2005 AIME II Problem 5

Attempt Problem 5 of the 2005 AIME II 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 2005 AIME II solutions, or check the answer key.

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5.

Determine the number of ordered pairs (a,b)(a, b) of integers such that logab+6logba=5,\log_a b + 6\log_b a = 5, 2a2005,2 \le a \le 2005, and 2b2005.2 \le b \le 2005.

Answer: 54
Concepts:logarithmquadraticcounting integers in a range
Difficulty rating: 2310
Solution:

Let x=logab.x = \log_a b. Since logba=1x,\log_b a = \frac{1}{x}, the equation becomes x+6x=5,x + \frac{6}{x} = 5, i.e. x25x+6=0,x^2 - 5x + 6 = 0, so x=2x = 2 or x=3.x = 3. That means b=a2b = a^2 or b=a3.b = a^3.

For b=a22005b = a^2 \le 2005 we need 2a442 \le a \le 44 (since 442=193644^2 = 1936 and 452=202545^2 = 2025), giving 4343 pairs. For b=a32005b = a^3 \le 2005 we need 2a122 \le a \le 12 (since 123=172812^3 = 1728 and 133=219713^3 = 2197), giving 1111 pairs.

In total there are 43+11=5443 + 11 = 54 ordered pairs.

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