Maths Olympiad Prep

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Algebra Difficulty 6.8 National Olympiad Prove it Bulgaria

Problem:
Find all real numbers aa such that the equation
log4ax(x3a)+12logx3a4ax=32 \log_{4 a x}(x-3 a)+\frac{1}{2} \log_{x-3 a} 4 a x=\frac{3}{2}
has exactly two solutions.

Solution

Solution:
The equation is defined if
4ax>0, 4ax1, x3a>0, x3a1 4 a x > 0,\ 4 a x \neq 1,\ x-3 a > 0,\ x-3 a \neq 1
Setting t=log4ax(x3a)t = \log_{4 a x}(x-3 a) we get the equation t+12t=32t + \frac{1}{2 t} = \frac{3}{2} with roots t1=1t_1 = 1 and t2=12t_2 = \frac{1}{2}.
If log4ax(x3a)=1\log_{4 a x}(x-3 a) = 1, then x1=3a14ax_1 = \frac{3 a}{1-4 a}, a14a \neq \frac{1}{4}.
If log4ax(x3a)=12\log_{4 a x}(x-3 a) = \frac{1}{2} we obtain the equation x26ax+9a2=4axx^2 - 6 a x + 9 a^2 = 4 a x with roots x2=9ax_2 = 9 a and x3=ax_3 = a.
Hence we have to find all aa for which exactly two of the numbers x1=3a14a (a14)x_1 = \frac{3 a}{1-4 a}\ (a \neq \frac{1}{4}), x2=9ax_2 = 9 a and x3=ax_3 = a are different solutions of the given equation. It is clear that a0a \neq 0. We shall consider two cases.

1. Let a>0a > 0. Then x33a=2a<0x_3 - 3 a = -2 a < 0, which implies that x1x_1 and x2x_2 have to be the solutions. Since x1=3a14ax_1 = \frac{3 a}{1-4 a} satisfies (*), it follows that 4ax1=12a214a>04 a x_1 = \frac{12 a^2}{1-4 a} > 0, 4ax1=12a214a14 a x_1 = \frac{12 a^2}{1-4 a} \neq 1, x13a=3a14a3a>0x_1 - 3 a = \frac{3 a}{1-4 a} - 3 a > 0 and x13a=3a14a3a1x_1 - 3 a = \frac{3 a}{1-4 a} - 3 a \neq 1. This implies that a<14a < \frac{1}{4} and a16a \neq \frac{1}{6}. It is easy to check that if a16a \neq \frac{1}{6}, then x1x2x_1 \neq x_2 and x2x_2 satisfies (*). So the desired numbers aa in this case are
a(0,16)(16,14) a \in \left(0, \frac{1}{6}\right) \cup \left(\frac{1}{6}, \frac{1}{4}\right)

2. Let a<0a < 0. Then x23a=6a<0x_2 - 3 a = 6 a < 0, which implies that x1x_1 and x3x_3 have to be the two solutions. Since x1=3a14ax_1 = \frac{3 a}{1-4 a} again satisfies ()(*), we find as in the first case that a12a \neq -\frac{1}{2}. Now it is easy to check that x1x3x_1 \neq x_3 and x3x_3 satisfies ()(*). Thus
a(,12)(12,0) a \in \left(-\infty, -\frac{1}{2}\right) \cup \left(-\frac{1}{2}, 0\right)

Combining both cases, it follows that the answer of the problem is
a(,12)(12,0)(0,16)(16,14) a \in \left(-\infty, -\frac{1}{2}\right) \cup \left(-\frac{1}{2}, 0\right) \cup \left(0, \frac{1}{6}\right) \cup \left(\frac{1}{6}, \frac{1}{4}\right)

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