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Difficulty: 4/102021 IOQM 2021 (Q10)

Suppose that is the polynomial of least degree with integer coefficients such that . Find .

Guide / Hint

Hint 1: Note that . Express in terms of .

Hint 2: Find the minimal polynomial of over the integers, which is .

Hint 3: Use the minimal polynomial to express as a polynomial in with integer coefficients, then substitute .

Solution

We are given .
Note that .
So .
Thus, the relation is:

where .
Since must be a polynomial with integer coefficients, we must clear the denominator. The minimal polynomial of is:

Thus , so .
Therefore, the polynomial of least degree with integer coefficients is:

We want to find :

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    2021 IOQM 2021 Q10 - Olympiad Math Olympiad Question | Leminno