Given , and , what is the value of ?
Solution
Let's introduce the function . According to the problem statement , we have .
Firstly, let's consider the transformation of when is replaced by :
\begin{align*}
g(-x) &= a\tan (-x) - b(-x)^5 + c(-x)\\
&= -a\tan x + bx^5 - cx\\
&= -(a\tan x - bx^5 + cx)\\
&= -g(x).
\end{align*}
From the last equation, we can see that is an odd function since holds for all in the domain.
Now, knowing that , and using the fact that is odd, we can find the value of :
\begin{align*}
g(3) &= -g(-3)\\
&= -10.
\end{align*}
Hence, we can determine the value of using :
\begin{align*}
f(3) &= g(3) - 3\\
&= -10 - 3\\
&= -13.
\end{align*}
Therefore, the value of is \boxed{-13}.
Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track
puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.