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Zuming Feng - Algebra (Mathematics Olympiad Coachs Seminar) - Coachalgs (Some Solutions) - 2004 - 25p
Zuming Feng - Algebra (Mathematics Olympiad Coachs Seminar) - Coachalgs (Some Solutions) - 2004 - 25p
03/22/2004
Algebra
1. There exists a polynomial P of degree 5 with the following property: if z is a complex number such
that z 5 + 2004z = 1, then P (z 2 ) = 0. Find all such polynomials P .
2. Let N denote the set of positive integers. Find all functions f : N N such that
f (m + n)f (m n) = f (m2 )
for all m, n N.
Solution:
Function f (n) = 1, for all n N, is the only function satisfying the conditions of
the problem.
Note that
f (1)f (2n 1) = f (n2 )
for n 3. Thus
Setting
f (3)
f (1)
f (3)
f ((n + 1)2 )
=
.
f (1)
f (n2 )
for sufficiently large m and is thus also k. Hence f (2h) = k h1 f (2) and f (2h + 1) = k h f (1).
But
and
f (25)
f (25)
f (11)
=
= k8
f (9)
f (23)
f (9)
f (25)
f (25) f (16)
=
= k2 ,
f (9)
f (16) f (9)
so k = 1 and f (16) = f (9). This implies that f (2h + 1) = f (1) = f (2) = f (2j) for all j, h, so f is
constant. From the original functional equation it is then clear that f (n) = 1 for all n N.
3. Call a real-valued function f very convex if
f (x) + f (y)
f
2
x+y
2
+ |x y|
holds for all real numbers x and y. Prove that no very convex function exists.
First Solution: Fix n 1. For each integer i, define
i+1
i
i = f
f
.
n
n
from which,
i+2
n
i+2
+f
2
i+1
n
i+1
n
i+1
n
2
,
n
i
4
f
+ ,
n
n
that is, i+1 i + 4/n. Combining this for n consecutive values of i gives i+n i + 4. Summing
this inequality for i = 0 to i = n 1 and cancelling terms yields
f (2) f (1) f (1) f (0) + 4n.
This cannot hold for all n 1. Hence there are no very convex functions.
Second Solution: We show by induction that the given inequality implies
f (x) + f (y)
f
2
x+y
2
2n |x y|
for all nonnegative integers n. This will yield a contradiction, because for fixed x and y the right side
gets arbitrarily large, while the left side remains fixed.
We are given the base case n = 0. Now if the inequality holds for a given n, then for a, b real,
f (a) + f (a + 2b)
f (a + b) + 2n+1 |b|,
2
f (a + b) + f (a + 3b) 2(f (a + 2b) + 2n+1 |b|),
and
f (a + 2b) + f (a + 4b)
f (a + 3b) + 2n+1 |b|.
2
Adding these three inequalities and canceling terms yields
f (a) + f (a + 4b)
f (a + 2b) + 2n+3 |b|.
2
Setting x = a, y = a + 4b, we obtain
f (x) + f (y)
f
2
x+y
2
+ 2n+1 |x y|,
x+y
x+y
f
f (y) + 2|x y|.
f (x) f
2
2
and
bi and T =
(2 a1 ) + + (2 an ) n
and
(4 4b1 + b21 ) + + (4 4bn + b2n ) n2 ,
which is to say S n and T n2 4n + 4S.
From these inequalities, we obtain
T n2 4n + 4S (n 4)S + 4S = nS.
P
On the other hand, if bi > 0 for i = 1, . . . , n, then certainly bi < bi = S n, and so
T = b21 + + b2n < nb1 + + nbn = nS.
Thus we cannot have bi > 0 for i = 1, . . . , n, so bi 0 for some i, and ai 2 for that i, proving the
claim.
Note: The statement is false when n 3. The example a1 = a2 = = an1 = 2, an = 2 n
shows
that the P
bound cannot be improved. An alternate approach is to show that if ai 2 and
P
ai n, then
a2i n2 (with the equality case just mentioned), by noticing that replacing a pair
ai , aj with 2, ai + aj 2 increases the sum of squares.
1
5. Let { an }n0 be a sequence of real numbers such that an+1 a2n + for all n 0. Prove that
5
First Solution: (by Alison Miller) For any k, we have the following inequality:
ak+1 +
1
1
1
1
a2k + +
= a2k + ak ,
20
5 20
4
1
1
an+1 a2n + ,
5
5
sin( ) sin( + ) =
Hence, we obtain
sin a sin(a b) sin(a c) sin(a + b) sin(a + c)
= sin c(sin2 a sin2 b)(sin2 a sin2 c)
()
3A
3B
3C
AB
BC
C A
+ sin
+ sin
cos
+ cos
+ cos
.
2
2
2
2
2
2
3A
BC
cos
2
2
= sin 3 cos( )
= sin 3 sin( + 2)
= 2 cos(2 + ) sin( )
= 2 sin( ) sin( ).
3B
C A
cos
= 2 sin( ) sin( )
2
2
and
3C
AB
cos
= 2 sin( ) sin( ).
2
2
Hence it suffices to prove that
sin
(x + 3)2
2x2 + (3 x)2
x2 + 6x + 9
1 x2 + 6x + 9
=
3(x2 2x + 3)
3 x2 2x + 3
1
8x + 6
1
8x + 6
1+ 2
=
1+
3
x 2x + 3
3
(x 1)2 + 2
1
8x + 6
1
1+
= (4x + 4).
3
2
3
Hence,
1
f (a) + f (b) + f (c) (4a + 4 + 4b + 4 + 4c + 4) = 8,
3
as desired, with equality if and only if a = b = c.
Second Solution: (By Liang Qin) Setting x = a + b, y = b + c, z = c + a gives 2a + b + c = x + z,
hence 2a = x + z y and their analogous forms. The desired inequality becomes
2(x + z)2
2(z + y)2
+
(x + z y)2 + 2y 2 (z + y x)2 + 2x2
2(y + x)2
8.
(y + x z)2 + 2z 2
Because 2(s2 +t2 ) (s+t)2 for all real numbers s and t, we have 2(x+z y)2 +2y 2 (x+z y+y)2 =
(x + z)2 . Hence
=
=
2(x + z)2
(x + z y)2 + 2y 2
4(x + z)2
4(x + z)2
2(x + z y)2 + 4y 2
(x + z)2 + 2y 2
4
4
4(x2 + z 2 )
=
.
2
2
y
x2 + y 2 + z 2
1 + 2 (x+z)
1 + 2 2(x2y+z 2 )
2
It is not difficult to see that the desired result follows from summing up the above inequality and its
analogous forms.
Third Solution: (By Richard Stong) Note that
(2x + y)2 + 2(x y)2 = 4x2 + 4xy + y 2 + 2x2 4xy + 2y 2
= 3(2x2 + y 2 ).
Setting x = a and y = b + c yields
(2a + b + c)2 + 2(a b c)2 = 3(2a2 + (b + c)2 ).
Thus, we have
(2a + b + c)2
2a2 + (b + c)2
3[2a2 + (b + c)2 ]
0,
(1)
P
where cyc is the cyclic sum of variables (a, b, c). The numerator of the term shown factors as
(2a x)(2a 5x), where x = b + c. We will show that
4(2a x)
(2a x)(2a 5x)
.
2
2
3(2a + x )
3(a + x)
(2)
,
2
2
3[2a + (b + c) ]
3(a + b + c)
hence (1) follows. Equality holds if and only if 2a = b + c, 2b = c + a, 2c = a + b, i.e., when a = b = c.
Fifth Solution: Given a function f of n variables, we define the symmetric sum
X
X
f (x1 , . . . , xn ) =
f (x(1) , . . . , x(n) )
sym
where runs over all permutations of 1, . . . , n (for a total of n! terms). For example, if n = 3, and
we write x, y, z for x1 , x2 , x3 ,
X
x3 = 2x3 + 2y 3 + 2z 3
sym
X
x2 y = x2 y + y 2 z + z 2 x + x2 z + y 2 x + z 2 y
sym
X
xyz = 6xyz.
sym
We combine the terms in the desired inequality over a common denominator and use symmetric sum
notation to simplify the algebra. The numerator of the difference between the two sides is
2
(3)
sym
and it suffices to show the the expression in (3) is always greater or equal to 0. By the Weighted
AM-GM Inequality, we have 4a6 + b6 + c6 6a4 bc, 3a5 b + 3a5 c + b5 a + c5 a 8a4 bc, and their
analogous forms. Adding those inequalities yields
X
6a6
6a4 bc and
Consequently, we obtain
8a5 b
8a4 bc.
sym
sym
sym
sym
13a4 bc.
(4)
sym
sym
a4 b2 + 5a3 b3
6a2 b2 c2 ,
sym
sym
or
a4 b2 + 5a3 b3 + 7a2 b2 c2
sym
13a2 b2 c2 .
(5)
sym
a3 2a2 b + abc 0.
sym
Thus
sym
Adding (4), (5), (6) yields (3).
X
sym
a3 2a2 b + abc 0.
(6)
10
Note: While the last two methods seem inefficient for this problem, they hold the keys to proving
the following inequality:
(b + c a)2
(c + a b)2
(a + b c)2
3
+
+
,
(b + c)2 + a2 (c + a)2 + b2 (a + b)2 + c2
5
where a, b, c are positive real numbers.
10. Let a, b, c be nonnegative real numbers. Prove that
a+b+c
3
abc max{( a b)2 , ( b c)2 , ( c a)2 }.
3
First Solution: We prove the stronger inequality
3
a + b + c 3 abc ( a b)2 + ( b c)2 + ( c a)2 .
(1)
0 a + b + c 2 ab 2 bc 2 ca + 3
1
2
2
= ( a b)2 +
+3
ab
a
b
2
2
2
1
1
= ( a b) + 1 + 1
a
b
1 1
1
+ +1
ab a b
2
2
2
1
1
= ( a b) + 1 + 1
a
b
1
1
+
1
1 .
a
b
Second Solution: (by Ian Le) We again prove the stronger inequality (1), which can be rewritten
X
[a 2(ab)1/2 + (abc)1/3 ] 0,
sym
where the sum is taken over all six permutations of a, b, c. This inequality follows from adding the
two inequalities
X
[a 2a2/3 b1/3 + (abc)1/3 ] 0
sym
and
sym
11
The first of these is the Schurs inequality with x = a1/3 , y = b1/3 , z = c1/3 , while the second
follows from the AM-GM inequality.
Third Solution:
inequality reads
3
a + b + c 3 abc 3(c + a 2 ac).
As a function of b, the right side minus the left side is concave (its second derivative is (2/3)(ac)1/3 b5/3 ),
so its minimum value in the range [a, c] occurs at one of the endpoints. Thus, without loss of generality, we may assume a = b. Moreover, we may rescale the variables to get a = b = 1. Now the claim
reads
2c + 3c1/3 + 1
c1/2 .
6
This is an instance of weighted AM-GM inequality.
Note: More generally, for nonnegative real numbers a1 , a2 , . . . , an , we have
m
a1 + a2 + + an
(n 1)M
n a1 a2 an
,
2
n
2
where
m=
(2)
1i<jn
The right inequality can be proved, by using the method of the third solution above. We leave the
details as an exercise for the reader.
The left inequality falls apart when we replace m by c, the average of ( ai aj )2 for 1 i < j n.
Since
P
2
m
c
1i<jn ( ai aj )
=
2
2
2 n2
P
2
1i<jn ( ai aj )
=
n(n 1)
P
(n 1)(a1 + a2 + + an ) 2 1i<jn ai aj
=
,
n(n 1)
the inequality now reads
X
1i<jn
n(n 1) n a1 a2 an
ai aj
.
2
m0 = min {( ak ak+1 )2 }
1kn
in (2) to obtain, in a way, a sharper lower bound. A similar proof works. We leave it to the reader
as an exercise.
Even more generally, one can ask for a comparison between the difference between the arithmetic and
geometric means of a set of n nonnegative real numbers, and the maximum (or average) difference
between the arithmetic and geometric means over all k-element subsets. The authors do not know
what the correct inequalities should look like or how they may be proved.
12
i=0
Solution: Let
n+1
n + 1 X 2i
.
2n+1
i
i=1
n
n
1 X n 1 X k!(n k)!
=
.
Sn =
n+1
k
(n + 1)!
k=0
k=0
P
k
n+1 . To do so, it suffices to check that S = 1, which is
We must show that Sn = ( n+1
1
k=1 2 /k)/2
n+2
n+1
n+2
clear, and that 2
Sn+1 2
Sn = 2
/(n + 2). Now
2Sn+1
n+1
n+1
1 X n + 1 1 X n + 1 1
=
+
n+2
i
j
i=0
j=0
!
n
2
1 X
n + 1 1
n + 1 1
=
+
+
n+2 n+2
i
i+1
i=0
n
2
1 X i!(n i)!(n + 1 i + i + 1)
+
n+2 n+2
(n + 1)!
i=0
= Sn +
2
,
n+2
as claimed.
12. Express
n
X
(1)k (nk)!(n+k)!
k=0
in closed form.
Solution: (By Tiankai Liu) Let
f (k) = (n+1k)!(n+k)!
for integers 0 k n + 1. Note that
f (k) + f (k + 1)
= (n+1k)!(n+k)! + (nk)!(n+k+1)!
= (n + 1 k + n + k + 1)(nk)!(n+k)!
= 2(n + 1)(nk)!(n+k)!.
13
Therefore,
n
X
(1)k (nk)!(n+k)!
k=0
n
=
=
X
1
(1)k [f (k) + f (k + 1)]
2(n + 1)
f (0) +
k=0
(1)n f (n
+ 1)
2(n + 1)
1
c
1
=
.
3
+ b + abc
ab(a + b) + abc
abc(a + b + c)
1
1
a
=
,
b3 + c3 + abc
bc(b + c) + abc
abc(a + b + c)
and
c3
Thus
a3
1
1
b
=
.
3
+ a + abc
ca(c + a) + abc
abc(a + b + c)
1
1
a+b+c
1
1
+ 3
+ 3
=
.
3
3
3
+ b + abc b + c + abc c + a + abc
abc(a + b + c)
abc
2 3 6
+ + 6,
b
c a
2 3 6
+ + 6
c a b
are true.
Solution: (by David Shin) Perform the substitutions x = 1/a, y = 1/b, and z = 1/c. It suffices to prove that at least two of the inequalities
2x + 3y + 6z 6,
2y + 3z + 6x 6,
2z + 3x + 6y 6
14
2 3 6
+ + ,
b
c a
2 3 6
+ +
c a b
) + tan(a1 ) + + tan(an ) n 1.
4
4
4
Prove that
tan a0 tan a1 tan an nn+1 .
Solution: Let bk = tan(ak /4), k = 0, 1, . . . , n. It follows from the hypothesis that for each k,
1 < bk < 1, and
X
1 + bk
(1 bl ).
(1)
0l6=kn
(1 bl ) n
0l6=kn
1/n
(1 bl )
0l6=kn
(1 + bk ) nn+1
k=0
n
Y
(1 bl )n
l=0
!1/n
,
(2)
15
n
Y
1 + bk
nn+1 .
1 bk
k=0
Because
1 + tan(ak 4 )
1 + bk
=
= tan ak
+
= tan ak ,
1 bk
1 tan(ak 4 )
4
4
(1)
f (2t) = 2f (t).
(2)
(3)
By (2) and by setting x = 2t + 1 and y = 1 in (1), the left-hand side of (3) becomes
f (2t + 1) = f (2t) + f (1) = 2f (t) + f (1).
(4)
On the other hand, by setting x = t + 1 and y = 1 in (1), the right-hand side of (3) reads
(t + 1)f (t + 1) tf (t) = (t + 1)[f (t) + f (1)] tf (t),
or,
(t + 1)f (t + 1) tf (t) = f (t) + (t + 1)f (1).
(5)
Putting (3), (4), and (5) together leads to 2f (t) + f (1) = f (t) + (t + 1)f (1), or,
f (t) = tf (1)
for t 0. Recall that f (x) is odd; we conclude that f (t) = f (t) = tf (1) for t 0. Hence
f (x) = kx for all x, where k = f (1) is a constant. It is not difficult to see that all such functions
indeed satisfy the conditions of the problem.
16
(1)
or
bc(2 + a) 4 a2 .
(2)
17
Note that
(b2 4)(c2 4) = b2 c2 4(b2 + c2 ) + 16
b2 c2 8bc + 16 = (4 bc)2 .
For the given equality to hold, we must have b, c 2 so that 4 bc 0. Hence,
a
bc + |4 bc|
bc + 4 bc
=
= 2 bc,
2
2
or
2 bc a.
(4)
2
Let a0 = (a + b)/2. Because a + b = a0 + a0 and ab ab
+ ab = a0 2 , we have
2
f (a0 , a0 , c) f (a, b, c) = 4 and g(a0 , a0 , c) g(a, b, c).
Now increase a0 to e 0 such that f (e, e, c) = 4. Note that g(e, e, c) g(a0 , a0 , c). It suffices to prove
that g(e, e, c) 2.
Since f (e, e, c) = 2e2 + c2 + e2 c = 4, e2 = (4 c2 )/(2 + c) = 2 c. We obtain that
g(e, e, c) = 2ec + (1 c)e2 e2 + c2 + (1 c)e2
= (2 c)e2 + c2 = (2 c)2 + c2
= 2(2 2c + c2 ) = 2[1 + (1 c)2 ] 2,
as desired.
19. Let a, b, and c be positive real numbers, not all equal. Find all solutions to the system of equations
x2 yz = a,
y 2 zx = b,
z 2 xy = c,
in real numbers x, y, and z.
18
Solution: Squaring each equation and subtracting the product of the other two yields
a2 bc = x(x3 + y 3 + z 3 3xyz),
b2 ca = y(x3 + y 3 + z 3 3xyz),
c2 ab = z(x3 + y 3 + z 3 3xyz).
Let k = x3 + y 3 + z 3 3xyz. Then
(a2 bc)2 (b2 ca)(c2 ab) = k 2 (x2 yz) = k 2 a.
The same computation that produced the system above shows tha the expression on the left is
a(a3 + b3 + c3 3abc), and the latter is positive by the AM-GM inequality. Hence
p
k = a3 + b3 + c3 3abc
and the solutions to the system (one for each choice of k) are
x=
a2 bc
,
k
y=
b2 ca
,
k
and z =
c2 ab
.
k
(1)
19
21. Let a1 , . . . , an and b1 , . . . , bn be two sequences of distinct numbers such that ai + bj 6= 0 for all i, j.
Show that if
n
X
cj,k
1 if i = k
=
0 otherwise,
ai + bj
j=1
n2
Solution: Let rj =
n
X
j=1
Pn
k=1 cj,k .
Then
n Pn
n X
n
n X
n
X
X
X
cj,k
cj,k
rj
k=1 cj,k
=
=
=
= 1,
ai + bj
ai + bj
ai + bj
ai + bj
j=1
j=1 k=1
(1)
k=1 j=1
n
X
j=1
rj
.
x + bj
(2)
Then R(x) = P (x)/Q(x) where Q(x) = (x + b1 )(x + b2 ) (x + bn ) and P (x) has degree at most
n 1. By (1), R(a1 ) = R(a2 ) = = R(an ) = 1, so if we write
R(x) = 1
S(x)
,
Q(x)
then S(x) is a monic polynomial of degree n and S(a1 ) = S(a2 ) = = S(an ) = 0. Hence
S(x) = (x a1 )(x a2 ) (x an ).
Consider the coefficient of xn1 in P (x) = Q(x) S(x). Form (2), this coefficient is r1 + r2 + + rn .
On the other hand,
Q(x) = (x + b1 )(x + b2 ) (x + bn ) and S(x) = (x a1 )(x a2 ) (x an ).
Applying the Vietas theorem, this coefficient is (a1 + a2 + + an ) + (b1 + b2 + + bn ). Hence
we have our desired result.
22. Suppose the positive integers have been expressed as a disjoint union of arithmetic progressions
{ai + ndi }
n=0 , i = 1, 2, . . . , k. Show that
k
X
ai
i=1
k
X
i=1
or
di
k+1
.
2
xai
x
,
=
d
i
1x
1x
k
X
xai 1
1
,
=
d
i
1x
1x
i=1
(1)
20
as each power of x appears with coefficient 1 on both sides of the equations. Multiplying both sides
of (1) by (1 x) yields
k
X
xai 1
= 1.
1 + x + + xdi 1
i=1
k ai 1
X
x
1
1 xdi
i=1
that is,
k
X
i=1
Hence
1
di
1x
1 xdi
!
=
di (1 xdi )
k
X
i=1
1x
1 + x + + xdi 1
k
X
1 + x + + xai 2
1 + x + + xdi 1
i=1
k
X
(1 x)[(di 1) + (di 2)x + + xdi 1 ]
i=1
1
di
k
X
1 + x + + xai 2
i=1
k
X
di 1 x xdi 1
i=1
or
1
+
1 xdi
di (1 x)(1 + x + + xdi 1 )
k
X
1 + x + + xai 2
i=1
1 + x + + xdi 1
d2i
i=1
or
k
X
di (di 1)
2d2i
i=1
Hence
k
X
ai
i=1
di
i=1
k
X
ai
i=1
di
k
X
1
i=1
k
X
ai 1
1
+
2 2di
di
k
X
1
.
di
i=1
k+1
,
2
as desired.
b
23. Let
P S be the set of perfect powers, that is, the numbers of the form a for some a, b > 1. Show that
nS 1/(n 1) = 1.
X
1
=
ab
a=2 b=2
a=2
1
1
2
a 1
!
1
a
X
a=2
XX
1
1
=
.
n1
nm
nS m=1
1
= 1.
a(a 1)
21
But this is just the same as my first sum. Indeed, for any denominator d, the number of times 1/d
occurs in the first sum is the number of representations d = ab (a, b 2), while the number of times
1/d occurs in the second sum is the number of representations d = nm (n S, m 1). If we write
d = pq with p minimal, then both these multiplicities are equal to f (q) 1, where f (q) denote the
number of divisors of q. So the sums really are the same.
24. Prove that the product of any k consecutive Fibonacci numbers is divisible by the product of the
first k Fibonacci numbers.
Solution:
Let [k]! = F1 F2 Fk for k 1 and [0]! = 1, and let Ra,b = [a + n]!/([a]![b]!)
for
a, b 0. We need to show that Ra,b is an integer for all a, b 0. Putting = (1 + 5)/2 and
= (1 5)/2, we have
Fn =
n n
= n1 + n2 + + n1
(1)
for all n 1. From this one can derive the recursice relation
Ra,b = a Ra,b1 + b Rx1,b
(2)
for a, b 1, since dividing both sides of (2) by [a + b 1]!/([a]![b]!) converts it into the formula
Fa+b = a Fb + b Fa
which in turn follows easily from (1). The recursive relation (2), combined with the initial conditions
Ra,0 = R0,b = 1 for all a, b 0, guarantees that Ra,b is always expressible as a polynomial in and
with integer coefficients.
Now since = 1 , Ra,b can be expressed as a polynomial in with integer coefficients. Consequently, iteratively applying n = n1 + n2 for n 2, we can write Ra,b in the form r + s, where
r and s are integers. Note that Ra,b is rational and is irrational. Hence s = 0 and Ra,b = r is an
integer.
25. Prove that any monic polynomial (a polynomial with leading coefficient 1) of degree n with real
coefficients is the average of two monic polynomials of degree n with n real roots.
First Solution: (Tiankai Liu) Let us begin with the following lemma.
Lemma.
For any set of n ordered pairs of real numbers {(xi , yi )}ni=1 , with xi 6= xj for all i 6= j,
there exists a unique monic real polynomial P (x) of degree n such that P (xi ) = yi for all integers
i [1, n].
We present two proofs of the lemma.
First proof By the Lagrange Interpolation Formula, there exists a unique real polynomial
Q(x) of degree less than n such that Q(xi ) = yi xni for all integers i = 1, 2, . . . , n. Then we
can, and must, have P (x) = Q(x) + xn .
Second proof By the Lagrange Interpolation Formula, there exists a unique real polynomial
Q(x) of degree less than n suchQthat Q(xi ) = yi for all integers i = 1, 2, . . . , n. Then we can,
and must, have P (x) = Q(x) + ni=1 (x xi ).
22
Let the given monic real polynomial be F (x). Choose any strictly decreasing sequence of n real
numbers x1 , . . . , xn . For each odd i, choose a yi such that yi < min{0, 2F (xi )}. For each even i,
choose a yi such that yi > max{0, 2F (xi )}.
Let P (x) be the monic real polynomial of degree n such that P (xi ) = yi for all integers i = 1, 2, . . . , n;
the existence of such a P (x) is guaranteed by the lemma. Let Q(x) = 2F (x) P (x).
Note that, for each integer i = 1, 2, . . . , n 1, P (x) has a root in (xi+1 , xi ) because P (xi+1 ) and
P (xi ) have opposite signs and polynomial functions are continuous. Similarly, for each integer i =
1, 2, . . . , n 1, Q(X) has a root in (xi+1 , xi ) because 2F (xi+1 ) P (xi+1 ) and 2F (xi ) P (xi ) have
opposite signs.
Therefore, we are guaranteed that P (x) and Q(x) each have n roots with at least n 1 of them are
real. Because imaginary roots of real polynomials come in conjugate pairs, all real polynomials have
an even number of imaginary roots. Hence the other root of P (x) must also be real, and the same
holds for Q(x). Thus, P (x) and Q(x) each have n real roots.
Note: One could also prove that P (x) and Q(x) both have n real roots by the following argument. Because P (x) has a positive leading coefficient, limx P (x) = . Because P (x1 ) < 0, then,
P (x) has another root in (x1 , +). Similarly, Q(x) also has a leading coefficient of +1. If n is odd,
then limx Q(x) = , so because Q(xn ) > 0, Q(x) has another root in (, xn ). If n is even,
then limx Q(x) = , so because Q(xn ) < 0, Q(x) has another root in (, xn ).
Second Solution: Let F (x) be the monic real polynomial of degree n. If n = 1, then F (x) = x + a
for some real number a. Then F (x) is the average of x + 2a and x, each of which has 1 real root.
Now we assume that n > 1. Define the polynomial
G(x) = (x 2)(x 4) (x 2(n 1)).
The degree of G(x) is n 1. Consider the polynomials
P (x) = xn kG(x)
and
Q(x) = 2F (x) P (x) = 2F (x) xn + kG(x).
We will show that for large enough k these two polynomials have n real roots. Since they are monic
and their average is F (x), this will solve the problem.
Consider the values of polynomial G(x) at n points x = 1, 3, 5, . . . , 2n 1. These values alternate
in sign and have magnitude at least 1 (because at most two of the factors have magnitude 1 and
the others have magnitude at least 2). On the other hand, there is a constant c > 0 such that for
0 x 2n 1, we have |xn | < c and |2F (x) xn | < c. Take k > c. Then we see that P (x) and Q(x)
evaluated at n points x = 1, 3, 5, . . . , 2n 1 alternate in sign. Thus, polynomials P (x) and Q(x) each
have at least n 1 real roots one in each interval (1, 3), . . ., (2n 3, 2n 1). However, since they
are polynomials of degree n, they must then each have n real roots (as in the previous solution), as
desired.
26. Prove that for any integer n, there exists a unique polynomial Q with coefficients in {0, 1, . . . , 9} such
that Q(2) = Q(5) = n.
Solution: First suppose there exists a polynomial Q with coefficients in {0, 1, . . . , 9} such that
Q(2) = Q(5) = n. We shall prove that this polynomial is unique. By the Factor Theorem, we can
23
write Q(x) = P (x)R(x)+n where P (x) = (x+2)(x+5) = x2 +7x+10 and R(x) = r0 +r1 x+r2 x2 +
is a polynomial. Then r0 , r1 , r2 , . . . are integers such that
10r0 + n, 10rk + 7rk1 + rk2 {0, 1, . . . , 9},
k1
()
(with the understanding that r1 = 0). For each k, () uniquely determines rk once rj is known for
all j < k. Uniqueness of R, and therefore of Q, follows.
Existence will follow from the fact that for the unique sequence {rk } satisfying (), there exists some
N such that rk = 0 for all k N . First note that {rk } is bounded, since |r0 |, |r1 | B and B 9
imply |rk | B for all k. This follows by induction, using 10|rk | 7|rk1 | + |rk2 | + 9 10B. More
specifically, if ri M for i = k 1, k 2, then
rk
7rk1 rk2
4M
,
10
10
5
9
4L
9
7rk1 rk2
+ .
10
10
10
10
10
Mk = max{rk , rk+1 , . . . }.
min{ai aj , bi bj }
i,j=1
n
X
min{ai bj , aj bi }.
i,j=1
24
= (x a1 )(a1 + 2
n
X
cj ) + L(a2 , b2 , . . . , an , bn ),
j=2
L(a1 + a2 , r2 a1 + b2 , a3 , b3 , . . . )
=
L(a2 r2 a1 , b2 a1 , a3 , b3 , . . . )
if r2 = b2 /a2 ,
if r2 = a2 /b2 .
Thus we deduce the desired inequality from the induction hypothesis in all cases.
Note: More precisely, it can be shown that for ai , bi > 0, equality holds if and only if, for each
r > 1, the set Sr of indices i in {1, . . . , n} such that ai /bi {r, 1/r} has the property that
X
X
ai =
bi .
iSr
iSr
Namely, assume this is the case for n 1 pairs. Given n pairs, if conditions (a)-(c) are not all met, we
may deduce the result from the induction hypothesis by the same reductions as that at the beginning
of the proof. If (a)-(c) are met, then for equality to hold, 0 = f (b1 ) min{f (a1 ), f (r2 a1 )} 0.
Since f (x) is linear on the interval [a1 , r2 a1 ], f (x) is identically zero on the interval. Since f (a1 ) = 0,
L(a2 , b2 , . . . ) = 0. Applying the induction hypothesis, with all of ai and bi nonzero ((a) is met) and
ri > 1 ((b) is met), we have
(i) for each i 2, there exists an r > 1 such that either ai = rbi or bi = rai .
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n
X
(ii)
(aj bj ) = 0.
j=2
n
X
j=2
and a1 = 0, a contradiction.