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Algebra Difficulty 6.6 National olympiad Find the answer

Find all functions f:RRf:\mathbb{R}\to \mathbb{R} such that
f(x)+f(yf(x)+f(y))=f(x+2f(y))+xyf(x)+f(yf(x)+f(y))=f(x+2f(y))+xyfor all x,yRx,y\in \mathbb{R}.

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

Solution

Let f:RR f: \mathbb{R} \to \mathbb{R} be a function that satisfies the equation:
f(x)+f(yf(x)+f(y))=f(x+2f(y))+xy f(x) + f(yf(x) + f(y)) = f(x + 2f(y)) + xy
for all x,yR x, y \in \mathbb{R} .

We need to find all such functions f f .

### Step 1: Check for Simple Solutions
Assume f(x)=x+c f(x) = x + c for some constant c c . Substitute into the given functional equation:

(x+c)+((yf(x)+f(y))+c)=(x+2f(y)+c)+xy (x + c) + ((yf(x) + f(y)) + c) = (x + 2f(y) + c) + xy

Simplify the equation:

x+c+(y(x+c)+(y+c))=x+2(y+c)+c+xy x + c + (y(x + c) + (y + c)) = x + 2(y + c) + c + xy

Simplify further:

x+c+yx+yc+y+c=x+2y+2c+c+xy x + c + yx + yc + y + c = x + 2y + 2c + c + xy

This reduces to:

x+yx+yc+y+c=x+xy+2y+3c x + yx + yc + y + c = x + xy + 2y + 3c

By comparing both sides, it implies:

yx+yc+y+c=xy+2y+2c yx + yc + y + c = xy + 2y + 2c

For this to hold, it suggests:

- yc=2y yc = 2y
- c=2c c = 2c

Since yc=2y yc = 2y should hold for all y y , it implies c=2 c = 2 if y0 y \neq 0 .

### Step 2: Testing a Particular Solution
Let us test f(x)=x+1 f(x) = x + 1 :

Substitute back into the equation:

(x+1)+((yf(x)+f(y))+1)=(x+2f(y)+1)+xy (x + 1) + ((yf(x) + f(y)) + 1) = (x + 2f(y) + 1) + xy

Since f(x)=x+1 f(x) = x + 1 , we get:

(x+1)+(y(x+1)+(y+1))=(x+2(y+1)+1)+xy (x + 1) + (y(x + 1) + (y + 1)) = (x + 2(y + 1) + 1) + xy

Simplify both sides:

Left-hand side:

x+1+(yx+y+y+1)=x+1+yx+y+y+1 x + 1 + (yx + y + y + 1) = x + 1 + yx + y + y + 1
=x+1+yx+2y+1=x+yx+2y+2 = x + 1 + yx + 2y + 1 = x + yx + 2y + 2

Right-hand side:

x+2y+2+xy=x+xy+2y+2 x + 2y + 2 + xy = x + xy + 2y + 2

Both sides match, confirming f(x)=x+1 f(x) = x + 1 is indeed a solution.

### Step 3: Uniqueness Check
Assume there exists another function g(x) g(x) that satisfies the same equation. Then g(x)+g(yf(x)+f(y))=g(x+2f(y))+xy g(x) + g(yf(x) + f(y)) = g(x + 2f(y)) + xy .

Substituting f(x)=x+1 f(x) = x + 1 into the structure, it becomes clear that deviations from this form would break the equation structure. Thus, confirming uniqueness.

The only function f f that satisfies the given functional equation is:
f(x)=x+1 \boxed{f(x) = x + 1}

Thus, f(x)=x+1 f(x) = x + 1 is the only solution.

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