Olympiad Maths Prep

Library / /12 of 30

Algebra Difficulty 6.0 AIME, harder Prove it Belarus

A function f:RRf: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R} satisfies the equality f(f(x))=xf(x)+x1f(f(x)) = x f(x) + x - 1 for all real numbers xx.

a) Find f(1)f(-1).

b) Find all possible values of f(1)f(1).

Solution

Let the function f:RRf: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R} satisfy the equality
f(f(x))=xf(x)+x1() f(f(x)) = x f(x) + x - 1 \quad (*)
for all xRx \in \mathbb{R}.

a) Set c=f(0)c = f(0). We have f(c)=f(f(0))=0f(0)+01=1f(c) = f(f(0)) = 0 \cdot f(0) + 0 - 1 = -1. So
1=f(c).(1) -1 = f(c). \quad (1)
Therefore, taking into account ()(*) for x=cx = c and (1), we obtain the required value
f(1)=f(f(c))=cf(c)+c1=c+c1=1. f(-1) = f(f(c)) = c \cdot f(c) + c - 1 = -c + c - 1 = -1.

b) Let a=f(1)a = f(1). Taking into account ()(*) for x=1x = 1, we obtain
f(a)=f(f(1))=1f(1)+11=a. f(a) = f(f(1)) = 1 \cdot f(1) + 1 - 1 = a.
Since
a=f(a),(2) a = f(a), \quad (2)
it follows that
f(a)=f(f(a))=af(a)+a1=a2+a1.(3) f(a) = f(f(a)) = a \cdot f(a) + a - 1 = a^2 + a - 1. \quad (3)
From (2) and (3) it follows that a2+a1=aa^2 + a - 1 = a, i.e. either a=1a = -1 or a=1a = 1.

Both the values are achieved. For example,
f(x)=1andf(x)={1,if x1,1,if x=1.(3) f(x) = -1 \quad \text{and} \quad f(x) = \begin{cases} -1, & \text{if } x \neq 1, \\ 1, & \text{if } x = 1. \end{cases} \quad (3)
It is easy to verify that both the functions satisfy the initial equation ()(*) for all real xx.

Some more examples:
f(x)={1x,if x0,1,if x=0orf(x)={1,if x0,α,if x=0, f(x) = \begin{cases} \frac{1}{x}, & \text{if } x \neq 0, \\ -1, & \text{if } x = 0 \end{cases} \quad \text{or} \quad f(x) = \begin{cases} -1, & \text{if } x \neq 0, \\ \alpha, & \text{if } x = 0, \end{cases}
where α\alpha is any real number different from 00.
Another function: f(x)=1xf(x) = \frac{1}{x}, if xAx \in A, and f(x)=1f(x) = -1 for all other xx, where AA is an arbitrary subset of R{0}\mathbb{R} \setminus \{0\}, such that A1AA^{-1} \subset A.

Looking for a route rather than an archive? The track puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.