1976 AMC 12 Problem 30

Attempt Problem 30 of the 1976 AMC 12 below, then check your answer against the professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 1976 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.

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30.

How many distinct ordered triples (x,y,z)(x,y,z) satisfy the equations x+2y+4z=12,xy+4yz+2xz=22,xyz=6? \begin{aligned} x+2y+4z&=12,\\ xy+4yz+2xz&=22,\\ xyz&=6? \end{aligned}

none

11

22

44

66

Answer: E
Concepts:symmetry (algebra)Vieta’s Formulaspermutations
Difficulty rating: 2320
Small Hint:

Rescale the variables by setting x=2u,x=2u, y=v,y=v, and z=w2z=\frac{w}{2}

Big Hint:

The new variables have elementary symmetric sums 6,6, 11,11, and 66

Solution:

Set x=2u,x=2u, y=v,y=v, and z=w2.z=\frac{w}{2}. Dividing the first two equations by 22 gives u+v+w=6,uv+vw+uw=11, \begin{aligned} u+v+w&=6,\\ uv+vw+uw&=11, \end{aligned} while uvw=6.uvw=6. Thus u,u, v,v, and ww are the three roots of p(t)=t36t2+11t6.p(t)=t^3-6t^2+11t-6. This polynomial factors as p(t)=(t1)(t2)(t3), p(t)=(t-1)(t-2)(t-3), so they are 1,1, 2,2, and 33 in any order. Their 3!=63!=6 permutations produce 66 distinct ordered triples (x,y,z).(x,y,z).

Therefore, the correct answer is E.

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