Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 6.3 National Olympiad Prove it Philippines

Problem:
Let f(x)=4sin4xsin2xcos2x+4cos4xf(x) = \sqrt{4 \sin^4 x - \sin^2 x \cos^2 x + 4 \cos^4 x} for any xRx \in \mathbb{R}. Let MM and mm be the maximum and minimum values of ff, respectively. Find the product of MM and mm.

Solution

Solution:
Let us simplify the expression inside the square root:

Let s=sin2xs = \sin^2 x, c=cos2xc = \cos^2 x. Then s+c=1s + c = 1.

4sin4x+4cos4x=4(s2+c2)4 \sin^4 x + 4 \cos^4 x = 4(s^2 + c^2)

But s2+c2=(s+c)22sc=12scs^2 + c^2 = (s + c)^2 - 2sc = 1 - 2sc

So 4(s2+c2)=4(12sc)=48sc4(s^2 + c^2) = 4(1 - 2sc) = 4 - 8sc

Also, sin2xcos2x=sc-\sin^2 x \cos^2 x = -sc

So the expression inside the square root is:

48scsc=49sc4 - 8sc - sc = 4 - 9sc

Therefore,

f(x)=49sin2xcos2xf(x) = \sqrt{4 - 9 \sin^2 x \cos^2 x}

Recall that sin2xcos2x=(sinxcosx)2=(sin2x2)2=sin22x4\sin^2 x \cos^2 x = (\sin x \cos x)^2 = \left(\frac{\sin 2x}{2}\right)^2 = \frac{\sin^2 2x}{4}

So 9sin2xcos2x=9sin22x4=94sin22x9 \sin^2 x \cos^2 x = 9 \cdot \frac{\sin^2 2x}{4} = \frac{9}{4} \sin^2 2x

Thus,

f(x)=494sin22x=169sin22x4=169sin22x2f(x) = \sqrt{4 - \frac{9}{4} \sin^2 2x} = \sqrt{\frac{16 - 9 \sin^2 2x}{4}} = \frac{\sqrt{16 - 9 \sin^2 2x}}{2}

Now, sin22x\sin^2 2x ranges from 00 to 11.

So 169sin22x16 - 9 \sin^2 2x ranges from 1616 (when sin22x=0\sin^2 2x = 0) to 77 (when sin22x=1\sin^2 2x = 1).

Therefore, the maximum value of f(x)f(x) is when sin22x=0\sin^2 2x = 0:

M=162=42=2M = \frac{\sqrt{16}}{2} = \frac{4}{2} = 2

The minimum value is when sin22x=1\sin^2 2x = 1:

m=72m = \frac{\sqrt{7}}{2}

Therefore, the product Mm=272=7M \cdot m = 2 \cdot \frac{\sqrt{7}}{2} = \sqrt{7}

Answer: 7\boxed{\sqrt{7}}

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