olymmath

Putnam 2014 B6

  • Session B

Let f:[0,1]→Rf: [0,1] \to \mathbb{R} be a function for which there exists a constant K>0K>0 such that ∣f(x)−f(y)∣≤K∣x−y∣\left| f(x) - f(y) \right| \leq K \left| x - y \right| for all x,y∈[0,1]x,y \in [0,1]. Suppose also that for each rational number r∈[0,1]r \in [0,1], there exist integers aa and bb such that f(r)=a+brf(r) = a + br. Prove that there exist finitely many intervals I1,…,InI_1, \dots, I_n such that ff is a linear function on each IiI_i and [0,1]=⋃i=1nIi[0,1] = \bigcup_{i=1}^n I_i.

Curated text Kedlaya Putnam archive. Quoted with source.

Solutions

Human solution Solution 1 by Kiran Kedlaya and Lenny Ng

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