MathDB
37th Austrian Mathematical Olympiad 2006

Source: round2, problem4 - function and arithmetic sequence

February 10, 2009
functionfloor functionarithmetic sequencealgebra unsolvedalgebra

Problem Statement

Given is the function f\equal{} \lfloor x^2 \rfloor \plus{} \{ x \} for all positive reals x x. ( x \lfloor x \rfloor denotes the largest integer less than or equal x x and \{ x \} \equal{} x \minus{} \lfloor x \rfloor.) Show that there exists an arithmetic sequence of different positive rational numbers, which all have the denominator 3 3, if they are a reduced fraction, and don’t lie in the range of the function f f.