This section requires Javascript.
You are seeing this because something didn't load right. We suggest you, (a) try
refreshing the page, (b) enabling javascript if it is disabled on your browser and,
finally, (c)
loading the
non-javascript version of this page
. We're sorry about the hassle.
Let R ( x ) = ( x − 2 0 1 8 ) Q ( x ) . Then R is also a rational function and R ( x ) = R ( x + 2 0 1 8 ) . Nonconstant rational functions are not periodic, so R is constant. Since R ( 1 ) = − 2 0 1 7 , we get ( x − 2 0 1 8 ) Q ( x ) = − 2 0 1 7 , so Q ( x ) = 2 0 1 8 − x 2 0 1 7 . Then Q ( 2 0 1 7 ) = 2 0 1 7 .
(To see why nonconstant rational functions aren't periodic, consider R ( x ) = g ( x ) / h ( x ) , and suppose R is periodic. If g is nonconstant, then the number of zeroes of R ( x ) is finite and nonzero, which is impossible for a periodic function; ditto for the number of zeroes of the periodic function 1 / R ( x ) if h is nonconstant.)