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Problem 13 Polynomials

The document is a problem about determining the value of a polynomial P(x) given that its degree is 2008, its leading coefficient is 1, and it is equal to the integers from 2007 down to 0 at inputs from 0 to 2007. It shows that considering the related polynomial Q(x)=P(x)-2007+x, which has the same roots, allows rewriting Q(x) as the product of its linear factors. Therefore, Q(2008)=2008!, and substituting this back into the definition of Q(x) gives P(2008)=2008!-1.

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67 views

Problem 13 Polynomials

The document is a problem about determining the value of a polynomial P(x) given that its degree is 2008, its leading coefficient is 1, and it is equal to the integers from 2007 down to 0 at inputs from 0 to 2007. It shows that considering the related polynomial Q(x)=P(x)-2007+x, which has the same roots, allows rewriting Q(x) as the product of its linear factors. Therefore, Q(2008)=2008!, and substituting this back into the definition of Q(x) gives P(2008)=2008!-1.

Uploaded by

seansoni
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
Available Formats
Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Problem 13: Polynomials HMMT 2008 Guts #13

Problem: Let P (x) be a polynomial with degree 2008 and leading coefficient 1 such that

P (0) = 2007, P (1) = 2006, P (2) = 2005, . . . , P (2007) = 0.

Determine the value of P (2008).

Solution: We want to find a way to relate P (x) to a polynomial we know the roots of.
We consider polynomial Q(x) = P (x) − 2007 + x. Notice that Q(x) has a root for x =
0, 1, 2, ..., 2007. So we can rewrite Q(x) as Q(x) = x(x − 1)(x − 2)...(x − 2006)(x − 2007).

So we know Q(2008) = 2008! and we can just plug in 2008 for x, so we get P (2008) =
Q(2008) + 2007 − x = 2008! − 1 .

Solution was written by Sean Soni and compiled from Art of Problem Solving Forums.

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