Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /44 of 144

Algebra Difficulty 8.0 National olympiad, round 2 Find the answer

Find all functions f:RRf:\mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R} that satisfy the conditions
f(1+xy)f(x+y)=f(x)f(y)for all x,yR,f(1+xy)-f(x+y)=f(x)f(y) \quad \text{for all } x,y \in \mathbb{R},
and f(1)0f(-1) \neq 0.

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

To find all functions f:RR f:\mathbb{R} \rightarrow \mathbb{R} satisfying the functional equation

f(1+xy)f(x+y)=f(x)f(y) f(1+xy) - f(x+y) = f(x)f(y)

for all x,yR x, y \in \mathbb{R} , and also given that f(1)0 f(-1) \neq 0 , we proceed as follows:

### Step 1: Investigate possible solutions

Assume a potential solution of the form f(x)=x1 f(x) = x - 1 . We need to verify if this satisfies the given functional equation.

Substituting f(x)=x1 f(x) = x - 1 into the functional equation, we have:

f(1+xy)=1+xy1=xy f(1 + xy) = 1 + xy - 1 = xy

and

f(x+y)=(x+y)1. f(x + y) = (x + y) - 1.

Thus, the left-hand side of the equation becomes:

f(1+xy)f(x+y)=xy((x+y)1)=xyxy+1. f(1 + xy) - f(x + y) = xy - ((x + y) - 1) = xy - x - y + 1.

On the right-hand side, using f(x)=x1 f(x) = x - 1 and f(y)=y1 f(y) = y - 1 , we have:

f(x)f(y)=(x1)(y1)=xyxy+1. f(x)f(y) = (x - 1)(y - 1) = xy - x - y + 1.

Since both sides are equal, f(x)=x1 f(x) = x - 1 satisfies the equation.

### Step 2: Verify the condition f(1)0 f(-1) \neq 0 .

Substitute x=1 x = -1 in f(x)=x1 f(x) = x - 1 :

f(1)=(1)1=20. f(-1) = (-1) - 1 = -2 \neq 0.

This condition is met, as f(1)0 f(-1) \neq 0 .

### Step 3: Conclusion

We have shown that f(x)=x1 f(x) = x - 1 is a valid solution that satisfies both the functional equation and the condition f(1)0 f(-1) \neq 0 .

Since the conditions are satisfied, the function f(x)=x1 f(x) = x - 1 is the only function that meets the given requirements.

Thus, the solution is:

f(x)=x1 \boxed{f(x) = x - 1}

This complete verification confirms that f(x)=x1 f(x) = x - 1 is the required functional form for the given problem statement.

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.

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