Solution

ID: past-exam-of-the-mathematics-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2021/prelims/mathematics-ii/5/a/ii/solution

For , choose , . For , define the continuous function
Its values at the grid points have the telescoping sum
If one summand is zero, we already have a zero of . Otherwise the summands cannot all have the same sign, so two of these values have opposite signs. The intermediate value theorem between their arguments gives with . Set , . Then
This is the horizontal chord of reciprocal-integer length property; the telescoping sum explains why reciprocal integers appear.

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