Determine all functions which satisfy the inequality for all real numbers .
Solutions — 2
Solution 1
Answer: All constant functions where is arbitrary real number.
Denote the given inequality by . Then together with simplification gives
for every real number . On the other hand, adding and gives , where taking leads to . Along with (3) this implies that
for any non-positive real number . Now with non-positive , simplified by (4), gives . The latter along with (3) implies for all positive real numbers .
Thus for every real number , i.e., is a constant function. All constant functions clearly satisfy the conditions of the problem.
Solution 2
Denote the given inequality by .
Firstly, note that along with simplification leads to . As takes all real values, the function obtains its maximum value at 1. Secondly, note that leads to . Along with the inequality obtained above, this implies
for all real numbers . By applying the latter inequality to both and and taking into account that is the maximum value of , one gets .
Thirdly, note that gives . As by the above, the inequality must hold for every real number . Since obtains all real values, the function obtains its minimum value at . As , the maximum and minimum value coincide which means that is a constant function.