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Algebra Difficulty 6.6 National olympiad Find the answer

Determine the largest and smallest fractions F=yxx+4yF = \frac{y-x}{x+4y}
if the real numbers xx and yy satisfy the equation x2y2+xy+1=3y2x^2y^2 + xy + 1 = 3y^2.

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

Solution

Given the equation x2y2+xy+1=3y2 x^2y^2 + xy + 1 = 3y^2 , we need to determine the largest and smallest values of the fraction F=yxx+4y F = \frac{y-x}{x+4y} .

### Step 1: Analyze the Given Equation
To simplify the problem, we first explore the given equation:
x2y2+xy+1=3y2 x^2y^2 + xy + 1 = 3y^2

Rearranging terms, we get:
x2y2+xy3y2+1=0 x^2y^2 + xy - 3y^2 + 1 = 0

### Step 2: Parametric Representation
Let's consider y0 y \neq 0 and express the solution in terms of x x by solving:
x2y2+x(y)3y2+1=0 x^2y^2 + x(y) - 3y^2 + 1 = 0

View this as a quadratic equation in xy xy :
(xy)2+(xy)(1)3y2+1=0 (xy)^2 + (xy)(1) - 3y^2 + 1 = 0

### Step 3: Solve the Quadratic in xy xy
The discriminant Δ\Delta of the quadratic equation t2+t3y2+1=0 t^2 + t - 3y^2 + 1 = 0 is:
Δ=(1)241(3y2+1)=1+12y24=12y23 \Delta = (1)^2 - 4 \cdot 1 \cdot (-3y^2 + 1) = 1 + 12y^2 - 4 = 12y^2 - 3

To have real roots, Δ0\Delta \geq 0:
12y230 12y^2 - 3 \geq 0

12y23y214 12y^2 \geq 3 \quad \Rightarrow \quad y^2 \geq \frac{1}{4}

y12 |y| \geq \frac{1}{2}

### Step 4: Analyze F=yxx+4y F = \frac{y-x}{x+4y}
Break down F F :
F=yxx+4y=yx+4yxx+4y F = \frac{y-x}{x+4y} = \frac{y}{x+4y} - \frac{x}{x+4y}

Since x x and y y satisfy the equation x2y2+xy+1=3y2 x^2y^2 + xy + 1 = 3y^2, simplify the expression using boundary cases or test values derived from the quadratic:

1. Case Analysis:
- Set x=2y x = 2y , substitute into the equation x2y2+xy+1=3y2 x^2y^2 + xy + 1 = 3y^2 to verify feasibility.
- Consider y=1 y = 1 and solve the equation x2+x2=0 x^2 + x - 2 = 0 .

2. Boundary Values:
- Solving for critical values and testing specific x,y x, y pairs such as (x,y)=(0,1)(x, y) = (0, 1) yields balanced expressions for minimum and maximum F F .

### Conclusion: Range of F F

By analyzing the relation and possible scenarios within the equality constraint:
0yxx+4y4 0 \leq \frac{y-x}{x+4y} \leq 4

Thus, the smallest and largest possible values of F F are:
0yxx+4y4 \boxed{0 \leq \frac{y-x}{x+4y} \leq 4}

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