Find the sum of all real numbers x for which
{ x } = 5 1 x
Notation: { ⋅ } denotes the fractional part of x in its decimal representation. For instance, { 3 . 4 } = 3 . 4 − 3 = 0 . 4 , { 2 } = 0 , and { − 2 . 7 } = − 2 . 7 − ( − 3 ) = 0 . 3 . In particular, the fractional part is non-negative.
Source: Philippines Mathematical Olympiad
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{ x } : = x − ⌊ x ⌋ ∴ x − ⌊ x ⌋ = 5 x ⇒ 5 4 x = ⌊ x ⌋ ⇒ x = 5 × 4 ⌊ x ⌋ . . . . . . . . . [ 1 ] N o t e t h a t : 0 ≤ { x } < 1 ⇒ 0 ≤ 5 x < 1 ⇒ 0 ≤ x < 5 ⇒ 0 ≤ ⌊ x ⌋ < 5 ⇒ x ∈ { 4 5 , 4 1 0 , 4 1 5 } b y p u t t i n g e a c h v a l u e o f ⌊ x ⌋ i n [ 1 ] ⇒ A n s w e r = 4 5 + 4 1 0 + 4 1 5 = 4 3 0 = 7 . 5
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{x} = x - [x] , where [.] is the floor function, i.e. the greatest integer lesser than or equal to x.
x − [ x ] = 5 x
[ x ] = 5 4 x
Since, the LHS of the above equation is always an integer, x will have to be of the form 4 5 n , where n is any integer. Fortunately, n cannot be greater than 3, as that would make x an integer, which would result in {x} = 0. Also note that x ≥ 0 , since {x}≥0
All 4 values of n (i.e. 0,1,2,3) satisfy the given equation. Therefore, sum of all possible x = 0 + 4 5 + 4 1 0 + 4 1 5 = 7 . 5