2001 AMC 12 Problems/Problem 23

Revision as of 00:26, 29 December 2016 by E power pi times i (talk | contribs) (Solution 2)

Problem

A polynomial of degree four with leading coefficient 1 and integer coefficients has two zeros, both of which are integers. Which of the following can also be a zero of the polynomial?

$\text{(A) }\frac {1 + i \sqrt {11}}{2} \qquad \text{(B) }\frac {1 + i}{2} \qquad \text{(C) }\frac {1}{2} + i \qquad \text{(D) }1 + \frac {i}{2} \qquad \text{(E) }\frac {1 + i \sqrt {13}}{2}$

Solution

Let the polynomial be $P$ and let the two integer zeros be $z_1$ and $z_2$. We can then write $P(x)=(x-z_1)(x-z_2)(x^2+ax+b)$ for some integers $a$ and $b$.

If a complex number $p+qi$ with $q\not=0$ is a root of $P$, it must be the root of $x^2+ax+b$, and the other root of $x^2+ax+b$ must be $p-qi$.

We can then write $x^2+ax+b = (x-p-qi)(x-p+qi) = (x-p)^2 - (qi)^2 = x^2 - 2px + p^2 + q^2$.

We can now examine each of the five given complex numbers, and find the one for which the values $-2p$ and $p^2+q^2$ are integers. This is $\boxed{\frac {1 + i \sqrt {11}}{2}}$, for which we have $-2p = -2\cdot\frac 12 = -1$ and $p^2+q^2 = \left( \frac 12 \right)^2 + \left( \frac {\sqrt{11}}2 \right)^2 = \frac 14 + \frac {11}4 = \frac {12}4 = 3$.

(As an example, the polynomial $x^4 - 2x^3 + 4x^2 - 3x$ has zeroes $0$, $1$, and $\frac {1 \pm i \sqrt {11}}{2}$.)

Solution 2

By Vieta, we know that the product of all four zeros of the polynomial equals the constant at the end of the polynomial. We also know that the two imaginary roots are a conjugate pair (I.E if one is a+bi, the other is a-bi). So the two imaginary roots must multiply to give you an integer. Taking the 5 answers into hand, we find that $\boxed{\frac {1 + i \sqrt {11}}{2}}$ is our only integer giving solution.

See Also

2001 AMC 12 (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 22
Followed by
Problem 24
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
All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

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