Final answer:
To show that there exist a, b ∈ [0,1] such that |a - b| = 1/2 and f(a) = f(b), we can consider the function g(x) = f(x) - f(x + 1/2) for x ∈ [0, 1/2]. By the Intermediate Value Theorem, there exists some c ∈ (0, 1/2) such that g(c) = 0, which implies f(c) = f(c + 1/2).
Step-by-step explanation:
To show that there exist a, b ∈ [0,1] such that |a - b| = 1/2 and f(a) = f(b), we can consider the function g(x) = f(x) - f(x + 1/2) for x ∈ [0, 1/2].
Since f(0) = f(1), we have g(0) = f(0) - f(1/2) = f(0) - f(1) = g(1/2). Therefore, g(x) is continuous on [0, 1/2] and satisfies g(0) = g(1/2).
By the Intermediate Value Theorem, since g(x) is continuous and g(0) = g(1/2), there exists some c ∈ (0, 1/2) such that g(c) = 0. This means f(c) - f(c + 1/2) = 0, which implies f(c) = f(c + 1/2).