Question Details

For any non-zero real number x, let f(x) + 2f 1/x = 3x. Then, the sum of all possible values of x for which f(x) = 3 is:

Options

A

3

B

-3

C

-2

D

2

Show Answer

Correct Answer :

Option B

-3

Solution :

The correct option is -3.

To find the sum of all possible values of x for which f(x)=3, we first need to determine the function f(x) from the given functional equation:

f ( x ) + 2 f ( 1 x ) = 3 x

Let this be Equation (1). Since this relation holds for any non-zero real number x, we can substitute x with 1x in Equation (1) to obtain:

f ( 1 x ) + 2 f ( x ) = 3 ( 1 x )

Rearranging the terms on the left-hand side, we get Equation (2):

2 f ( x ) + f ( 1 x ) = 3 x

Now we have a system of two linear equations in terms of f(x) and f(1x). To solve for f(x), we can eliminate the term f(1x). We multiply Equation (2) by 2:

4 f ( x ) + 2 f ( 1 x ) = 6 x

Let this be Equation (3). Next, we subtract Equation (1) from Equation (3):

[ 4 f ( x ) + 2 f ( 1 x ) ] - [ f ( x ) + 2 f ( 1 x ) ] = 6 x - 3 x

Simplifying the equation yields:

3 f ( x ) = 6 x - 3 x

Dividing by 3, we obtain the function f(x):

f ( x ) = 2 x - x

We want to find the values of x for which f(x)=3. Setting the function equal to 3 gives:

2 x - x = 3

To eliminate the denominator, we multiply both sides of the equation by x (since x0):

2 - x 2 = 3 x

Rearranging the terms into standard quadratic form ax2+bx+c=0:

x 2 + 3 x - 2 = 0

We check the discriminant D of this quadratic equation to ensure it has real roots:

D = b 2 - 4 a c = 3 2 - 4 ( 1 ) ( - 2 ) = 9 + 8 = 17

Since the discriminant D>0, there are two distinct real roots. Furthermore, neither root is zero because substituting x=0 into the equation gives -20. Therefore, both values are valid non-zero real inputs for our function.

By Vieta's formulas, the sum of the roots of the quadratic equation ax2+bx+c=0 is given by:

Sum of roots = - b a

Using the coefficients a=1 and b=3:

Sum of roots = - 3 1 = - 3

Thus, the sum of all possible values of x for which f(x)=3 is -3.

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