Problem:
Let be a differentiable function with a continuous derivative such that for every positive integer and odd positive integer , there exists an odd positive integer such that . Determine the set of possible values of .
Solution
Solution:
Answer:
The key step is to notice that for such a function , for any .
Assume, for sake of contradiction, that there exists such that . Since is a continuous function, there is some small interval containing such that for all . Now there exists some such that are both in the interval . From the definition,
where are integers; one is odd, and one is even. So is an odd integer. Since is differentiable, by the mean value theorem there exists a point where . But this point is in the interval , and . This contradicts the assumption that for all .
Since , and is a continuous function, is either always positive or always negative. So is either increasing or decreasing. always. If is increasing, it follows that , , and we can show by induction that indeed for all integers . Since numbers of this form are dense in the interval , and is a continuous function, for all .
It can be similarly shown that if is decreasing, for all . So the only possible values of are .