Find all real values of 'a' for which all the function roots are integers.

125 Views Asked by At

Find all real values of 'a' for which all the function roots are integers. $$ f(x) = ax^{2} + (a+1)x + a-1$$

I was thinking about Vieta's formula so: $$ \\xy = 1 - \frac{1}{a} \\x + y = -1 - \frac{1}{a} \\xy ∈ \Bbb Z \\x+y ∈ \Bbb Z. \\a ∈ \Bbb R $$

After all of that my answer is $$ a = 0, a = 1 $$

But I'm not sure, how should I prove that those are the only options?

1

There are 1 best solutions below

0
On BEST ANSWER

Assume $a\ne 0$.

Sum $S $ of roots is then integer.

$$S=-\frac{a+1}{a}=-1-\frac {1}{a} \in \Bbb Z$$

$\implies a=1$ or $a=-1$.

for $a=1$, roots are $0,-2$

for $a=-1$ , no root.

If $a=0$, the root is $x=1$.

Finally, $$a\in\{0,1\} $$