[x].

Algebra Level 3

Find the largest positive real number x such that

2 x = 1 [ x ] + 1 [ 2 x ] \frac{2}{x} = \frac{1}{[x]} + \frac{1}{[2x]}

where [x] denotes the greatest integer less than or equal to x.

Write your answer to the nearest hundredths.


The answer is 2.86.

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1 solution

Joseph Newton
Oct 19, 2018

Let x = n + k x=n+k , where n n is an integer and 0 k < 1 0\leq k<1 . Therefore n + k = n \lfloor n+k\rfloor=n , so 2 n + k = 1 n + 1 2 n + 2 k \frac2{n+k}=\frac1n+\frac1{\lfloor2n+2k\rfloor} .

Because of the 2 x \lfloor2x\rfloor , there are two possible options: 0 k < 1 2 : 1 2 k < 1 : 2 n + 2 k = 2 n 2 n + 2 k = 2 n + 1 2 n + k = 1 n + 1 2 n 2 n + k = 1 n + 1 2 n + 1 2 n + k = 3 2 n 2 n ( 2 n + 1 ) = ( n + k ) ( 2 n + 1 ) + n ( n + k ) 4 n = 3 n + 3 k 4 n 2 + 2 n = 2 n 2 + n + 2 k n + k + n 2 + k n n = 3 k n 2 + n = 3 k n + k k = n 3 k = n 2 + n 3 n + 1 \begin{aligned}0\leq\,&k<\frac12:&\frac12\leq\,&k<1:\\ \lfloor2n+2k\rfloor&=2n&\lfloor2n+2k\rfloor&=2n+1\\ \therefore\frac2{n+k}&=\frac1n+\frac1{2n}&\therefore\frac2{n+k}&=\frac1n+\frac1{2n+1}\\ \frac2{n+k}&=\frac3{2n}&2n(2n+1)&=(n+k)(2n+1)+n(n+k)\\ 4n&=3n+3k&4n^2+2n&=2n^2+n+2kn+k+n^2+kn\\ n&=3k&n^2+n&=3kn+k\\ k&=\frac n3&k&=\frac{n^2+n}{3n+1}\end{aligned} The first option is only possible if n = 1 n=1 , as k k must be less than 1 2 \frac12 . This means x = 1.333... x=1.333...

For the second option, we can rearrange the expression to be k = n 3 + 2 9 2 9 ( 3 n + 1 ) k=\frac n3+\frac29-\frac2{9(3n+1)} , so that as n n approaches infinity k k approaches n 3 + 2 9 \frac n3+\frac29 from the negative side for n > 0 n>0 . Since n 3 + 2 9 \frac n3+\frac29 is increasing, n 3 + 2 9 2 9 ( 3 n + 1 ) \frac n3+\frac29-\frac2{9(3n+1)} must also be increasing for n > 0 n>0 .

This means the largest possible value of n n will be the largest integer before k k exceeds 1, as for this option 1 2 k < 1 \frac12\leq k<1 . Through experimentation, we find that this value is n = 2 n=2 , as when n = 3 , k > 1 n=3, k>1 . From the equation above, when n = 2 , k = 6 7 n=2, k=\frac67 , which means the largest positive value of x is 2 + 6 7 2.8571 2+\frac67\approx\boxed{2.8571}

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