Analyzing the Setup
We are given the quadratic equation x2+px+q=0. We are told that one root is the square of the other.
Let the roots of the equation be α and α2. By applying Vieta's Formulas, we establish the relationship between the roots and the coefficients:
1. Sum of roots: α+α2=−p
2. Product of roots: α⋅α2=α3=q
The Strategy of Elimination
Our goal is to eliminate α to find a direct relationship between p and q. We start with the sum equation:
To introduce the term α3=q, we cube both sides of the equation:
The Algebraic Dance
Using the binomial expansion identity (a+b)3=a3+b3+3ab(a+b), we expand the left side where a=α and b=α2:
α3+(α2)3+3(α)(α2)(α+α2)=−p3
Now, we perform the substitution using our known values α3=q and α+α2=−p:
This simplifies to the following expression:
Final Calculation
To reach the final form, we rearrange the terms to set the equation to zero:
Grouping the terms involving q, we obtain:
Thus, the final relationship is:
p3−q(3p−1)+q2=0