Question:medium

The value of \(x\) in the expression \((x + x^{\log_{10}x})^5\), if the third term in the expansion is 1,000,000, is

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Take logarithm on both sides to solve exponential equations.
Updated On: Jun 19, 2026
  • \(10, 10^{-3/2}\)
  • \(100 \text{ or } 10^{-3/2}\)
  • \(10 \text{ or } 10^{-5/2}\)
  • None of these
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The Correct Option is C

Solution and Explanation

To find the value of \(x\) in the expression \((x + x^{\log_{10}x})^5\) such that the third term of its expansion is 1,000,000, we will use the Binomial Theorem.

The expression \((x + x^{\log_{10}x})^5\) expands according to the Binomial Theorem:

\((x + y)^n = \sum_{k=0}^{n} \binom{n}{k} x^{n-k} y^{k}\)

where \(n = 5\), \(x = x\), and \(y = x^{\log_{10}x}\).

The third term (i.e., when \(k=2\)) in the expansion is:

\(\binom{5}{2} x^{5-2} (x^{\log_{10}x})^2\)

This simplifies to:

\(\binom{5}{2} x^{3} \cdot x^{2\log_{10}x} = \binom{5}{2} x^{3 + 2\log_{10}x}\)

Given that this term equals 1,000,000, we write:

\(\binom{5}{2} x^{3 + 2\log_{10}x} = 1000000\)

Calculate \(\binom{5}{2} = 10\).

This gives us:

\(10 x^{3 + 2\log_{10}x} = 1000000 \Rightarrow x^{3 + 2\log_{10}x} = 100000\)

Taking logarithms (base 10) on both sides gives:

\((3 + 2\log_{10}x)\log_{10}x = 5\)

Let \(\log_{10}x = t\). Then, the equation becomes:

\(3t + 2t^2 = 5\)

This is a quadratic equation in \(t\):

\(2t^2 + 3t - 5 = 0\)

Solve this using the quadratic formula \(t = \frac{-b \pm \sqrt{b^2 - 4ac}}{2a}\), where \(a = 2\), \(b = 3\), and \(c = -5\).

Calculate the discriminant:

\(b^2 - 4ac = 9 + 40 = 49\)

Thus:

\(t = \frac{-3 \pm \sqrt{49}}{4} = \frac{-3 \pm 7}{4}\)

This gives the solutions:

\(t = 1 \text{ or } t = -\frac{5}{2}\)

These correspond to:

\(\log_{10}x = 1 \Rightarrow x = 10\)

\(\log_{10}x = -\frac{5}{2} \Rightarrow x = 10^{-5/2}\)

Thus, the correct answer is: \(10 \text{ or } 10^{-5/2}\).

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