Online Course Discussion Forum
II A 9.25
Let me give a hint. Note it's suspicious that the equations we're given all look very similar. In fact that means that if we set $f(x) = x^4 + x^2 + k\cdot x + 64$, then actually $a$, $b$, $c$, and $d$ are all roots of $f(x)$.
This means that we can take advantage of Vieta's theorem for a degree four, meaning that using Vieta's we should have information about:
- $a+b+c+d$ (the sum of the roots)
- $ab+ac+ad+bc+bd+cd$ (the sum of pairs of roots)
- etc.
How do these expressions relate to $a^2+b^2+c^2+d^2$?
Hope this helps, let us know if you have any additional questions.
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