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Algebra Difficulty 4.9 AIME Prove it Hong Kong

Find a function f:R0R0f : \mathbb{R}^{\ge 0} \to \mathbb{R}^{\ge 0} satisfying f(2x+1)=4f(x)+9f(2x + 1) = 4f(x) + 9 for all x0x \ge 0. (R0\mathbb{R}^{\ge 0} is the set of nonnegative real numbers.)

Solution

A possible function is f(x)=0f(x) = 0 for any x[0,1)x \in [0, 1) and f(x)=3(4k1)f(x) = 3(4^k - 1) for any x[2k1,2k+11)x \in [2^k - 1, 2^{k+1} - 1) where kZ+k \in \mathbb{Z}^+.
It suffices to check the above function satisfies the conditions. It is clear that f(x)0f(x) \ge 0 for any x0x \ge 0. If x[0,1)x \in [0, 1), then 2x+1[1,3)2x + 1 \in [1, 3). Therefore, we have
f(2x+1)=3(411)=9=4(0)+9=4f(x)+9. f(2x + 1) = 3(4^1 - 1) = 9 = 4(0) + 9 = 4f(x) + 9.
If x[2k1,2k+11)x \in [2^k - 1, 2^{k+1} - 1) where kZ+k \in \mathbb{Z}^+, then 2x+1[2k+11,2k+21)2x + 1 \in [2^{k+1} - 1, 2^{k+2} - 1). Therefore, we have
f(2x+1)=3(4k+11)=43(4k1)+9=4f(x)+9. f(2x + 1) = 3(4^{k+1} - 1) = 4 \cdot 3(4^k - 1) + 9 = 4f(x) + 9.
This completes the proof.

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