1991 AIME Problem 4

Attempt Problem 4 of the 1991 AIME below, then check your answer against the professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 1991 AIME solutions, or check the answer key.

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4.

How many real numbers xx satisfy the equation 15log2x=sin(5πx)?\frac15\log_2x=\sin(5\pi x)?

Answer: 159
Concepts:trigonometrylogarithmcounting intersections
Difficulty rating: 2510
Small Hint:

The bound sin(5πx)1\lvert\sin(5\pi x)\rvert\leq1 restricts xx to a finite interval

Big Hint:

Separate the positive and negative half-waves of the sine function and count two crossings on each eligible full half-wave

Solution:

Let h(x)=sin(5πx)15log2x.h(x)=\sin(5\pi x)-\frac15\log_2x. Any root lies in [25,25]=[132,32].[2^{-5},2^5]=[\frac{1}{32},32].

For x<1,x<1, a root can occur only on a negative half-wave of the sine. There are two such half-waves, (15,25)(\frac{1}{5},\frac{2}{5}) and (35,45).(\frac{3}{5},\frac{4}{5}). On each, hh is positive at both endpoints and negative at the midpoint, so there are two roots. Uniqueness on the descending half follows from monotonicity; on the ascending half, h=25π2sin(5πx)+15x2ln2>0,\begin{aligned}h''&=-25\pi^2\sin(5\pi x)\\&\quad+\frac1{5x^2\ln2}>0,\end{aligned} so hh' increases from a negative value at the midpoint and vanishes once. The function hh therefore first decreases and then increases from a negative midpoint value to a positive endpoint value, giving exactly one root on this half. Thus there are 44 roots below 1.1.

Also x=1x=1 is a root. For 1<x<32,1<x<32, roots can occur only on positive half-waves (2m5,2m+15)(\frac{2m}{5},\frac{2m+1}{5}) with m=3,m=3, 4,4, ,\ldots, 79.79. There are 7777 of these. The value of hh is negative at each endpoint and positive at the midpoint. The right half is strictly decreasing. On the left half, h=125π3cos(5πx)25x3ln2<0,\begin{aligned}h'''&=-125\pi^3\cos(5\pi x)\\&\quad-\frac2{5x^3\ln2}<0,\end{aligned} so hh' is strictly concave. It is positive at the left endpoint and negative at the midpoint, so it changes sign exactly once. Consequently, hh rises to one maximum and then falls to a still-positive midpoint, giving exactly one crossing on the left half. Hence every such half-wave contributes exactly two roots. Therefore the total number is 4+1+2(77)=159.4+1+2(77)=159.

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