Solving a recurrence of uneven subproblems without Akra-Bazzi
You could use &quot;guess-and-check&quot;: guess the solution to the recurrence, then use induction to prove that it is a solution, i.e., to prove that your solution satisfies the recurrence.
In your case, since you know Akra-Bazzi, your &quot;guess&quot; can actually be obtained through Akra-Bazzi, but you don't have to tell anyone that's how you obtained your guess.