FE Problem Collection

Rohan Goyal
May 22, 2021

The problems are roughly sorted in order of difficulty. I hope you enjoy them!

§1 Standard
§1.1 Easy
Problem 1.1 (IMO 2019/1). Let Z be the set of integers. Determine all functions
f : Z → Z such that, for all integers a and b,

f (2a) + 2f (b) = f (f (a + b)).

Problem 1.2 (USAJMO 2021/1). Let N denote the set of positive integers. Find all
functions f : N → N such that for positive integers a and b,

f (a2 + b2 ) = f (a)f (b) and f (a2 ) = f (a)2 .

Problem 1.3 (Philippines?). Denote by Q+ the set of positive rational numbers. A

function f : Q+ → Q satisfies

• f (p) = 1 for all primes p, and

• f (ab) = af (b) + bf (a) for all a, b ∈ Q+ .

For which positive integers n does the equation nf (c) = c have at least one solution c in
Q+ ?
Problem 1.4 (IMO 2010/1). Find all function f : R → R such that for all x, y ∈ R the
following equality holds
f (bxc y) = f (x) bf (y)c
where bac is greatest integer not greater than a.
Problem 1.5 (IMO 2012/4). Find all functions f : Z → Z such that, for all integers
a, b, c that satisfy a + b + c = 0, the following equality holds:

f (a)2 + f (b)2 + f (c)2 = 2f (a)f (b) + 2f (b)f (c) + 2f (c)f (a).

Problem 1.6 (IMO 2008/4). Find all functions f : (0, ∞) 7→ (0, ∞) (so f is a function
from the positive real numbers) such that

(f (w))2 + (f (x))2 w 2 + x2
=
f (y 2 ) + f (z 2 ) y2 + z2
for all positive real numbers w, x, y, z, satisfying wx = yz.

1
Rohan Goyal (May 22, 2021) FE Problem Collection

Problem 1.7 (RMMSL 2019 A1). Determine all the functions f : R 7→ R satisfies the
equation
f (a2 + ab + f (b2 )) = af (b) + b2 + f (a2 ) ∀a, b ∈ R

Problem 1.8 (Argentina TST 2005 P2). Find all functions f : R → R such that
∀x, y ∈ R we have
f (xf (x) + f (y)) = f (x)2 + y

Problem 1.9 (ISL 2018/A1). Let Q>0 denote the set of all positive rational numbers.
Determine all functions f : Q>0 → Q>0 satisfying

f (x2 f (y)2 ) = f (x)2 f (y)

for all x, y ∈ Q>0

Problem 1.10 (EGMO 2021/2). Find all functions f : Q → Q such that the equation

f (xf (x) + y) = f (y) + x2

holds for all rational numbers x and y.

Here, Q denotes the set of rational numbers.

Problem 1.11 (EGMO 2018/2). Consider the set

 
1
A = 1 + : k = 1, 2, 3, 4, · · · .
k

Prove that every integer x ≥ 2 can be written as the product of one or more elements
of A, which are not necessarily different. For every integer x ≥ 2 let f (x) denote the
minimum integer such that x can be written as the product of f (x) elements of A, which
are not necessarily different. Prove that there exist infinitely many pairs (x, y) of integers
with x ≥ 2, y ≥ 2, and
f (xy) < f (x) + f (y).
(Pairs (x1 , y1 ) and (x2 , y2 ) are different if x1 6= x2 or y1 6= y2 ).

Problem 1.12 (Taiwan TST Round 2 2021). Let kxk∗ = (|x| + |x − 1| − 1)/2. Find all
f : N → N such that
f (kf (x)−xk∗ ) (x) = x, ∀x ∈ N.
Here f (0) (x) = x and f (n) (x) = f (f (n−1) (x)) for all n ∈ N.

Problem 1.13 (IMO 2015/5). Let R be the set of real numbers. Determine all functions
f : R → R that satisfy the equation

f (x + f (x + y)) + f (xy) = x + f (x + y) + yf (x)

for all real numbers x and y.

§1.2 Medium
Problem 1.14 (Taiwan TST 2019/1/Quiz 3/1). Find all functions f : R → R such that

f (xf (y) − f (x) − y) = yf (x) − f (y) − x

holds for all x, y ∈ R

2
Rohan Goyal (May 22, 2021) FE Problem Collection

Problem 1.15 (China TST 2021/4/1). Find all functions f : Z+ → Z+ such that for
all positive integers m, n with m ≥ n,

f (mϕ(n3 )) = f (m) · ϕ(n3 ).

Here ϕ(n) denotes the number of positive integers coprime to n and not exceeding n.
Problem 1.16 (USEMO 2020/4). A function f from the set of positive real numbers to
itself satisfies
f (x + f (y) + xy) = xf (y) + f (x + y)
for all positive real numbers x and y. Prove that f (x) = x for all positive real numbers x.
Problem 1.17 (Taiwan). Find all functions f : N → N such that

f (x + yf (x)) = x + f (y) f (x)

holds for all x, y ∈ N

Problem 1.18 (Japan 2019/3). Find all functions f : R+ → R+ such that
 
f (y)  y 
f + 1 = f x + + 1 − f (x)
f (x) x
for all x, y ∈ R+ .
Problem 1.19 (Iran Third Round 2013 - Algebra Exam - Problem 4). Find all functions
f : R → R such that f (0) ∈ Q and

f (x + f (y)2 ) = f (x + y)2 .

Problem 1.20 (Serbia 2021/5). Find all functions f : R → R such that for every
x, y ∈ R the following equality holds:

f (xf (y) + x2 + y) = f (x)f (y) + xf (x) + f (y).

Problem 1.21 (ISL 2018/A5). Determine all functions f : (0, ∞) → R satisfying

 
1 y
x+ f (y) = f (xy) + f
x x
for all x, y > 0.
Problem 1.22 (Taiwan 2018/1/2/2). Find all functions f : N → Z satisfying
X
n | f (m) ⇐⇒ m | f (d)
d|n

holds for all positive integers m, n

Problem 1.23 (China National MO 2021/6). Find f : Z+ → Z+ , such that for any
x, y ∈ Z+ ,
f (f (x) + y) | x + f (y).
Problem 1.24 (ISL 2012 A5). Find all functions f : R → R that satisfy the conditions

f (1 + xy) − f (x + y) = f (x)f (y) for all x, y ∈ R,

and f (−1) 6= 0.

3
Rohan Goyal (May 22, 2021) FE Problem Collection

Problem 1.25 (ISL 2015/A5). Let 2Z + 1 denote the set of odd integers. Find all
functions f : Z 7→ 2Z + 1 satisfying

f (x + f (x) + y) + f (x − f (x) − y) = f (x + y) + f (x − y)

for every x, y ∈ Z.

Problem 1.26 (ISL 2018 N6). Let f : {1, 2, 3, . . . } → {2, 3, . . . } be a function such that
f (m + n)|f (m) + f (n) for all pairs m, n of positive integers. Prove that there exists a
positive integer c > 1 which divides all values of f .

§1.3 Hard
Problem 1.27 (OAO). Find all functions f : R+ 7→ R+ satisfying the following equation

f (x2 + f (y)) = f (xf (x)) + y, ∀y > x > 0

Problem 1.28 (ISL 2019/A7). Let Z be the set of integers. We consider functions
f : Z → Z satisfying
f (f (x + y) + y) = f (f (x) + y)
for all integers x and y. For such a function, we say that an integer v is f-rare if the set

Xv = {x ∈ Z : f (x) = v}

is finite and nonempty. (a) Prove that there exists such a function f for which there is an
f -rare integer. (b) Prove that no such function f can have more than one f -rare integer.

Problem 1.29 (IMO 2017/2). Let R be the set of real numbers. Determine all functions
f : R → R such that, for any real numbers x and y,

f (f (x)f (y)) + f (x + y) = f (xy).

Problem 1.30 (ISL 2009 A7). Find all functions f from the set of real numbers into
the set of real numbers which satisfy for all x, y the identity

f (xf (x + y)) = f (yf (x)) + x2

Problem 1.31 (APMO 2019/5). Determine all the functions f : R → R such that

f (x2 + f (y)) = f (f (x)) + f (y 2 ) + 2f (xy)

for all real numbers x and y.

Problem 1.32 (FKMO 2021/6). Find all functions f, g : R → R such that satisfies

f (x2 − g(y)) = g(x)2 − y

for all x, y ∈ R

Problem 1.33 (IMO 2011/3). Let f : R → R be a real-valued function defined on the

set of real numbers that satisfies

f (x + y) ≤ yf (x) + f (f (x))

for all real numbers x and y. Prove that f (x) = 0 for all x ≤ 0.

4
Rohan Goyal (May 22, 2021) FE Problem Collection

Problem 1.34 (Ireland 1991). Let P be the set of positive rational numbers and let
f : P → P be such that  
1
f (x) + f =1
x
and
f (2x) = 2f (f (x))
for all x ∈ P. Find, with proof, an explicit expression for f (x) for all x ∈ P.

Problem 1.35 (USATST 2021/3). Find all functions f : R → R that satisfy the inequal-
ity    
z−y y−x x+z f (x) + f (z)
f (y) − f (x) + f (z) ≤ f −
z−x z−x 2 2
for all real numbers x < y < z.

Problem 1.36 (ISL 2017 A8). A function f : R → R has the following property:

For every x, y ∈ R such that (f (x) + y)(f (y) + x) > 0, we have f (x) + y = f (y) + x.

Prove that f (x) + y ≤ f (y) + x whenever x > y.

Problem 1.37 (IMO 2010/3). Find all functions g : N → N such that

(g(m) + n) (g(n) + m)

is a perfect square for all m, n ∈ N.

Problem 1.38 (USATSTST 2013/6). Let N be the set of positive integers. Find all
functions f : N → N that satisfy the equation

f abc−a (abc) + f abc−b (abc) + f abc−c (abc) = a + b + c

for all a, b, c ≥ 2. (Here f 1 (n) = f (n) and f k (n) = f (f k−1 (n)) for every integer k greater
than 1.)

§2 Miscellaneous Niceness
Problem 2.1 (USATSTST 2018/1). As usual, let Z[x] denote the set of single-variable
polynomials in x with integer coefficients. Find all functions θ : Z[x] → Z such that for
any polynomials p, q ∈ Z[x], θ(p + 1) = θ(p) + 1, and if θ(p) 6= 0 then θ(p) divides θ(p · q).

Problem 2.2 (MOMO 2019/4). Suppose that there exist a nonempty set X ⊂ R and a
function f : X → X satisfying

f (x) + y ∈ X if and only if x 6= y

for every x, y ∈ X. Prove that f (x) + x is constant while x varies on X.

Here, R denotes the set of real numbers, as usual.

Problem 2.3 (ISL 2017/A3). Let S be a finite set, and let A be the set of all functions
from S to S. Let f be an element of A, and let T = f (S) be the image of S under f .
Suppose that f ◦ g ◦ f 6= g ◦ f ◦ g for every g in A with g 6= f . Show that f (T ) = T .

5
Rohan Goyal (May 22, 2021) FE Problem Collection

Problem 2.4 (INMO 2021/6). Let R[x] be the set of all polynomials with real coefficients.
Find all functions f : R[x] → R[x] satisfying the following conditions:
f maps the zero polynomial to itself,
for any non-zero polynomial P ∈ R[x], deg f (P ) ≤ 1 + deg P , and
for any two polynomials P, Q ∈ R[x], the polynomials P − f (Q) and Q − f (P ) have the
same set of real roots.

Problem 2.5 (ELMO 2019/A2). Find all functions f : Z → Z such that for all surjective
functions g : Z → Z, f + g is also surjective. (A function g is surjective over Z if for all
integers y, there exists an integer x such that g(x) = y.)

Problem 2.6 (FEOO 2020/G3). Let L and P be the sets of all lines and all points on
the same fixed plane, respectively. Find all functions f : L → P such that, for any two
non-parallel lines `1 , `2 ∈ L, the points f (`1 ), f (`2 ) and `1 ∩ `2 are collinear.

Problem 2.7 (MOMO 2019/5). Let S be the set of positive integers (x, y) such that
gcd(x, y) = 1. Is it possible to assign a positive integer f (x, y) to each (x, y) ∈ S such
that the following conditions are satisfied?

|f (p, r) − f (q, s)| ≤ 2 holds for any positive integers p, q, r, s satisfying pq − rs = 1;

for every (a, b) ∈ S with a > b, f (a + b, b) = f (a, b);
and for any n ≥ 2019, the equation f (p, q) = n has infinitely many solutions (p, q) ∈ S.

Problem 2.8 (RMM 2008/2). Prove that every bijective function f : Z → Z can be
written in the way f = u + v where u, v : Z → Z are bijective functions.

Problem 2.9 (ELMO 2019/6). Carl chooses a functional expression* E which is a finite
nonempty string formed from a set x1 , x2 , . . . of variables and applications of a function
f , together with addition, subtraction, multiplication (but not division), and fixed real
constants. He then considers the equation E = 0, and lets S denote the set of functions
f : R → R such that the equation holds for any choices of real numbers x1 , x2 , . . . . (For
example, if Carl chooses the functional equation

f (2f (x1 ) + x2 ) − 2f (x1 ) − x2 = 0,

then S consists of one function, the identity function.

(a) Let X denote the set of functions with domain R and image exactly Z. Show that
Carl can choose his functional equation such that S is nonempty but S ⊆ X.

(b) Can Carl choose his functional equation such that |S| = 1 and S ⊆ X?

*These can be defined formally in the following way: the set of functional expressions
is the minimal one (by inclusion) such that (i) any fixed real constant is a functional
expression, (ii) for any positive integer i, the variable xi is a functional expression, and
(iii) if V and W are functional expressions, then so are f (V ), V + W , V − W , and V · W .

Problem 2.10 (ISL 2019/G8). Let L be the set of all lines in the plane and let f be a
function that assigns to each line ` ∈ L a point f (`) on f (`). Suppose that for any point
X, and for any three lines `1 , `2 , `3 passing through X, the points f (`1 ), f (`2 ), f (`3 ), and
X lie on a circle. Prove that there is a unique point P such that f (`) = P for any line `
passing through P .

6
Rohan Goyal (May 22, 2021) FE Problem Collection

Problem 2.11 (Classic). Call a rectangle honourable if it has integral perimeter. Prove
that any rectangle that can be tile by honourable tiles can also tile an honourable
rectangle.

7
Rohan Goyal (May 22, 2021) FE Problem Collection

§3 Bonus for ridiculousness purposes

Both the following problems are from the thread- Masters of Functional Equations.

Problem 3.1. Let f : R → R be a function such that f (xf (x + y) + yf (y − x)) =

f (x)2 + f (y 2 ) for all x, y ∈ R f is continuous on R\{−1, 1}. (Continuity at x = 1, −1 is
not provided.)

Prove that if x 6= 1, −1, then f (x) = −f (−x).

Problem 3.2. Determine all functions f : R+ 7→ R+ that satisfy the equation

f (f (x) + f (y)) = xyf (x + y)

for any x, y ∈ R+