An infinite sequence of positive real numbers is defined by a0=1 and an+2=6an−an+1 for n=0,1,2,⋯ Find the possible value(s) of a2007.
A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.
Solution
The characteristic equation of the linear homogeneous equation is m2+m−6=(m+3)(m−2)=0 with solutions m=−3 and m=2. Hence the general solution is given by an=A(2)n+B(−3)n where A and B are constants to be determined. Then we have an>0 for n≥0, so necessarily B=0, and a0=1⇒A=1. Therefore, the unique solution to the recurrence is an=2n for all n.
Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track
puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.
Source: Omni-MATH,
licensed Apache-2.0.
Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.