Problem of the Month

Problem 6: March 2020

Problem
A point A(a, b) in chosen in the (x, y)-plane. For a point P that lies on the graph
of y = x3 , let M be the midpoint of AP . As the point P varies, so does the
midpoint M of line segment AP . In fact, as P varies, the point M traces out the
graph of another cubic equation.
(a) Find an equation for the cubic traced out by M . The coefficients of this
cubic should depend on a and b.
(b) Describe all points A(a, b) in the plane for which the traced-out cubic
intersects y = x3 in at least one but at most two distinct points.

Hint

1. A typical point on the graph of y = x3 looks like (x, y) = (u, u3 ) for some
real number u. This means the coordinates of a typical point on the
traced-out cubic looks like
u + a u3 + b
 
(x, y) = , .
2 2
Can you relate x and y somehow? One approach is to assume y = f (x) for
some cubic function f (x) and try to find the coefficients. Another is to
relate x and y by eliminating u.
2. Consider the cubic obtained by subtracting the traced-out cubic from
y = x3 . What does the number of roots of this cubic tell you about the
number of points of intersection of the cubics?

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