Suppose that real numbers a, b and c satisfy the condition a + b + c = 0 . Prove the f

Cesar Mcguire

Cesar Mcguire

Answered question

2022-04-10

Suppose that real numbers a, b and c satisfy the condition a + b + c = 0. Prove the following identities:
a 5 + b 5 + c 5 5 = a 3 + b 3 + c 3 3 a 2 + b 2 + c 2 2 , a 7 + b 7 + c 7 7 = a 5 + b 5 + c 5 5 a 2 + b 2 + c 2 2 .

Answer & Explanation

rotgelb7kjxw

rotgelb7kjxw

Beginner2022-04-11Added 16 answers

This is a problem about elementary symmetric functions. Let
s 1 = a = b + c
s 2 = a b + b c + a c
s 3 = a b c
Now assuming that s 1 = a + b + c = 0 we show that
a 2 + b 2 + c 2 2 = s 2 = a b + b c + c a a 3 + b 3 + c 3 3 = s 3 = a b c a 4 + b 4 + c 4 4 = 1 2 s 2 2 = ( a 2 + b 2 + c 2 ) 2 2 a 5 + b 5 + c 5 5 = s 2 s 3 a 6 + b 6 + c 6 6 = 1 2 s 3 2 + 1 3 s 2 3 a 7 + b 7 + c 7 7 = s 2 2 s 3
And the results follow.
The calculational scheme for deriving the above equalities is
to note that
ln ( 1 + a x ) = a x a 2 2 x 2 + a 3 3 x 3 +
and adding,
ln ( 1 + a x ) ( 1 + b x ) ( 1 + c x ) = ( a + b + c ) x a 2 + b 2 + c 2 2 x 2 + a 3 + b 3 + c 3 3 x 3 +
on the other hand,
( 1 + a x ) ( 1 + b x ) ( 1 + c x ) = 1 + s 1 x + s 2 x 2 + s 3 x 3 from which the above equalities follow easily by equating the coefficients of the two power series.
In particular this shows that every a n + b n + c n n is a polynomial in n = 2 , 3 assuming s 1 = 0

Do you have a similar question?

Recalculate according to your conditions!

Ask your question.
Get an expert answer.

Let our experts help you. Answer in as fast as 15 minutes.

Didn't find what you were looking for?