Problem:
Consider the inequality , where is a real parameter.
a) Solve the inequality for .
b) Find the values of for which the inequality has exactly three integer solutions.
Problem:
Consider the inequality , where is a real parameter.
a) Solve the inequality for .
b) Find the values of for which the inequality has exactly three integer solutions.
Solution:
a) We consider two cases. If , then the inequality becomes , whence . Therefore the solutions of the inequality are .
If , then the inequality becomes , which is satisfied for every . Thus .
b) If the inequality has an integral solution then and therefore
This inequality has a solution if and only if and in this case we have that . This interval contains the number and is symmetric with respect to . Therefore it contains exactly three integers if and only if , i.e. .