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Algebra Difficulty 4.8 AIME Prove it

Given the function f(x)=exax1(aR)f(x)=e^{x}-ax-1 (a\in R), where ee is the base of the natural logarithm.
(I) Find the range of values of aa such that f(x)0f(x)\geqslant 0 holds for any x0x\geqslant 0;
(II) Prove that when n2,nNn\geqslant 2, n\in N, it always holds that 1n+4n+7n++(3n2)n<e13e1(3n)n1^{n}+4^{n}+7^{n}+…+(3n-2)^{n} < \frac {e^{ \frac {1}{3}}}{e-1}(3n)^{n}.

Solution

(I) The derivative of the function is f(x)=exaf'(x)=e^{x}-a.
1.1. When a1a\leqslant 1, f(x)=exa0f'(x)=e^{x}-a\geqslant 0 holds for any x0x\geqslant 0, so f(x)f(x) is a monotonically increasing function on (0,+)(0,+\infty); Since f(0)=0f(0)=0, f(x)f(0)=0f(x)\geqslant f(0)=0 holds for any x0x\geqslant 0.
2.2. When a>1a > 1, let f(x)=0f'(x)=0, we get x=lna>0x=\ln a > 0. When x(0,lna)x\in(0,\ln a), f(x)0f'(x) 0, f(x)f(x) is monotonically increasing. If f(x)0f(x)\geqslant 0 holds for any x0x\geqslant 0, then only need f(x)_min=f(lna)=elnaalna1=aalna10f(x)\_{min}=f(\ln a)=e^{\ln a}-a\ln a-1=a-a\ln a-1\geqslant 0. Let g(a)=aalna1(a>1)g(a)=a-a\ln a-1 (a > 1), then g(a)=1lna1=lna1g'(a)=1-\ln a-1=-\ln a 1.
In conclusion, a1a\leqslant 1.

(II) From (I), when a=1a=1, f(x)=exx1f(x)=e^{x}-x-1, f(x)=ex1f'(x)=e^{x}-1. It is easy to get f(x)_min=f(0)=0f(x)\_{min}=f(0)=0, i.e., exx+1e^{x}\geqslant x+1 holds for any xRx\in R. Taking x=3i13n(i=1,2,,n)x=- \frac {3i-1}{3n}(i=1,2,…,n), we get 13i13ne3i13n1- \frac {3i-1}{3n}\leqslant e^{- \frac {3i-1}{3n}}, i.e., (13i13n)n(e3i13n)ne(3i13n)n=e3i13(1- \frac {3i-1}{3n})^{n}\leqslant (e^{- \frac {3i-1}{3n}})^{n}\leqslant e^{( \frac {3i-1}{3n})^{n}}=e^{- \frac {3i-1}{3}}. Summing up, we get (123n)n+(153n)n++(13n13n)ne23+e53++e3n13(1- \frac {2}{3n})^{n}+(1- \frac {5}{3n})^{n}+…+(1- \frac {3n-1}{3n})^{n}\leqslant e^{- \frac {2}{3}}+e^{- \frac {5}{3}}+…+e^{- \frac {3n-1}{3}}. Therefore, (3n2)n+(3n5)n++1n[e23+e53++e3n13](3n)n=e2311en11e(3n)n<e13e1(3n)n(3n-2)^{n}+(3n-5)^{n}+…+1^{n}\leqslant [e^{- \frac {2}{3}}+e^{- \frac {5}{3}}+…+e^{- \frac {3n-1}{3}}](3n)^{n}=e^{- \frac {2}{3}} \frac {1- \frac {1}{e^{n}}}{1- \frac {1}{e}}(3n)^{n} < \frac {e^{ \frac {1}{3}}}{e-1}(3n)^{n}. So when n2,nNn\geqslant 2, n\in N, it always holds that 1n+4n+7n++(3n2)n<e13e1(3n)n1^{n}+4^{n}+7^{n}+…+(3n-2)^{n} < \boxed{\frac {e^{ \frac {1}{3}}}{e-1}(3n)^{n}}.

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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.