A generalized mean-value theorem (Q581685): Difference between revisions

We give a new proof of the following generalized mean-value theorem: Let \(f_ 1,...,f_ n\) be continuous functions, defined on [0,1], with values in \({\mathbb{R}}\). There exist points \(t_ 1<t_ 2<...<t_ N\) in [0,1] such that \(\frac{1}{N}\sum^{N}_{i=1}f_ k(t_ i)=\int^{1}_{0}f_ k(t)dt,\) for every \(k=1,2,...,n\). This theorem was originally proved by \textit{P. D. Seymour} and \textit{T. Zaslavsky} [Adv. Math. 52, 213-240 (1984; Zbl 0596.05012)]. The proof uses this theorem of L. E. J. Brouwer. There is not a homotopy from the identity function of \(S_{n-1}\) (the unit sphere) to a constant function. The proof is constructive and may lead to an estimate of the number N.