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Algebra Difficulty 4.8 AIME Prove it Slovenia

Find all real numbers a0a \ge 0 for which the equation 2xa+3x+a=12|x-a| + 3|x+a| = 1 has at least one real solution.

Solution

We need to consider several possibilities.

If x<ax < -a, then 2(xa)3(x+a)=1-2(x - a) - 3(x + a) = 1, which implies x=a+15x = -\frac{a+1}{5}. For this to be a valid solution, we must have

a+15<a-\frac{a+1}{5} < -a, or a<14a < \frac{1}{4}.

If axa-a \le x \le a, then 2(xa)+3(x+a)=1-2(x-a) + 3(x+a) = 1, so x=15ax = 1-5a. This solution is valid only when a15aa-a \le 1-5a \le a, which is equivalent to 16a14\frac{1}{6} \le a \le \frac{1}{4}.

If x>ax > a, then 2(xa)+3(x+a)=12(x-a) + 3(x+a) = 1, or x=1a5x = \frac{1-a}{5}. For this solution to be valid we must have 1a5>a\frac{1-a}{5} > a, or a<16a < \frac{1}{6}.

The equation has at least one real solution if and only if a14a \le \frac{1}{4}.

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.