JEE Main On 16 April 2018 Question 6

Question: Let p, q, and r be real numbers $ (p\ne q,r\ne 0), $ such that the roots of the equation $ \frac{1}{x+p}+\frac{1}{x+q}=\frac{1}{r} $ are equal in magnitude but opposite in sign, then the sum of squares of these roots is equal to. [JEE Main 16-4-2018]

Options:

A) $ p^{2}+q^{2}+r^{2} $

B) $ p^{2}+q^{2} $

C) $ 2(p^{2}+q^{2}) $

D) $ \frac{p^{2}+q^{2}}{2} $

Show Answer

Answer:

Correct Answer: B

Solution:

  • $ \frac{1}{x+p}+\frac{1}{x+q}=\frac{1}{r} $ $ \frac{x+p+x+q}{(x+p)(x+q)}=\frac{1}{r} $ $ (2x+p+q)r=x^{2}+px+qx+pq $ $ x^{2}+(p+q-2r)x+pq-pr-qr=0 $ Let and be the roots.
    $ \Rightarrow $ $ \alpha +\beta =-(p+q-2r) $ ?[1]
    $ \Rightarrow $ $ \alpha \beta =pq-pr-qr $ ?[2] Roots are equal in magnitude and opposite in sign
    $ \Rightarrow $ $ \alpha +\beta =0. $
    $ \Rightarrow $ $ -(p+q-2r)=0 $ ?[3] $ {{\alpha }^{2}}{{\beta }^{2}}={{(\alpha +\beta )}^{2}}-2\alpha \beta $ $ ={{(-(p+q-2r))}^{2}}-2(pq-pr-qr) $ ?(from [1] and [2]) $ =p^{2}+q^{2}+4r^{2}+2pq-4pr-4qr-2pq+2pr+2qr $ $ =p^{2}+q^{2}+2r(2r-p-q) $ ?(from[3]) $ =p^{2}+q^{2}+0 $ $ =p^{2}+q^{2} $ Hence, answer is option B