2012 AIME II Problem 10

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10.

Find the number of positive integers nn less than 10001000 for which there exists a positive real number xx such that n=xx.n = x\lfloor x \rfloor.

Note: x\lfloor x \rfloor is the greatest integer less than or equal to x.x.

Answer: 496
Concepts:floor and ceiling functionscounting integers in a range
Difficulty rating: 2460
Solution:

Fix x=a1.\lfloor x \rfloor = a \ge 1. For ax<a+1a \le x \lt a + 1 the product n=axn = ax ranges over [a2,a2+a),[a^2, a^2 + a), and every integer nn in that interval is achieved by x=nax = \frac{n}{a} (which indeed has floor aa). So each aa contributes exactly aa values of n,n, namely a2,a2+1,,a2+a1.a^2, a^2 + 1, \ldots, a^2 + a - 1.

For a=31a = 31 the largest value is 312+30=991<1000,31^2 + 30 = 991 \lt 1000, so all values through a=31a = 31 qualify, while a=32a = 32 already starts at 1024.1024. The count is 1+2++31=31322=496.1 + 2 + \cdots + 31 = \frac{31 \cdot 32}{2} = 496.

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