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Putnam
1970 Putnam
B2
B2
Part of
1970 Putnam
Problems
(1)
Putnam 1970 B2
Source: Putnam 1970
5/17/2022
The time-varying temperature of a certain body is given by a polynomial in the time of degree at most three. Show that the average temperature of the body between
9
9
9
am and
3
3
3
pm can always be found by taking the average of the temperatures at two fixed times, which are independent of the polynomial. Also, show that these two times are
10
:
16
10\colon \! 16
10
:
16
am and
1
:
44
1\colon \!44
1
:
44
pm to the nearest minute.
Putnam
algebra
polynomial