2024 AIME I Problem 7

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Concepts:complex numbertrigonometric identityoptimization

Difficulty rating: 2410

7.

Find the largest possible real part of (75+117i)z+96+144iz(75 + 117i)z + \frac{96 + 144i}{z} where zz is a complex number with z=4.|z| = 4. Here i=1.i = \sqrt{-1}.

Solution:

Write z=4(cosθ+isinθ),z = 4(\cos\theta + i\sin\theta), so 1z=14(cosθisinθ).\frac{1}{z} = \frac{1}{4}(\cos\theta - i\sin\theta). The real part of (75+117i)z(75 + 117i)z is 4(75cosθ117sinθ)=300cosθ468sinθ,4(75\cos\theta - 117\sin\theta) = 300\cos\theta - 468\sin\theta, and the real part of (96+144i)14(cosθisinθ)(96 + 144i) \cdot \frac{1}{4}(\cos\theta - i\sin\theta) is 24cosθ+36sinθ.24\cos\theta + 36\sin\theta.

The total real part is 324cosθ432sinθ,324\cos\theta - 432\sin\theta, whose maximum over θ\theta is 3242+4322=10832+42=1085=540.\sqrt{324^2 + 432^2} = 108\sqrt{3^2 + 4^2} = 108 \cdot 5 = 540.

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