Problem:
Determine all pairs of real numbers that satisfy the equation
Solution
Solution:
First we exclude all pairs that make the denominator vanish, that is, we impose the conditions , and .
Under these conditions the expression is different from , so, multiplying both sides of the given relation by it, we obtain that it is equivalent to , that is, to , that is, to .
Therefore the pairs sought are all and only those satisfying , from which however the pair must be removed.
SECOND SOLUTION
The given relation is homogeneous, that is, it remains unchanged if is put in place of , with .
This means that it holds at a point different from the origin if and only if it holds at all points of the line passing through the origin and through (except the origin).
Substituting in place of in the given relation, we obtain
which, since , becomes
which has as its only solution .
This means that the set of all and only the solutions of the given relation consists of the points of the line minus .
THIRD SOLUTION
After recognizing the homogeneity of the relation by proceeding as in the second solution, to show that the only good line is , one can also check that by intersecting the given relation with another one, such as , which intersects all the lines through the origin, one obtains only solutions with equal abscissa and ordinate.