2, the left hand side of this equation is negative, so
FF(@) + £(F(2)) > Fe + F(2))
and
f(x) + f(f(a)) < e+ f(z);
a contradiction. A similar contradiction occurs if f(f(z)) < «
Thus f(f(z)) = x as desired.
Comment: In the original formuiation f was meant to be a continous
function. The solution above shows that this condition is not necessary. 74 4. Solutions to Advanced Problems
Problem 61 [Nordic Contest 1998]
Find all functions f :Q— Q such that
Set y) + fey) = 2F(z) + 2fy)
for all x,y € Q.
Solution 61
The only such functions are f(x) = ka? for rational k. Any such function
works, since
fety)+ fe-y) =a ty)? +ke-y)?
= kx? + 2kay + ky? + kx? — Qkay + ky?
= 2ka? + Qky?
= 2f(z) + 2f(y).
Now suppose f is any function satisfying
f(cty) + f(x —y) = 2F (2) + 2f(y).
Then letting x = y = 0 gives 2f(0) = 4f(0), so f(0) =
We will prove by induction that f(nz) =n? f(z) for any positive integer
n and any rational number z.
The claim holds for n = 0 and n = 1; let n > 2 and suppose the claim
holds for n — 1 and n ~ 2.
Then letting « = (n — 1)z, y = z in the given equation we obtain
f(nz) + f((n = 2)z) = f((n — 1)z +z) + f((n—- 1)z - 2)
= 2f((n — 1)z) + 2f(2)
f(nz) = 2f((n — 1)z) + 2f(z) - f((n - 2)z)
= An — 1)? f(z) + 2f(z) — (n— 2)? F@)
= (2n? —4n+2+2—n? +4n—4)f(z)
=n? f(z)
and the claim holds by induction
Letting x = 0 in the given equation gives
f(y) + f(-y) = 2f(0) + 2f(y) = 2f(y),
so f(-y) = f(y) for all rational y; thus f(nz) = n?f(z) for all integers
n 4. Solutions to Advanced Problems 75
Now let k = f(1); then for any rational number x = p/q,
PS (2) = fae) = f(p) = Pf (1) = kp?
so
J (a) = kp? /q? = ka?.
Thus the functions f(x) = kx?, k € Q, are the only solutions.
Problem 62 [Korean Mathematics Competition 2000]
Let $You might also like
