Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Oxford / 2017 / Prelims / Mathematics II / 2 / c / i / Solution

Only (ii) is necessarily true. Every real $a_n$ satisfies $a_n^2\ge 0>c$, so (ii) holds automatically. For a single counterexample to (i) and (iii), choose $c=-3$ and $a_0=1$. The recurrence relation then gives the nonzero periodic sequenceHere $a_1<0$, disproving (i), and $a_2>a_1$, disproving (iii). This counterexample satisfies the requirement that no iterate is zero.