Polynomial Coefficient Minimum
Suppose the polynomial
$$f(x) = a_nx^n + a_{n-1}x^{n-1} + \cdots + a_2x^2 + a_1x + a_0$$has integer coefficients, and its roots are distinct integers.
Given that $ a_n=2 $ and $ a_0=66 $, what is the least possible value of $ |a_{n-1}| $?
- 1
- 2
- 3
- +
- 4
- 5
- 6
- -
- 7
- 8
- 9
- $\frac{a}{b}$
- .
- 0
- =
- %
- $a^n$
- $a^{\circ}$
- $a_n$
- $\sqrt{}$
- $\sqrt[n]{}$
- $\pi$
- $\ln{}$
- $\log$
- $\theta$
- $\sin{}$
- $\cos{}$
- $\tan{}$
- $($
- $)$
- $[$
- $]$
- $\cap$
- $\cup$
- $,$
- $\infty$
Solution
Since $ f(x) $ has integer coefficients, the Integer Root Theorem tells us that all integer roots of $ f(x) $ must divide the constant term $ 66=2\cdot 3\cdot 11 $. Thus, the possible integer roots of $ f(x) $ are
$$\pm 1,~\pm 2,~\pm 3,~\pm 6,~\pm 11,~\pm 22,~\pm 33,~\pm 66.$$Moreover, since we know that all roots of $ f(x) $ are integers, we know that all roots of $ f(x) $ appear in the list above.
Now we apply Vieta's formulas. The product of the roots of $ f(x) $ is $ (-1)^n\cdot\frac{a_0}{a_n} $, which is $ 33 $ or $ -33 $. Also, the sum of the roots is $ -\frac{a_{n-1}}{a_n}=-\frac{a_{n-1}}2 $. Thus, in order to minimize $ |a_{n-1}| $, we should make the absolute value of the sum of the roots as small as possible, working under the constraint that the product of the roots must be $ 33 $ or $ -33 $.
We now consider two cases.
Case 1 is that one of $ 33,-33 $ is a root, in which case the only other possible roots are $ \pm 1 $. In this case, the absolute value of the sum of the roots is at least $ 32 $.
The alternative, Case 2, is that one of $ 11,-11 $ is a root and one of $ 3,-3 $ is a root. Again, the only other possible roots are $ \pm 1 $, so the absolute value of the sum of the roots is at least $ 11-3-1=7 $, which is better than the result of Case 1. If the absolute value of the sum of the roots is $ 7 $, then $ |a_{n-1}|=7|a_n|=7\cdot 2=14 $.
Therefore, we have shown that $ |a_{n-1}|\ge 14 $, and we can check that equality is achieved by
\begin{align*}
f(x) &= 2(x+11)(x-3)(x-1) \\
&= 2x^3+14x^2-82x+66,
\end{align*}which has integer coefficients and integer roots. So the least possible value of $ |a_{n-1}| $ is $ \boxed{14} $.