Difference between revisions of "2016 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 25"

Revision as of 15:20, 6 April 2020

Problem

Let $f(x)=\sum_{k=2}^{10}(\lfloor kx \rfloor -k \lfloor x \rfloor)$ , where $\lfloor r \rfloor$ denotes the greatest integer less than or equal to $r$ . How many distinct values does $f(x)$ assume for $x \ge 0$ ?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 32\qquad\textbf{(B)}\ 36\qquad\textbf{(C)}\ 45\qquad\textbf{(D)}\ 46\qquad\textbf{(E)}\ \text{infinitely many}$

Solution

Since $x = \lfloor x \rfloor + \{ x \}$ , we have

$f(x) = \sum_{k=2}^{10} (\lfloor k \lfloor x \rfloor +k \{ x \} \rfloor - k \lfloor x \rfloor)$

The function can then be simplified into

$f(x) = \sum_{k=2}^{10} ( k \lfloor x \rfloor + \lfloor k \{ x \} \rfloor - k \lfloor x \rfloor)$

which becomes

$f(x) = \sum_{k=2}^{10} \lfloor k \{ x \} \rfloor$

We can see that for each value of $k$ , $\lfloor k \{ x \} \rfloor$ can equal integers from $0$ to $k-1$ .

Clearly, the value of $\lfloor k \{ x \} \rfloor$ changes only when $x$ is equal to any of the fractions $\frac{1}{k}, \frac{2}{k} \dots \frac{k-1}{k}$ .

So we want to count how many distinct fractions less than $1$ have the form $\frac{m}{n}$ where $n \le 10$ . We can find this easily by computing

$\sum_{k=2}^{10} \phi(k)$

where $\phi(k)$ is the Euler Totient Function. Basically $\phi(k)$ counts the number of fractions with $k$ as its denominator (after simplification). This comes out to be $31$ .

Because the value of $f(x)$ is at least $0$ and can increase $31$ times, there are a total of $\fbox{\textbf{(A)}\ 32}$ different possible values of $f(x)$ .

Solution 2

$x = \lfloor x \rfloor + \{ x \}$ so we have $f(x) = \sum_{k=2}^{10} \lfloor k \{ x \} \rfloor$ .

Clearly, the value of $\lfloor k \{ x \} \rfloor$ changes only when $x$ is equal to any of the fractions $\frac{1}{k}, \frac{2}{k} \dots \frac{k-1}{k}$ .

To get all the fractions, Graphing this function gives us $46$ different fractions but on an average, $3$ in each of the $5$ intervals don’t work. This means there are a total of $\fbox{\textbf{(A)}\ 32}$ different possible values of $f(x)$ .

@@ Line 38: / Line 38: @@
 Clearly, the value of <math>\lfloor k \{ x \} \rfloor</math> changes only when <math>x</math> is equal to any of the fractions <math>\frac{1}{k}, \frac{2}{k} \dots \frac{k-1}{k}</math>.
-To get all the fractions, Graphing this function gives us <cmath>46</cmath> different fractions but on an average, <cmath>3</cmath> in each of the <cmath>5</cmath> intervals don’t work. This gives us <cmath>46 - 15</cmath> = <math>\fbox{\textbf{(A)}\32}</math>
+To get all the fractions, Graphing this function gives us <cmath>46</cmath> different fractions but on an average, <cmath>3</cmath> in each of the <cmath>5</cmath> intervals don’t work.
+This means there are a total of <math>\fbox{\textbf{(A)}\ 32}</math> different possible values of <math>f(x)</math>.
 ==See Also==
 {{AMC10 box|year=2016|ab=B|num-b=24|after=Last Problem}}
 {{MAA Notice}}

2016 AMC 10B (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by Problem 24	Followed by Last Problem
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25
All AMC 10 Problems and Solutions

Page

Toolbox

Search

Difference between revisions of "2016 AMC 10B Problems/Problem 25"

Revision as of 15:20, 6 April 2020

Contents

Problem

Solution

Solution 2

See Also