MOSP 2011 Black Joshua Nichols-Barrer
Integer Polynomials
1. A polynomial P (x) has integer coefficients. Prove that if the polynomials P (x) and
P (P (P (x))) have a common zero, then they also have a common integer zero.
2. Let f, g ∈ Z[x] be relatively prime over Q and define the sequence
an = (f (n), g(n)).
Prove that (an )∞
−∞ is periodic.
3. Find all polynomials f (x) ∈ Z[x] such that there exists a natural number N , such that
for any prime p > N , |f (p)| is also prime.
4. Determine all monic polynomials p(x) with integer coefficients of degree two for which
there exists a polynomial q(x) with integer coefficients such that p(x)q(x) is a polyno-
mial having all coefficients ±1.
5. Find all monic polynomials f (x) ∈ Z[x] such that {f (a)|a ∈ Z} is closed under multi-
plication.
P a0 , a1 , a2 , . . . such that for each i 6= j,
6. Does there exist a sequence of natural numbers
(ai , aj ) = 1 and for each n, the polynomial ni=0 ai xi is irreducible in Z[x]?
7. Let
f (x) = xn + an−1 xn−1 + · · · + a1 x + a0
be an integer polynomial of degree n ≥ 3 such that ak + an−k is even for all k =
1, 2, . . . , n − 1 and a0 is even. Suppose that f = gh, where g, h ∈ Z[x], deg g ≤ deg h
and all the coefficients of h are odd. Prove that f has an integer root.
8. Find all triples of integers (x, y, z) such that
x2 + y 2 + z 2 + 2xyz = 1
9. Let p(x) be a polynomial with integer coefficients. Determine if there always exists a
positive integer k such that p(x) − k is irreducible.
10. Suppose that f, g ∈ Z[x] are monic nonconstant irreducible polynomials such that for
all sufficiently large n, f (n) and g(n) have the same set of prime divisors. Prove that
f = g.
11. Is there a polynomial f with integer coefficients that has no rational zeros, but nonethe-
less has a zero modulo any positive integer?
12. Find all polynomials p with integer coefficients such that, for integers a, b with a + b a
perfect square, p(a) + p(b) is a perfect square.
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MOSP 2011 Black Joshua Nichols-Barrer
13. Let a, b, c, d, m be positive integers such that (m, c) = 1. Prove that there exists a
polynomial f with rational coefficients and of degree at most d such that
f (n) ≡ can+b (mod m)
for all positive integers n if and only if m devides (ca − 1)d+1 .
14. Suppose that a polynomial f with integer coefficients has no double zeros. Let r ≥ 1
be an integer. Prove that there exists an integer n such that the prime factorization
of f (n) contains at least r primes occurring with multiplicity 1.
15. Prove that, for every integer n ≥ 2, there is a polynomial f (x) = xn + an−1 xn−1 + · · · +
a1 x + a0 with integer coefficients satisfying the following conditions:
(a) the product a0 a1 · · · an−1 is nonzero;
(b) the polynomial f (x) is irreducible in Z[x];
(c) for every integer x, |f (x)| is not prime.
16. Let f ∈ Z[x] be a nonconstant polynomial, and let k ≥ 2 be an integer such that f (n)
is a perfect k th power for each positive integer n. Prove that there exists a polynomial
g ∈ Z[x] with f = g k .
17. Prove that for any given positive integer n, there exists a unique polynomial f (x) of
degree n with integer coefficients such that f (0) = 1 and (x + 1)(f (x))2 − 1 is odd.
18. Let m and n be odd numbers with n > m > 1. Prove that f (x) = xn + xm + x + 1 is
irreducible in Z[x].
19. Find all polynomials f with integer coefficients such that f (n)|nn−1 −1 for all sufficiently
large n.
20. For a non-zero integer n, let d(n) denote the number of positive integer divisors of |n|.
(a) For any polynomial f (x) having integer coefficients and no integer roots, prove
that the largest primes divisor of d(f (n)) is unbounded as n varies over the inte-
gers.
(b) For polynomials f (x) and g(x) with integer coefficients and no integer roots, prove
that if d(f (n)) = d(g(n)) for all integers n, then there is some constant c such
that f (x) = cg(x).
21. Find all integers n such that 1 + x + x2 + · · · + x100 can be represented as P 2 + nQ2
where P and Q are polynomials with rational coefficients.
