Find all functions from real numbers to real numbers such that
for all irrationals .
Solution
Let . Plugging and one obtain .
Let . Since the quadratic equation has discriminant , its roots have sum and product , at least one of its roots is irrational; the other root, , is also irrational. Thus we can plug and , obtaining .
Now let . The quadratic equation has discriminant , sum of the roots and product of the roots , so one of its roots is irrational; the other root, , is also irrational. We can plug and , obtaining .
So all the functions are the constant functions .
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