Unknown complex roots of a real quintic from the sum and product of its roots, then its quadratic factors

Unknown complex roots of a real quintic from the sum and product of its roots, then its quadratic factors

IB Year 6 | Grade 12
8 marks

The polynomial \(p(z)=2z^5-3z^4+cz^3+dz^2+ez+40\) has real coefficients \(c\), \(d\) and \(e\), and \(z\in\mathbb{C}\).

The equation \(p(z)=0\) has \(-\frac12\), \(m+2i\) and \(-1+ni\) among its roots, where \(m\) and \(n\) are real and \(n>0\).

  1. By forming the sum of all five roots and their product,
    1. show that \(m=2\);
    2. find \(n\).[5]
  2. Hence express \(p(z)\) as the product of a linear factor and two quadratic factors, each with integer coefficients.[3]

Solution:

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Answer:(a)(i) \(m=2\) (a)(ii) \(n=2\) (b) \(p(z)=(2z+1)(z^2-4z+8)(z^2+2z+5)\)

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