meet the cubic in triples {2,3,xD},\{2, 3, x_D\}, {2,4,xE},\{2, 4, x_E\}, {3,4,xF},\{3, 4, x_F\}, so xD+xE+xF=3(9−1a)−2(2+3+4)=9−3a=24, \begin{aligned} &x_D + x_E + x_F \\ &\quad {}= 3\left(9 - \tfrac1a\right) \\ &\quad {}- 2(2 + 3 + 4) \\ &\quad {}= 9 - \tfrac3a = 24, \end{aligned} giving a=−15.a = -\tfrac15. Then f(x)=x2f(x) = x^2 −15(x−2)(x−3)(x−4),- \tfrac15(x-2)(x-3)(x-4), so f(0)=0−15(−2)(−3)(−4)f(0) = 0 - \tfrac15(-2)(-3)(-4) =245.= \tfrac{24}{5}. Thus, the correct answer is D.
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Tagged: Vieta’s Formulas · polynomial

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