2008 AIME II Problems/Problem 7

Problem

Let $r$ , $s$ , and $t$ be the three roots of the equation $8x^3 + 1001x + 2008 = 0.$ Find $(r + s)^3 + (s + t)^3 + (t + r)^3$ .

Solution

By Vieta’s sums, we have $r+s+t = 0$ , and so the desired answer is $(r+s)^3 + (s+t)^3 + (t+r)^3 = -(r^3 + s^3 + t^3)$ . Additionally, using the factorization $r^3 + s^3 + t^3 - 3rst = (r+s+t)(r^2 + s^2 + t^2 - rs - st - tr) = 0$ Thus $r^3 + s^3 + t^3 = 3rst$ . By Vieta’s again, we have $rst = \frac{-2008}8 = -251 \Longrightarrow -(r^3 + s^3 + t^3) = -3rst = \boxed{753}.$

2008 AIME II (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 6	Followed by Problem 8
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15
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2008 AIME II Problems/Problem 7

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