Let f(x)={x-1,x is even,2x,x is odd,x∈N. If for some a∈N,f(f(f(a)))=21, then limx→a-{|x|3a-[xa]}, where [t] denotes the greatest integer less than or equal to t, is equal to: [2024]
(4)
There are two cases arise:
Case I : Let a is even ∴ f(a)=a-1 (odd)
⇒f(f(a))=f(a-1)=2a-2 (even)
⇒f(f(f(a)))=f(2a-2)=2a-2-1=2a-3
⇒21=2a-3⇒a=12
So, limx→a-{|x|3a-[xa]}=limx→12-{|x3|12-[x12]}
=144 (∵x<12)
Case II : Let a is odd
∴ f(a)=2a (even)⇒f(f(a))=f(2a)=2a-1 (odd)
⇒f(f(f(a)))=f(2a-1)=2(2a-1)
⇒21=4a-2⇒a=234∉N