Taking the equation , the last digit of will always be 5 for all positive integral values of
The power cycle of 3 is:
Clearly, must be in the form of as the unit digit of the right-hand side is 6.
We have , and . Also, and Observe that
Hence, or and (where and also satisfies the first equation).
Therefore,
If the set of all values of , for which the equation has three distinct real roots, is the interval , then is equal to
If the equation has equal roots, where and , then is equal to .