1971 AHSME Problems/Problem 20

Problem

The sum of the squares of the roots of the equation $x^2+2hx=3$ is $10$ . The absolute value of $h$ is equal to

$\textbf{(A) }-1\qquad \textbf{(B) }\textstyle\frac{1}{2}\qquad \textbf{(C) }\textstyle\frac{3}{2}\qquad \textbf{(D) }2\qquad \textbf{(E) }\text{None of these}$

Solution

We can rewrite the equation as $x^2 + 2hx - 3 = 0.$ By Vieta's Formulas, the sum of the roots is $-2h$ and the product of the roots is $-3.$

Let the two roots be $r$ and $s.$ Note that $r^2 + s^2 = (r+s)^2 - 2rs = (-2h)^2 -2(-3)$

Therefore, $4h^2 + 6 = 10$ and $h = \pm 1.$ This doesn't match any of the answer choices, so the answer is $\boxed{\textbf{(E) }\text{None of these}}.$

-edited by coolmath34

1971 AHSC (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 19	Followed by Problem 21
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25 • 26 • 27 • 28 • 29 • 30 • 31 • 32 • 33 • 34 • 35
All AHSME Problems and Solutions

The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions.

Page

Toolbox

Search

1971 AHSME Problems/Problem 20

Problem

Solution

See Also