MathDB

Laura and Daniel play with quadratic polynomials. First Laura says a nonzero real number

r

. Then Daniel says a nonzero real number

s

, and then again Laura says another nonzero real number

t

. Finally. Daniel writes the polynomial

P(x) = ax^2 + bx + c

where

a,b

, and

c

are

r,s

, and

t

in some order Daniel chooses. Laura wins if the equation

P(x) = 0

has two different real solutions, and Daniel wins otherwise. Determine who has a winning strategy and describe that strategy.

Problem Statement