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Algebra Difficulty 5.8 AIME, harder Find the answer

Let R>0\mathbb{R}_{>0} be the set of positive real numbers. Let aR>0a \in \mathbb{R}_{>0} be given. Find all functions f:R>0Rf: \mathbb{R}_{>0} \rightarrow \mathbb{R} such that f(a)=1f(a)=1 and

x,yR>0:f(x)f(y)+f(ax)f(ay)=2f(xy) \forall x, y \in \mathbb{R}_{>0}: f(x) f(y)+f\left(\frac{a}{x}\right) f\left(\frac{a}{y}\right)=2 f(x y)

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

Substituting x=ax=a and y=1y=1 into (1) gives f(a)f(1)+f(aa)f(a1)=2f(a1)f(a) f(1)+f\left(\frac{a}{a}\right) f\left(\frac{a}{1}\right)=2 f(a \cdot 1), which, due to f(a)=1f(a)=1, leads to f(1)+f(1)=2f(1)+f(1)=2, thus

f(1)=1 f(1)=1

Substituting y=1y=1 into (1) gives f(x)f(1)+f(ax)f(a1)=2f(x1)f(x) f(1)+f\left(\frac{a}{x}\right) f\left(\frac{a}{1}\right)=2 f(x \cdot 1), which, due to f(a)=f(1)=1f(a)=f(1)=1, leads to f(x)+f(ax)=2f(x)f(x)+f\left(\frac{a}{x}\right)=2 f(x), thus

f(x)=f(ax). f(x)=f\left(\frac{a}{x}\right) .

But then (1) transforms into f(x)f(y)+f(x)f(y)=2f(xy)f(x) f(y)+f(x) f(y)=2 f(x y), thus

f(x)f(y)=f(xy) f(x) f(y)=f(x y)

From (3) and (4) it follows that f(x)f(x)=f(x)f(ax)=f(xax)=f(a)=1f(x) f(x)=f(x) f\left(\frac{a}{x}\right)=f\left(x \cdot \frac{a}{x}\right)=f(a)=1, so for every xR>0x \in \mathbb{R}_{>0}, f(x)=1f(x)=1 or f(x)=1f(x)=-1.
Since we can write positive xx as xx\sqrt{x} \sqrt{x}, we find using (4) that f(x)=f(x)= f(xx)=f(x)f(x)=(±1)2=1f(\sqrt{x} \sqrt{x})=f(\sqrt{x}) f(\sqrt{x})=( \pm 1)^{2}=1, thus f(x)=1f(x)=1 for every xR>0x \in \mathbb{R}_{>0}. We conclude that the only possibility for ff is apparently the constant function f:R>0R:x1f: \mathbb{R}_{>0} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}: x \mapsto 1.
Finally, we check whether the constant function x:f(x)=1\forall x: f(x)=1 indeed satisfies the conditions. The condition f(a)=1f(a)=1 is satisfied, while (1) becomes 11+11=211 \cdot 1+1 \cdot 1=2 \cdot 1, which holds.
Thus, there is exactly one function ff that satisfies the given conditions, namely f:R>0R:x1f: \mathbb{R}_{>0} \rightarrow \mathbb{R}: x \mapsto 1.

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Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.