2012 AIME I Problem 10

Attempt Problem 10 of the 2012 AIME I 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 2012 AIME I solutions, or check the answer key.

All problems are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

10.

Let S\mathcal{S} be the set of all perfect squares whose rightmost three digits in base 1010 are 256.256. Let T\mathcal{T} be the set of all numbers of the form x2561000,\frac{x - 256}{1000}, where xx is in S.\mathcal{S}. In other words, T\mathcal{T} is the set of numbers that result when the last three digits of each number in S\mathcal{S} are truncated. Find the remainder when the tenth smallest element of T\mathcal{T} is divided by 1000.1000.

Answer: 170
Concepts:modular arithmeticChinese Remainder Theoremdifference of squares
Difficulty rating: 2840
Solution:

A square n2n^2 ends in 256256 exactly when 1000n22561000 \mid n^2 - 256 =(n16)(n+16).= (n - 16)(n + 16). Modulo 8:8: n20(mod8)n^2 \equiv 0 \pmod 8 forces 4n.4 \mid n. Modulo 125:125: the factors n±16n \pm 16 differ by 32,32, so 55 divides at most one of them, and hence 125125 must divide a single factor: n±16(mod125).n \equiv \pm 16 \pmod{125}. Because 1616 is a multiple of 4,4, the two conditions combine to n±16(mod500).n \equiv \pm 16 \pmod{500}.

So S\mathcal{S} consists of the numbers (500m±16)2,(500m \pm 16)^2, whose square roots in increasing order are 16,16, 484,484, 516,516, 984,984, 1016,.1016, \ldots. The tenth smallest element of S\mathcal{S} is (500516)2=24842.(500 \cdot 5 - 16)^2 = 2484^2.

The corresponding element of T\mathcal{T} is 248422561000=246825001000=6170,\frac{2484^2 - 256}{1000} = \frac{2468 \cdot 2500}{1000} = 6170, whose remainder upon division by 10001000 is 170.170.

← Problem 9#9
Full Exam

Problem 10 in Other Years