MHB Proving $x-1$ is a Factor of $P(x)$ with Polynomials

  • Thread starter Thread starter anemone
  • Start date Start date
  • Tags Tags
    Polynomials
Click For Summary
To prove that $x-1$ is a factor of $P(x)$, the equation $P(x^5)+xQ(x^5)+x^2R(x^5)=(x^4+x^3+x^2+x+1)S(x)$ must be analyzed at $x=1$. Substituting $x=1$ simplifies the left side to $P(1^5) + 1Q(1^5) + 1^2R(1^5)$, which equals $P(1) + Q(1) + R(1)$. The right side becomes $(1^4 + 1^3 + 1^2 + 1 + 1)S(1) = 5S(1)$. Setting these equal leads to the conclusion that $P(1) + Q(1) + R(1) = 5S(1)$. Since $S(1)$ is a polynomial, this implies that $P(1)$ must equal 0, confirming that $x-1$ is indeed a factor of $P(x)$.
anemone
Gold Member
MHB
POTW Director
Messages
3,851
Reaction score
115
If $P(x),\,Q(x),\,R(x),\,S(x)$ are polynomials such that $P(x^5)+xQ(x^5)+x^2R(x^5)=(x^4+x^3+x^2+x+1)S(x)$, prove that $x-1$ is a factor of $P(x)$.
 
Mathematics news on Phys.org
Let $P(x)=a_nx^n+\cdots+a_0x^0$ with $a_n\ne 0$. Comparing the coefficients of $x^{n+1}$ on both sides gives $a_n(n-2m)(n-1)=0$, so $n=1$ or $n=2m$.

If $n=1$, one easily verifies that $P(x)=x$ is a solution, while $P(x)=1$ is not. Since the given condition is linear in $P$, this means that the linear solutions are precisely $P(x)=tx$ for $t\in \mathbb{R} $.

Now, assume that $n=2m$. The polynomial $xP(x+1)-(x+1)P(x)=(n-1)a_nx^n+\cdots$ has degree $n$, and therefore it has at least one (possibly complex) root $r$. If $r\ne \{0,\,-1\}$, define $k=\dfrac{P(r)}{r}=\dfrac{P(r+1)}{r+1}$. If $r=0$, let $k=P(1)$. If $r=-1$, let $k=-P(-1)$. We now consider the polynomial $S(x)=P(x)-kx$. It also satisfies (1) because $P(x)$ and $kx$ satisfy it. Additionally, it has the useful property that $r$ and $r+1$ are roots.

Let $A(x)=x^3-mx^2+1$ and $B(x)=x^3+mx^2+1$. Plugging in $x=s$ into (1) implies that

If $s-1$ and $s$ are roots of $S$ and $s$ is not a root of $A$, then $s+1$ is a root of $S$.
If $s$ and $s+1$ are roots of $S$ and $s$ is not a root of $B$, then $s-1$ is a root of $S$.

Let $a\ge 0$ and $b\ge 1$ be such that $r-a,\,r-a+1,\,\cdots, r,\,r+1,\.\cdots,\,r+b-1,\,r+b$ are roots of $S$, while $r-a-1$ and $r+b+1$ are not. The two statements above imply that $r-a$ is a root of $B$ and $r+b$ is a root of $A$.

Since $r-a$ is a root of $B(x)$ and of $A(x+a+b)$, it is also a root of their greatest common divisior $C(x)$ as integer polynomials. If $C(x)$ was a non-trivial divisor of $B(x)$, then $B$ would have a rational root $\alpha$. Since the first and last coefficients of $B$ are 1, $\alpha$ can only be 1 or $-1$, but $B(-1)=m>0$ and $B(1)=m+2>0$ since $n=2m$.

Therefore $B(x)=A(x+a+b)$. Writing $c=a_b\ge 1$, we compute

$0=A(x+c)-B(x)=(3c-2m)x^2+c(3c-2m)x^2+c(3c-2m)x+c^2(c-m)$

Then we must have $3c-2m=c-m=0$, which gives $m=0$, a contradiction. We could conclude that $f(x)=tx$ is the only solution.
 
Here is a little puzzle from the book 100 Geometric Games by Pierre Berloquin. The side of a small square is one meter long and the side of a larger square one and a half meters long. One vertex of the large square is at the center of the small square. The side of the large square cuts two sides of the small square into one- third parts and two-thirds parts. What is the area where the squares overlap?

Similar threads

  • · Replies 48 ·
2
Replies
48
Views
3K
  • · Replies 8 ·
Replies
8
Views
3K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • · Replies 5 ·
Replies
5
Views
1K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
2K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K
  • · Replies 2 ·
Replies
2
Views
1K
  • · Replies 7 ·
Replies
7
Views
1K
  • · Replies 1 ·
Replies
1
Views
1K