Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 5.8 AIME, harder Prove it Italy

Problem:
Determine all pairs (x,y)(x, y) of real numbers that satisfy the equation
4x+y=1x+1y. \frac{4}{x+y}=\frac{1}{x}+\frac{1}{y}.

Solution

Solution:
First we exclude all pairs (x,y)(x, y) that make the denominator vanish, that is, we impose the conditions x0x \neq 0, y0y \neq 0 and x+y0x+y \neq 0.
Under these conditions the expression xy(x+y)x y(x+y) is different from 00, so, multiplying both sides of the given relation by it, we obtain that it is equivalent to 4xy=(x+y)24 x y = (x+y)^2, that is, to (xy)2=0(x-y)^2 = 0, that is, to x=yx = y.
Therefore the pairs sought are all and only those satisfying x=yx = y, from which however the pair (0,0)(0,0) must be removed.

SECOND SOLUTION
The given relation is homogeneous, that is, it remains unchanged if (λx,λy)(\lambda x, \lambda y) is put in place of (x,y)(x, y), with λ0\lambda \neq 0.
This means that it holds at a point (x0,y0)\left(x_0, y_0\right) different from the origin if and only if it holds at all points of the line passing through the origin and through (x0,y0)\left(x_0, y_0\right) (except the origin).

Substituting mxm x in place of yy in the given relation, we obtain
4x+mx=1x+1mx \frac{4}{x+m x}=\frac{1}{x}+\frac{1}{m x}
which, since x0x \neq 0, becomes
41+m=1+1m \frac{4}{1+m}=1+\frac{1}{m}
which has as its only solution m=1m=1.
This means that the set of all and only the solutions of the given relation consists of the points of the line y=xy=x minus (0,0)(0,0).

THIRD SOLUTION
After recognizing the homogeneity of the relation by proceeding as in the second solution, to show that the only good line is y=xy=x, one can also check that by intersecting the given relation with another one, such as x2+y2=1x^2+y^2=1, which intersects all the lines through the origin, one obtains only solutions with equal abscissa and ordinate.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement translated into English from it; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.