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Algebra Difficulty 6.1 National olympiad Prove it Romania

Determine the continuous functions f:RRf : \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R} having the property that, for all x,yRx, y \in \mathbb{R}, there exist t(0,1)t \in (0, 1) such that
f((1t)x+ty)=(1t)f(x)+tf(y). f((1-t)x + ty) = (1-t)f(x) + tf(y).

Solution

We shall prove that the answer is f:RRf : \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R}, f(x)=mx+nf(x) = mx + n, with m,nRm, n \in \mathbb{R}. It is trivial to see that this family of functions satisfy the property.

For the converse, let ff with the given property. Consider a,bRa, b \in \mathbb{R}, a<ba < b, and define
m=f(b)f(a)baandn=bf(a)af(b)ba. m = \frac{f(b) - f(a)}{b - a} \quad \text{and} \quad n = \frac{bf(a) - af(b)}{b - a}.
We shall show that f(x)=mx+nf(x) = mx + n, for all x[a,b]x \in [a, b]. By way of contradiction, let x0[a,b]x_0 \in [a, b], such that f(x0)mx0+nf(x_0) \neq mx_0 + n. Consider the sets
A={x[a,x0]f(x)=mx+n}andB={x[x0,b]f(x)=mx+n}. A = \{x \in [a, x_0] \mid f(x) = mx + n\} \quad \text{and} \quad B = \{x \in [x_0, b] \mid f(x) = mx + n\}.
AA and BB are nonempty because aAa \in A and bBb \in B. Consider the numbers α=sup(A)\alpha = \sup(A) and β=inf(B)\beta = \inf(B). By the continuity of ff we get αA\alpha \in A, βB\beta \in B and α<x0<β\alpha < x_0 < \beta. By the hypothesis, there is t(0,1)t \in (0, 1) such that
f((1t)α+tβ)=(1t)f(α)+tf(β)=m((1t)α+tβ)+n. f((1-t)\alpha + t\beta) = (1-t)f(\alpha) + tf(\beta) = m((1-t)\alpha + t\beta) + n.
Then γ=(1t)α+tβ(α,β)\gamma = (1-t)\alpha + t\beta \in (\alpha, \beta) and f(γ)=mγ+nf(\gamma) = m\gamma + n, in contradiction with the definition of α\alpha and β\beta. So, f(x)=mx+nf(x) = mx + n, for all x[a,b]x \in [a, b].

To extend the answer to R\mathbb{R}, observe that if f:[a,c]Rf : [a, c] \to \mathbb{R}, c>bc > b is a function obtained from the preceding considerations, say f(x)=mx+nf(x) = m'x + n', we must have by continuity m=mm = m', n=nn = n'. The same remark can be made on intervals of the form [c,b][c, b] with c<ac < a.

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