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Algebra Difficulty 7.6 National olympiad, round 2 Prove it Asia Pacific Mathematics Olympiad (APMO)

Let S={2,3,4,}S=\{2,3,4, \ldots\} denote the set of integers that are greater than or equal to 22. Does there exist a function f:SSf: S \rightarrow S such that
f(a)f(b)=f(a2b2) for all a,bS with ab? f(a) f(b) = f\left(a^{2} b^{2}\right) \text{ for all } a, b \in S \text{ with } a \neq b?

Solution

We prove that there is no such function. For arbitrary elements aa and bb of SS, choose an integer cc that is greater than both of them. Since bc>ab c > a and c>bc > b, we have
f(a4b4c4)=f(a2)f(b2c2)=f(a2)f(b)f(c) f\left(a^{4} b^{4} c^{4}\right) = f\left(a^{2}\right) f\left(b^{2} c^{2}\right) = f\left(a^{2}\right) f(b) f(c)
Furthermore, since ac>ba c > b and c>ac > a, we have
f(a4b4c4)=f(b2)f(a2c2)=f(b2)f(a)f(c) f\left(a^{4} b^{4} c^{4}\right) = f\left(b^{2}\right) f\left(a^{2} c^{2}\right) = f\left(b^{2}\right) f(a) f(c)
Comparing these two equations, we find that for all elements aa and bb of SS,
f(a2)f(b)=f(b2)f(a)f(a2)f(a)=f(b2)f(b) f\left(a^{2}\right) f(b) = f\left(b^{2}\right) f(a) \quad \Longrightarrow \quad \frac{f\left(a^{2}\right)}{f(a)} = \frac{f\left(b^{2}\right)}{f(b)}
It follows that there exists a positive rational number kk such that
f(a2)=kf(a), for all aS. \begin{equation*} f\left(a^{2}\right) = k f(a), \quad \text{ for all } a \in S. \tag{1} \end{equation*}
Substituting this into the functional equation yields
f(ab)=f(a)f(b)k, for all a,bS with ab. \begin{equation*} f(a b) = \frac{f(a) f(b)}{k}, \quad \text{ for all } a, b \in S \text{ with } a \neq b. \tag{2} \end{equation*}
Now combine the functional equation with equations (1) and (2) to obtain
f(a)f(a2)=f(a6)=f(a)f(a5)k=f(a)f(a)f(a4)k2=f(a)f(a)f(a2)k, for all aS. f(a) f\left(a^{2}\right) = f\left(a^{6}\right) = \frac{f(a) f\left(a^{5}\right)}{k} = \frac{f(a) f(a) f\left(a^{4}\right)}{k^{2}} = \frac{f(a) f(a) f\left(a^{2}\right)}{k}, \quad \text{ for all } a \in S.
It follows that f(a)=kf(a) = k for all aSa \in S. Substituting a=2a = 2 and b=3b = 3 into the functional equation yields k=1k = 1, however 1S1 \notin S and hence we have no solutions.

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