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jmc

algebra senior

Problem

Let a sequence be defined as follows: and for Find the largest integer less than or equal to .
Solution
The fact that the equation holds for implies that for . Subtracting the second equation from the first one yields , or Dividing the last equation by and simplifying produces This equation shows that is constant for .

Because , . Thus and for .

Note that . Furthermore, if , then implies that Thus by mathematical induction, for all . Therefore the recurrence implies that and therefore for .

Finding from and substituting into shows that Thus the largest integer less than or equal to the original fraction is .
Final answer
224