Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / SAUDI ARABIAN IMO Booklet /10 of 25

SAUDI ARABIAN IMO Booklet, 2023

Algebra Difficulty 7.9 National Olympiad, round 2 Prove it Saudi Arabia

Does there exist a function f:Q→Qf : \mathbb{Q} \to \mathbb{Q} satisfying
f(x+y+2f(y))=20222023⋅y+f(x) f(x + y + 2f(y)) = \frac{2022}{2023} \cdot y + f(x)
for all x,y∈Qx, y \in \mathbb{Q}?

Solution

The answer is No. Put k=20222023k = \frac{2022}{2023} and let x=0x = 0 then
f(y+af(y))=k⋅ya+f(0) f(y + a f(y)) = k \cdot \frac{y}{a} + f(0)
so ff is surjective over Q\mathbb{Q}. Put x=−af(y)x = -a f(y), then f(y)=k⋅ya+f(−af(y))f(y) = k \cdot \frac{y}{a} + f(-a f(y)) it is easy to see that ff is injective. So ff is bijective. Put y=0y = 0, then f(x+af(0))=f(x)f(x + a f(0)) = f(x) so x+af(0)=xx + a f(0) = x, resulting in f(0)=0f(0) = 0. Replace x=0x = 0 then
f(y+af(y))=k⋅ya f(y + a f(y)) = k \cdot \frac{y}{a}
so y+af(y)=f−1(k⋅ya)y + a f(y) = f^{-1}(k \cdot \frac{y}{a}), where f−1f^{-1} is the inverse of ff. From this, it follows that y+af(y)y + a f(y) is also surjective over Q\mathbb{Q}. Rewrite the problem as
f(x+y+af(y))=f(y+af(y))+f(x) f(x + y + a f(y)) = f(y + a f(y)) + f(x)
and replace y+af(y)=t∈Qy + a f(y) = t \in \mathbb{Q} then
f(x+t)=f(t)+f(x),∀x,t∈Q. f(x + t) = f(t) + f(x), \forall x, t \in \mathbb{Q}.
Therefore, ff is additive on Q\mathbb{Q}, thus there exist c∈Qc \in \mathbb{Q} such that f(x)=cx,∀x∈Qf(x) = c x, \forall x \in \mathbb{Q}. Replace to the original equation to get
c(x+y+acy)=k⋅ya+cx c(x + y + a c y) = k \cdot \frac{y}{a} + c x
or
(c+ac2−k⋅1a)y=0,∀y∈Q. \left(c + a c^2 - k \cdot \frac{1}{a}\right) y = 0, \forall y \in \mathbb{Q}.
From that we have (ac)2+ac−k=0(a c)^2 + a c - k = 0, obviously Δ=1+4k\Delta = 1 + 4k is not the square of the rational number so the equation of variable t=act = a c has no rational solution.
Therefore, there does not exist a∈Qa \in \mathbb{Q} for a function f:Q→Qf : \mathbb{Q} \to \mathbb{Q} that satisfies.

Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track puts 2,604 problems in a working order, from Junior Challenge level to the IMO shortlist.

Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.