Find all functions that satisfy the inequality
for all real numbers .
Solution
To find all functions that satisfy the inequality
for all real numbers , we need to analyze the given condition.
First, observe that for linear functions , the inequality holds with equality. This suggests that linear functions are solutions.
Next, consider quadratic functions of the form . For these functions, the left-hand side of the inequality represents the concavity condition of the quadratic function, which is always non-positive for downward-facing parabolas (i.e., ).
To confirm, we rearrange the given inequality:
This form indicates that the function must be concave and continuous, ensuring that the second derivative .
Thus, the functions that satisfy the inequality are linear functions and downward-facing parabolas. These can be expressed as:
The answer is: \boxed{\text{linear functions and downward-facing parabolas}}.