2021 AMC 12B Problems/Problem 18

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Problem

Let $z$ be a complex number satisfying $12|z|^2=2|z+2|^2+|z^2+1|^2+31.$ What is the value of $z+\frac 6z?$

$\textbf{(A) }-2 \qquad \textbf{(B) }-1 \qquad \textbf{(C) }\frac12\qquad \textbf{(D) }1 \qquad \textbf{(E) }4$

Solution

The answer being in the form $z+\frac 6z$ means that there are two solutions, some complex number and its complex conjugate. \[a+bi = \frac{6}{a-bi}\] \[a^2+b^2=6\] We should then be able to test out some ordered pairs of $(a, b)$. After testing it out, we get the ordered pairs of $(-1, \sqrt{5})$ and its conjugate $(-1, -\sqrt{5})$. Plugging this into answer format gives us $\boxed{\textbf{(A) }-2}$ ~Lopkiloinm

See Also

2021 AMC 12B (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 17
Followed by
Problem 19
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All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

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