1999 AMC 12 Problem 18

Attempt Problem 18 of the 1999 AMC 12 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 1999 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.

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18.

How many zeros does $f(x) = \cos(\log x)$ have on the interval $0 \lt x \lt 1?$

$0$

$1$

$2$

$10$

infinitely many

Answer: E

Concepts:trigonometry logarithm function

Difficulty rating: 1770

Solution:

As $x$ ranges over $(0, 1),$ $\log x$ ranges over all negative real numbers. The cosine function is zero at $\tfrac{\pi}{2} - n\pi$ for every positive integer $n,$ all of which are negative, so $f$ has infinitely many zeros.

Thus, the correct answer is E.

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