Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 3 / 258 of 260 #258 of 1964

Problem 258

AMC 10/12, early questions
Algebra Difficulty 4.0 Find the answer

Given the function f(x)=ax2+bx+1f(x)=ax^2+bx+1 with the conditions −1≤f(−1)≤1-1\leq f(-1) \leq 1 and −2≤f(2)≤2-2\leq f(2) \leq 2, determine the range of f(3)f(3).

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

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Official solution

Firstly, we know that f(x)=ax2+bx+1f(x)=ax^2+bx+1.

The conditions can be rewritten as inequalities for f(−1)f(-1) and f(2)f(2):
−1≤a(−1)2+b(−1)+1≤1-1 \leq a(-1)^2 + b(-1) + 1 \leq 1
−2≤a(2)2+b(2)+1≤2-2 \leq a(2)^2 + b(2) + 1 \leq 2

Let's simplify these inequalities:
1. For f(−1)f(-1):
−1≤a−b+1≤1-1 \leq a - b + 1 \leq 1
This simplifies to:
−2≤a−b≤0-2 \leq a - b \leq 0

2. For f(2)f(2):
−2≤4a+2b+1≤2-2 \leq 4a + 2b + 1 \leq 2
This simplifies to:
−3≤4a+2b≤1-3 \leq 4a + 2b \leq 1

Next, we examine both inequalities together. We need to find constraints that satisfy both conditions simultaneously:
{−2≤a−b≤0−3≤4a+2b≤1\begin{cases} -2 \leq a - b \leq 0\\ -3 \leq 4a + 2b \leq 1 \end{cases}

We can add these inequalities together by eliminating bb, which gives us:
(−2)+(−3)≤(a−b)+(4a+2b)≤0+1(-2) + (-3) \leq (a - b) + (4a + 2b) \leq 0 + 1
−5≤5a+b≤1-5 \leq 5a + b \leq 1

Now, we can add the second inequality from the original set of constraints to obtain a new inequality:
−3≤4a+2b≤1-3 \leq 4a + 2b \leq 1
−5≤5a+b≤1-5 \leq 5a + b \leq 1

Add these two together:
−8≤(5a+b)+(4a+2b)≤2-8 \leq (5a + b) + (4a + 2b) \leq 2
−8≤9a+3b≤2-8 \leq 9a + 3b \leq 2

Finally, to find the range of f(3)f(3), we plug in x=3x=3 into our function:
f(3)=a(3)2+b(3)+1f(3) = a(3)^2 + b(3) + 1
f(3)=9a+3b+1f(3) = 9a + 3b + 1

Knowing that −8≤9a+3b≤2-8 \leq 9a + 3b \leq 2, we can find the range for f(3)f(3):
−8+1≤9a+3b+1≤2+1-8 + 1 \leq 9a + 3b + 1 \leq 2 + 1
−7≤9a+3b+1≤3-7 \leq 9a + 3b + 1 \leq 3

Thus, the range of f(3)f(3) is within the interval [−7,3]\boxed{[-7, 3]}.

Source: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty, ordering) added by this project.