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Fifty Lectures for

American Mathematics Competitions

Volume 1

Jane Chen
Sam Chen

http://www.mymathcounts.com/index.php
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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

BASIC KNOWLEDGE

In this lecture we are going to show you nine commonly used methods to solve radical
equations.

1. Solving the radical equations directly by observing the domain of x.

Example 1: Solve x 1 + 2 = 0.

Solution: no solution.
Since x 1 , then x 1 + 2

No matter what value we choose for x, x 1 + 2 will not equal 0.

Therefore, there is no solution to the given equation.

2. Solving the radical equations by substitution.

2.1 Introducing one variable

x 1 x 13
Example 2: Solve + = .
1 x x 6

4 9
Solution: x1 = and x2 = .
13 13
x 1 x 1
Let = y. Taking the reciprocal gives us = .
1 x x y
1 1 x x
Substituting for and y for into the given equation, we have
y x 1 x
1 13
y+ = .
y 6
This can be simplified into the quadratic: 6y2 13y + 6 = 0.
2 3
Solving for y using the quadratic formula, we get y1 = ; y2 = .
3 2
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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

Thus,
x 2 4
= x1 = .
1 x 3 13
x 3 9
Or = x2 = .
1 x 2 13
4 9
Substituting in x1 = and x2 = back into the original equation, we can confidently
13 13
say that these are indeed the solutions.

Example 3: Find the sum of the real roots of the equation x2 + 12x + 16 =
2 x 2 12 x 19 .

Solution: 12.
Let y = x2 + 12x + 16.

The original equation can be written as y 2 y 3.

Squaring both sides: y 2 4( y 3) y2 4 y 12 0 .

Solve for y: y1= 6 or y2 = 2 (extraneous root).

Therefore x2 + 12x +16 = 6 x 2 12 x 10 0 .

( 12) 2 4 10
12 12 2 26
x1, 2 6 26 .
2 2
The sum of the roots is x1 x2 12 .

Note that we will give two more solutions to this problem in Example 9.

2.2 Introducing two variables

Example 4: Solve x2 5x 2 x 2 5 x 5 = 1.
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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

Solution: x1 = 1, x2 = 6.
Let u = x2 5x 2 , v = x2 5x 5 .
u v=1 (1)
u2 v2 = 3 (2)
(2) ÷ (1): u+v=3 (3)

From (1) and (3), we can solve for u and v to get u = 2 and v = 1, satisfying u v

x2 5x 2 = 2 x1 = 1, x2 = 6.

We can check that both x1 = 1 and x2 = 6 are indeed the solutions by plugging these
values back into the original equation and seeing that the left hand side equals the right
hand side.

Note (a): If we had used the value of v to find x, the results would have been the same.
(b): IMPORTANT! We needed to make sure that both u and v

3
Example 5: Solve 2 x + x 1 = 1.

Solution: 1, 2, 10.
Let u = 3 2 x , and v = x 1.
We have:
u+v=1 (1)
u3 + v2 = 1 (2)

From (1), we have v = 1 u. Substituting in 1 u for v into (2), we get u3 + u2 2u = 0.

The three solutions to this cubic equation are u1 = 0, u2 = 1, u3 = 2.

Plugging in these values into (1) to solve for v, we get

v1 = 1, v2 = 0 and v3 = 3. These three values satisfy v

Since x = 2 u3,
x1 = 2 0 = 2,
x2 = 2 1 = 1, and
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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

x3 = 2 + 8 = 10.

We can check that these three values are indeed the solutions by plugging these values
back into the original equation and seeing that the left hand side equals the right hand
side.

Note: Here, we only needed to ensure that v .

3. Solving radical equations by introducing a parameter by taking the average

Example 6: Solve 2 x 1 + 2 x 1 = 4.

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Solution: 4 38 .
2
The average value of 2 x 1 and 2 x 1 is 2.

Therefore we can let

2 x 1 = 2 + t and 2 x 1 = 2 t where ( 2).

Squaring these two equations gives us the following two equations:

2x + 1 = 4 + 4t + t2 (1)
2
4(x 1) = 4 4t + t (2)

2 × (1) (2):
6 = 4 + 12t + t2 t 6 38 .

Since t for t is t 6 38 .
53
So 2x 1 = 4 38 x 4 38 .
2
53
We can check that x 4 38 is indeed the solution by plugging it back into the
2
original equation and seeing that the left hand side equals the right hand side.

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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

5 5
Example 7: Solve x 5 = x.
x x

1
Solution: (1 21) .
2
5 5 1
The average value of x and 5 is x .
x x 2
We can let
5 1
x = x +t (1)
x 2
5 1
5 = x t (2)
x 2

1 5
(1)2 (2)2: x 5 = 2xt t= (1 ).
2 x
5 1 1 5 5 5 5
So x = x + (1 ) , or ( x ) 2 x +1=0 ( x 1)2 = 0.
x 2 2 x x x x

5
Thus, x =1 x2 x 5 = 0.
x
1
Solving for x: x (1 21) .
2
1
We can check that x (1 21) is the only solution by plugging it into our original
2
equation and seeing that the left hand side equals the right hand side.

4. Solving the radical equations by factorization.

Example 8: Solve x 2 5x 6 + 3x 2 8x 5 = 3x 3.

Solution: 1, 10.
We factor each radical: ( x 1)( x 6) + ( x 1)(3x 5) = 3(x 1).

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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

Since 3x x

Therefore ( x 1)( x 6) + ( x 1)(3x 5) = 3 ( x 1)2 .

Taking out the like term we get x 1( x 6 + 3x 5 3 x 1 ) = 0.

We have: x 1 =0 x = 1.
22
or ( x 6 + 3x 5 3 x 1 ) = 0 x = 10 or x .
13

We can check that both x = 1 and x = 10 are the solutions by plugging them into the
22
original equation and seeing that the left hand side equals the right hand side. x is
13
extraneous.

Example 9: Find the sum of the real roots of the equation

x2 + 12x + 16 = 2 x 2 12 x 19 .

Solution: 12.
Method 1:
Rewrite the original equation as
x2 + 12x 2 x 2 12 x 19 =0.
Or ( x 2 12 x 19 )2 2 x 2 12 x 19 3=0.

( x 2 12 x 19 + 1)( x 2 12 x 19 3) = 0.

We have x 2 12 x 19 = 1 (extraneous) or x 2 12 x 19 = 3.

Squaring both sides of x 2 12 x 19 = 3:

x2 + 12x + 19 = 9 x2 + 12x + 10 = 0

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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

Since the discriminant of the quadratic = 122 4 ×10 > 0, the two roots are real and by
, the sum

Method 2:
Rewrite the original equation as x2 + 12x 2 x 2 12 x 19 + 1 = 4.
Or ( x 2 12 x 19 1)2 = 4.

Take the square root of both sides: x 2 12 x 19 1 = ± 2.

We have x 2 12 x 19 1 = 2, or x 2 12 x 19 1 = 2 (extraneous).

So x 2 12 x 19 1 = 2, we have x 2 12 x 19 = 3.
Squaring both sides of x 2 12 x 19 = 5:
x2 + 12x + 19 = 9 x2 + 12x + 10 = 0.

Since = 122 , the sum

5. Solving the radical equations by the Property of Proportions

a c a b c d
Property: If , then (a 0, and c 0).
b d a b c d

Proof:
a c
We know that , or ad = bc. (1)
b d
Multiply both sides of (1) by 2: 2ad = 2bc (2)
Re-write (2) as bc ad = bc + ad (3)
Add ac bd to both sides of (3):
ac + bc ad bd = ac bc + ad bd (4)

Factor both sides of (4) into the following:

(a + b)(c d) = (a b)(c +d) (5)

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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

Since a 0 and c 0, we can divide both sides of the equation by (a b)(c d) to

get:
a b c d
. QED.
a b c d

5 x x 3 9 2x x 3
Example 10: Solve = .
5 x x 3 9 2x x 3
Solution: 3.
By the property of proportion, we know that

5 x x 3 5 x x 3 9 2x x 3 9 2x x 3
=
5 x x 3 5 x x 3 9 2x x 3 9 2x x 3

Therefore
5 x 9 2x
= 5 x x 3 9 2x x 3
x 3 x 3
5 x x 3 9 2x x 3 0 5 x 9 2x x 3 0.

We have 5 x 9 2x 0 or x 3 0.

Solving 5 x 9 2x 0 , we get x = 4.
Solving x 3 0 , we get x = 3.

We substitute these two values into the original equation to find that only x = 3 is the
solution.
5 x x 3
(When x = 4, the denominator of is 0, which cannot be true.)
5 x x 3
5 x 9 2x
Note: When you get = , it is dangerous to simplify it into 5 x =
x 3 x 3
9 2 x by multiplying both sides by x 3 , because we have to be aware of the
possibility of the denominator being 0.

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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

6. Solving radical equations by using conjugates (rationalization)

Example 11: Solve 3x 1 x 4 = 7.

Solution: 96.
Method 1:
We see that
3x 1 x 4 =7 (1)
and
(3x + 1) (x + 4) = 2x 3 (2)
2x 3
(2) ÷ (1): 3x 1 + x 4 =
, or 7 3x 1 + 7 x 4 = 2x 3 (3)
7
Multiplying (1) by 7 and adding it to (3), we get
7 3x 1 = x + 23.

Squaring both sides of the above equation and factoring yields:

(x 5)(x 96) = 0 (4)

Solving for x, we have x = 5, x = 96.

We substitute these two values into the original equation to find that only x = 96 works.

Method 2:
Rationalize the left hand side of the given equation by multiplying it by
3x 1 x 4
1= .
3x 1 x 4

( 3x 1 x 4 )( 3x 1 x 4)
We get: 7
3x 1 x 4
2x 3 2x 3
7 3x 1 + x 4 = .
3x 1 x 4 7

The rest follows Method 1.

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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

3 3
Example 12: Find all values of a such that 6.
1 a 2 1 a 2

Solution: 2.
First we divide both sides of the equation by 3:
1 1
2 (1)
1 a 2 1 a 2
We see that 1 a 2 and 1 a 2 are conjugates and
(1 a 2 )( 1 a 2)=3 a.
1 a 2 1 a 2 2
Therefore from (1) we have 2 2
(1 a 2 )(1 a 2) 3 a
1
1 3 a 1 a 2.
3 a
We can check that a 2 is the solution by plugging it into our original equation and
seeing that the left hand side equals the right hand side.

7. Solving the radical equations by integer properties

Example 13: Find the number of pairs of integers x and y that satisfy the following
equation x y = 99 .

Solution: 4 pairs
Method 1:
Since the sum of the square roots of x and y is equal to the square root x y
99.
We can rewrite the given equation as x = 99 y.
Squaring both sides: x = 99 + y 2 99 y x 99 y= 6 11y .
Or 6 11y = y + 99 x (1)
Since both x and y are integers, 6 11y must be integer and 11y is a square number.
y = 11t2 t2
Therefore, the values of t are t = 0, 1, 2, 3.

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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

When t = 0, 1, 2, and 3, the corresponding values of y are 0, 11, 44, and 99 and
subsequently the corresponding values of x x

Method 2:
The original equation can be written as x + y = 3 11 .
2
Both x and y are in the form of 11t .
Let x 11t12 , y 11t22 , where both t1 and t2 are nonnegative integers.

Therefore we have t1 + t2 = 3.
3 2 1
The number of nonnegative solutions to the above equation is 4.
2 1
Thus there are 4 pairs of solutions.

Method 3:
We can simply write out all the solutions:
99 = 3 11 = 0+ 99
99 = 3 11 = 11 + 2 11 = 11 + 44
99 = 3 11 = 2 11 + 11 = 44 + 11
99 = 3 11 = 3 11 + 0 = 99 + 0
There are 4 pairs of solutions.

8. Solving the radical equations by solving an equivalent equation

Theorem: The equation f ( x) h( x) g 2 ( x) + g ( x) h( x) f 2 ( x) = h(x) has the same

solutions as the equation f 2 ( x) g 2 ( x) h( x) , f(x g(x 0.

Proof:
For convenience, we can ignore the letter x in our following expressions.
The equation f h g 2 + g h f 2 = h is equivalent to

[ f2 2 f h g2 (h g 2 ) ] + [ g 2 2g h f2 (h f 2) ] = 0

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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

(f h g 2 )2 + ( g h f 2 )2 = 0 f h g2

Also g h f2 f 2 + g2 = h with f g

Example 14: Solve 2 x 2 1 + x2 4 x2 .

Solution: 5.
Let f(x) = 2, g(x) = 1, h(x) = x2.
From our theorem above, we know that the original equation has the same solutions as
22 + 1 = x2.
Solving for x: x1 5 , x2 5.

9. Solving radical equations by using an inequality

3
Example 15: Solve x 5 + = 2 3.
x 5

Solution: 2.
3
We observe that x 5 > 0 and > 0.
x 5
We know that a + b 2 ab (a > 0, b > 0).
3 3
In our case, x 5 + 2 x 5 = 2 3.
x 5 x 5
3
Equality holds if and only if x 5 = .
x 5

So the original equation is equivalent to x + 5 = 3 x= 2.

We can check that x 2 is the solution by plugging it into our original equation and
seeing that the left hand side equals the right hand side.

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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

PROBLEMS

Problem 1: Solve 3x 1 + 5x 3 + x 1 =2 2.

Problem 2: Solve x2 x 2 9 = 21.

Problem 3: Solve 2(x+1) 2 x( x 8) = x x 8.

3 3
Problem 4: Solve x 45 x 16 = 1.

1 1
Problem 5: Solve x = x + 1 .
x x

x
Problem 6: Solve x + =2 2.
2
x 1

Problem 7: Solve 2x2 + x 3x 2 1 = 4.

x x 3
Problem 8: Solve = 2x 5.
x x 3

Problem 9: Solve x2 5x 2 x 2 5 x 5 = 1.

4x 1 x 2
Problem 10: Solve = 1.
x 3 x 3

Problem 11: Solve 3 x 4 2x2 1 + 2 x x4 2 x 2 8 = (x2 + 1)2.

Problem 12: Solve 2 x 3 3 1 x = 0.

4 4
Problem 13: Solve x + 97 x = 5.
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50 AMC Lectures Chapter 3 Solving Radical Equations

Problem 14: Solve x 5 + x 3 = 4.

1
Problem 15: Solve 2 1 2 x 2 + 2 8x2 .
x

Problem 16: The equation x x 5 11 has:

(A) two imaginary roots (B) two real roots (C) no root (B) one real root
(E) one real root and one imaginary roots

Problem 17: By solving the equation x 6 x 5

equation has:
(A) two imaginary roots (B) two real roots (C) no root (B) one real root
(E) one real root and one imaginary roots

3 18
Problem 18: Find the sum of the roots of the equation 9 x= 3
.
x

Problem 19: Solve x 1+ x 1 x 2 1 = x.

Problem 20: Solve 3

45 x + 3 16 x = 1.

Problem 21: (IMO) For which real numbers x do the following equations hold:

(a) x 2x 1 + x 2x 1 = 2,
(b) x 2x 1 + x 2 x 1 = 1,
(c) x 2x 1 + x 2 x 1 = 2?

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