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Algebra Difficulty 4.5 AIME Find the answer China

Suppose real number aa satisfies 2xa+3x2aa2|2x - a| + |3x - 2a| \ge a^2 for any xRx \in \mathbb{R}. Then aa lies exactly in:

Pick one

Solution

Let x=23ax = \frac{2}{3}a. Then we have a13|a| \le \frac{1}{3}. Therefore (B) and (D) are excluded. By symmetry, (C) is also excluded. Then only (A) can be correct.

In general, for any kRk \in \mathbb{R}, let x=12kax = \frac{1}{2}ka. Then the original inequality becomes
ak1+32ak43a2. |a| \cdot |k-1| + \frac{3}{2} |a| \cdot \left|k - \frac{4}{3}\right| \ge |a|^2.
This is equivalent to
ak1+32k43. |a| \le |k-1| + \frac{3}{2} \left|k - \frac{4}{3}\right|.
We have
k1+32k43={52k3,k43,112k,1k<43,352k,k<1. |k-1| + \frac{3}{2} \left|k - \frac{4}{3}\right| = \begin{cases} \frac{5}{2}k - 3, & k \ge \frac{4}{3}, \\ 1 - \frac{1}{2}k, & 1 \le k < \frac{4}{3}, \\ 3 - \frac{5}{2}k, & k < 1. \end{cases}
So
minkR{k1+32k43}=13. \min_{k \in \mathbb{R}} \left\{ |k-1| + \frac{3}{2} \left| k - \frac{4}{3} \right| \right\} = \frac{1}{3}.
The inequality is reduced to a13|a| \le \frac{1}{3}. Answer: A.

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