A solution to the equation
3
x
+
4
x
=
5
x
is
x
=
2
.
We know by
Fermat's last theorem
that there's no other integer solution
x
>
2
.
But is there any non-integer solution x > 2 ?
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Let f ( x ) = ( 5 3 ) x + ( 5 4 ) x . Differentiating, we have
f ′ ( x ) = ( 5 3 ) x ln 5 3 + ( 5 4 ) x ln 5 4 = − [ ( 5 3 ) x ln 3 5 + ( 5 4 ) x ln 4 5 ]
The expression in the brackets will always be positive, since the exponential function is always positive and ln 3 5 , ln 4 5 > ln 1 = 0 . Therefore, for all real values of x , we have f ′ ( x ) < 0 , so f is a monotonically decreasing function. This means that there can only be one value of x such that f ( x ) = 1 , or in other words, there's only one real solution to the equation 3 x + 4 x = 5 x . Since we know that x = 2 is a solution, it is the only solution, so we conclude that no , there are no more solutions to the equation greater than 2.
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Let n = x − 2 . Then x = n + 2 and when x > 2 , we have n > 0 .
Then 3 x + 4 x = 3 n + 2 + 4 n + 2 = 3 n 3 2 + 4 n 4 2
and 5 x = 5 n + 2 = 5 n 5 2 = 5 n ( 3 2 + 4 2 ) = 5 n 3 2 + 5 n 4 2 .
For all n > 0 , 3 n < 4 n < 5 n , so 3 n 3 2 < 5 n 3 2 and 4 n 4 2 < 5 n 4 2 , and so 3 n 3 2 + 4 n 4 2 < 5 n 3 2 + 5 n 4 2 which means 3 x + 4 x < 5 x for all x > 2 .
Therefore, there are no solutions x > 2 (integer or non-integer) for the equation 3 x + 4 x = 5 x .