2012 AMC 12A Exam Solutions

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All of the real AMC 8, AMC 10, AMC 12, and AIME problems in our complete solution collection are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

1.

A bug crawls along a number line, starting at 2.-2. It crawls to 6,-6, then turns around and crawls to 5.5. How many units does the bug crawl altogether?

99

1111

1313

1414

1515

Concepts:absolute value

Difficulty rating: 770

Solution:

The bug crawls 6(2)=4|-6-(-2)| = 4 units on the first leg and 5(6)=11|5-(-6)| = 11 units on the second leg.

The total distance is 4+11=15.4 + 11 = 15.

Thus, the correct answer is E.

2.

Cagney can frost a cupcake every 2020 seconds and Lacey can frost a cupcake every 3030 seconds. Working together, how many cupcakes can they frost in 55 minutes?

1010

1515

2020

2525

3030

Difficulty rating: 880

Solution:

In 55 minutes there are 300300 seconds. Cagney frosts 30020=15\dfrac{300}{20} = 15 cupcakes and Lacey frosts 30030=10\dfrac{300}{30} = 10 cupcakes.

Together they frost 15+10=2515 + 10 = 25 cupcakes.

Thus, the correct answer is D.

3.

A box 22 centimeters high, 33 centimeters wide, and 55 centimeters long can hold 4040 grams of clay. A second box with twice the height, three times the width, and the same length as the first box can hold nn grams of clay. What is n?n?

120120

160160

200200

240240

280280

Difficulty rating: 880

Solution:

The second box has 2×3×1=62 \times 3 \times 1 = 6 times the volume of the first, so it holds 66 times as much clay.

Therefore n=640=240.n = 6 \cdot 40 = 240.

Thus, the correct answer is D.

4.

In a bag of marbles, 35\dfrac{3}{5} of the marbles are blue and the rest are red. If the number of red marbles is doubled and the number of blue marbles stays the same, what fraction of the marbles will be red?

25\dfrac{2}{5}

37\dfrac{3}{7}

47\dfrac{4}{7}

35\dfrac{3}{5}

45\dfrac{4}{5}

Difficulty rating: 970

Solution:

Suppose there are 55 marbles: 33 blue and 22 red. Doubling the red gives 44 red while the blue stays at 3.3.

The total is now 3+4=7,3 + 4 = 7, so the fraction that is red is 47.\dfrac{4}{7}.

Thus, the correct answer is C.

5.

A fruit salad consists of blueberries, raspberries, grapes, and cherries. The fruit salad has a total of 280280 pieces of fruit. There are twice as many raspberries as blueberries, three times as many grapes as cherries, and four times as many cherries as raspberries. How many cherries are there in the fruit salad?

88

1616

2525

6464

9696

Difficulty rating: 1040

Solution:

Let bb be the number of blueberries. Then there are 2b2b raspberries, 42b=8b4 \cdot 2b = 8b cherries, and 38b=24b3 \cdot 8b = 24b grapes.

The total is b+2b+8b+24b=35b=280,b + 2b + 8b + 24b = 35b = 280, so b=8b = 8 and there are 8b=648b = 64 cherries.

Thus, the correct answer is D.

6.

The sums of three whole numbers taken in pairs are 12,12, 17,17, and 19.19. What is the middle number?

44

55

66

77

88

Difficulty rating: 1080

Solution:

Let the numbers be a<b<c.a \lt b \lt c. Adding the three pairwise sums gives 2(a+b+c)=12+17+19=48,2(a+b+c) = 12+17+19 = 48, so a+b+c=24.a+b+c = 24.

Then a=2419=5,a = 24-19 = 5, b=2417=7,b = 24-17 = 7, and c=2412=12.c = 24-12 = 12. The middle number is 7.7.

Thus, the correct answer is D.

7.

Mary divides a circle into 1212 sectors. The central angles of these sectors, measured in degrees, are all integers and they form an arithmetic sequence. What is the degree measure of the smallest possible sector angle?

55

66

88

1010

1212

Difficulty rating: 1240

Solution:

Let aa be the smallest angle and d0d \ge 0 the common difference. The sum of the angles is 12a+66d=360,12a + 66d = 360, so 2a+11d=60.2a + 11d = 60.

To make aa small, take dd large. Since 11d11d must be even, dd is even, and d=4d = 4 gives 2a=6044=16,2a = 60 - 44 = 16, so a=8.a = 8. A larger even dd makes aa non-positive.

Thus, the correct answer is C.

8.

An iterative average of the numbers 1,2,3,4,1, 2, 3, 4, and 55 is computed in the following way. Arrange the five numbers in some order. Find the mean of the first two numbers, then find the mean of that with the third number, then the mean of that with the fourth number, and finally the mean of that with the fifth number. What is the difference between the largest and smallest possible values that can be obtained using this procedure?

3116\dfrac{31}{16}

22

178\dfrac{17}{8}

33

6516\dfrac{65}{16}

Difficulty rating: 1480

Solution:

For the order a,b,c,d,e,a, b, c, d, e, the iterative average is a+b+2c+4d+8e16.\frac{a + b + 2c + 4d + 8e}{16}. The later positions carry the most weight.

The largest value uses (a,b,c,d,e)=(1,2,3,4,5),(a,b,c,d,e) = (1,2,3,4,5), giving 6516,\dfrac{65}{16}, and the smallest uses (5,4,3,2,1),(5,4,3,2,1), giving 3116.\dfrac{31}{16}.

The difference is 65163116=3416=178.\dfrac{65}{16} - \dfrac{31}{16} = \dfrac{34}{16} = \dfrac{17}{8}.

Thus, the correct answer is C.

9.

A year is a leap year if and only if the year number is divisible by 400400 (such as 20002000) or is divisible by 44 but not by 100100 (such as 20122012). The 200200th anniversary of the birth of novelist Charles Dickens was celebrated on February 7,2012,7, 2012, a Tuesday. On what day of the week was Dickens born?

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Difficulty rating: 1540

Solution:

From February 7,18127, 1812 to February 7,20127, 2012 there are 200365=73000200 \cdot 365 = 73000 ordinary days plus one for each leap day.

One quarter of the 200200 years contain a leap day, except 1900,1900, giving 142001=49\tfrac14 \cdot 200 - 1 = 49 leap days. So the span is 7304973049 days.

Since 73049=710435+4,73049 = 7 \cdot 10435 + 4, the birth day was 44 days before a Tuesday, which is a Friday.

Thus, the correct answer is A.

10.

A triangle has area 30,30, one side of length 10,10, and the median to that side of length 9.9. Let θ\theta be the acute angle formed by that side and the median. What is sinθ?\sin\theta?

310\dfrac{3}{10}

13\dfrac{1}{3}

920\dfrac{9}{20}

23\dfrac{2}{3}

910\dfrac{9}{10}

Difficulty rating: 1610

Solution:

The median divides the triangle into two triangles of equal area 15.15. One of them has the two sides of length 55 (half the base) and 99 (the median) meeting at angle θ.\theta.

Its area is 1259sinθ=15,\tfrac12 \cdot 5 \cdot 9 \sin\theta = 15, so sinθ=21559=23.\sin\theta = \dfrac{2 \cdot 15}{5 \cdot 9} = \dfrac{2}{3}.

Thus, the correct answer is D.

11.

Alex, Mel, and Chelsea play a game that has 66 rounds. In each round there is a single winner, and the outcomes of the rounds are independent. For each round the probability that Alex wins is 12,\dfrac12, and Mel is twice as likely to win as Chelsea. What is the probability that Alex wins three rounds, Mel wins two rounds, and Chelsea wins one round?

572\dfrac{5}{72}

536\dfrac{5}{36}

16\dfrac{1}{6}

13\dfrac{1}{3}

11

Solution:

Since Alex wins with probability 12,\tfrac12, the others share the remaining 12.\tfrac12. With Mel twice as likely as Chelsea, P(Mel)=13P(\text{Mel}) = \tfrac13 and P(Chelsea)=16.P(\text{Chelsea}) = \tfrac16.

The number of orderings of the wins AAAMMCAAAMMC is 6!3!2!1!=60.\dfrac{6!}{3!\,2!\,1!} = 60. The probability is 60(12)3(13)2(16)=60432=536.60 \cdot \left(\tfrac12\right)^3 \left(\tfrac13\right)^2 \left(\tfrac16\right) = \frac{60}{432} = \frac{5}{36}.

Thus, the correct answer is B.

12.

A square region ABCDABCD is externally tangent to the circle with equation x2+y2=1x^2 + y^2 = 1 at the point (0,1)(0, 1) on the side CD.CD. Vertices AA and BB are on the circle with equation x2+y2=4.x^2 + y^2 = 4. What is the side length of this square?

10+510\dfrac{\sqrt{10} + 5}{10}

255\dfrac{2\sqrt{5}}{5}

223\dfrac{2\sqrt{2}}{3}

21945\dfrac{2\sqrt{19} - 4}{5}

9175\dfrac{9 - \sqrt{17}}{5}

Difficulty rating: 1770

Solution:

By symmetry let A=(a,b)A = (a, b) with a>0a \gt 0 and B=(a,b).B = (-a, b). The square sits on the tangent point (0,1),(0,1), so its horizontal width is 2a2a and its height is b1.b - 1.

Since these are equal, 2a=b1,2a = b - 1, giving b=2a+1.b = 2a + 1.

Substituting into a2+b2=4a^2 + b^2 = 4 yields 5a2+4a3=0.5a^2 + 4a - 3 = 0. The positive root is a=1925,a = \dfrac{\sqrt{19} - 2}{5}, so the side length is 2a=21945.2a = \dfrac{2\sqrt{19} - 4}{5}.

Thus, the correct answer is D.

13.

Paula the painter and her two helpers each paint at constant, but different, rates. They always start at 8:00 AM and all three always take the same amount of time to eat lunch. On Monday the three of them painted 50%50\% of a house, quitting at 4:00 PM. On Tuesday, when Paula wasn't there, the two helpers painted only 24%24\% of the house and quit at 2:12 PM. On Wednesday Paula worked by herself and finished the house by working until 7:12 PM. How long, in minutes, was each day's lunch break?

3030

3636

4242

4848

6060

Difficulty rating: 1810

Solution:

Let mm be the lunch length in minutes. The three worked 480m480 - m minutes Monday, the helpers 372m372 - m minutes Tuesday, and Paula 672m672 - m minutes Wednesday.

If Paula paints p%p\% per minute and the helpers together paint h%h\% per minute, then (p+h)(480m)=50,h(372m)=24,p(672m)=26.(p+h)(480-m) = 50,\quad h(372-m) = 24,\quad p(672-m) = 26.

Adding the last two equations and subtracting from the first gives 108h192p=0,108h - 192p = 0, so h=169p.h = \tfrac{16}{9}p. Solving the system gives p=124p = \tfrac{1}{24} and m=48.m = 48.

Thus, the correct answer is D.

14.

The closed curve in the figure is made up of 99 congruent circular arcs each of length 2π3,\dfrac{2\pi}{3}, where each of the centers of the corresponding circles is among the vertices of a regular hexagon of side 2.2. What is the area enclosed by the curve?

2π+62\pi + 6

2π+432\pi + 4\sqrt{3}

3π+43\pi + 4

2π+33+22\pi + 3\sqrt{3} + 2

π+63\pi + 6\sqrt{3}

Difficulty rating: 1880

Solution:

Each arc has length 2π3\dfrac{2\pi}{3} on a unit circle, so it is a 120120^\circ sector. The nine equal sectors can be reassembled so that the enclosed region equals the regular hexagon of side 22 plus one full circle of radius 1.1.

A regular hexagon of side 22 splits into 66 equilateral triangles of side 2,2, so its area is 63422=63.6 \cdot \dfrac{\sqrt3}{4} \cdot 2^2 = 6\sqrt3.

Adding the unit circle's area π\pi gives π+63.\pi + 6\sqrt3.

Thus, the correct answer is E.

15.

A 3×33 \times 3 square is partitioned into 99 unit squares. Each unit square is painted either white or black with each color being equally likely, chosen independently and at random. The square is then rotated 9090^\circ clockwise about its center, and every white square in a position formerly occupied by a black square is painted black. The colors of all other squares are left unchanged. What is the probability that the grid is now entirely black?

49512\dfrac{49}{512}

764\dfrac{7}{64}

1211024\dfrac{121}{1024}

81512\dfrac{81}{512}

932\dfrac{9}{32}

Difficulty rating: 1930

Solution:

The four corners form one cycle under the rotation, the four edge squares form another, and the center is fixed. These three groups are independent.

For the four corners, checking the 24=162^4 = 16 colorings shows that 77 of them end all black, so the corners are all black with probability 716.\dfrac{7}{16}. The same holds for the four edges.

The center is black at the end only if it started black, with probability 12.\dfrac12. Multiplying, the whole grid is black with probability 12(716)2=49512.\frac12 \cdot \left(\frac{7}{16}\right)^2 = \frac{49}{512}.

Thus, the correct answer is A.

16.

Circle C1C_1 has its center OO lying on circle C2.C_2. The two circles meet at XX and Y.Y. Point ZZ in the exterior of C1C_1 lies on circle C2C_2 and XZ=13,XZ = 13, OZ=11,OZ = 11, and YZ=7.YZ = 7. What is the radius of circle C1?C_1?

55

26\sqrt{26}

333\sqrt{3}

272\sqrt{7}

30\sqrt{30}

Difficulty rating: 1870

Solution:

Let rr be the radius of C1,C_1, so OX=OY=r.OX = OY = r. These are equal chords of C2,C_2, so they subtend equal angles at Z:Z: XZO=OZY.\angle XZO = \angle OZY.

Applying the Law of Cosines to triangles XZOXZO and YZO,YZO, 132+112r221311=72+112r22711.\frac{13^2 + 11^2 - r^2}{2 \cdot 13 \cdot 11} = \frac{7^2 + 11^2 - r^2}{2 \cdot 7 \cdot 11}.

Clearing denominators and solving gives r2=30,r^2 = 30, so r=30.r = \sqrt{30}.

Thus, the correct answer is E.

17.

Let SS be a subset of {1,2,3,,30}\{1, 2, 3, \ldots, 30\} with the property that no pair of distinct elements in SS has a sum divisible by 5.5. What is the largest possible size of S?S?

1010

1313

1515

1616

1818

Difficulty rating: 1800

Solution:

Group {1,,30}\{1, \ldots, 30\} by residue modulo 5;5; each class has 66 numbers. A sum is divisible by 55 when the residues are 0+0,0{+}0, 1+4,1{+}4, or 2+3.2{+}3.

So SS can use at most one number 0,\equiv 0, and only one of the classes {1},{4}\{1\}, \{4\} and only one of {2},{3}.\{2\}, \{3\}. That allows at most 1+6+6=131 + 6 + 6 = 13 numbers.

The set {1,2,6,7,11,12,16,17,21,22,26,27,30}\{1, 2, 6, 7, 11, 12, 16, 17, 21, 22, 26, 27, 30\} achieves 13,13, so the maximum is 13.13.

Thus, the correct answer is B.

18.

Triangle ABCABC has AB=27,AB = 27, AC=26,AC = 26, and BC=25.BC = 25. Let II denote the intersection of the internal angle bisectors of ABC.\triangle ABC. What is BI?BI?

1515

5+26+335 + \sqrt{26} + 3\sqrt{3}

3263\sqrt{26}

23546\dfrac{2}{3}\sqrt{546}

939\sqrt{3}

Solution:

Let DD be the foot of the perpendicular from the incenter II to BC.BC. The tangent length BD=sAC,BD = s - AC, where s=12(25+26+27)=39,s = \tfrac12(25 + 26 + 27) = 39, so BD=3926=13.BD = 39 - 26 = 13.

By Heron's formula the area is 39141312,\sqrt{39 \cdot 14 \cdot 13 \cdot 12}, and the inradius satisfies r2=(sa)(sb)(sc)s=14131239=56.r^2 = \dfrac{(s-a)(s-b)(s-c)}{s} = \dfrac{14 \cdot 13 \cdot 12}{39} = 56.

In right triangle BDI,BDI, BI2=r2+BD2=56+169=225,BI^2 = r^2 + BD^2 = 56 + 169 = 225, so BI=15.BI = 15.

Thus, the correct answer is A.

19.

Adam, Benin, Chiang, Deshawn, Esther, and Fiona have internet accounts. Some, but not all, of them are internet friends with each other, and none of them has an internet friend outside this group. Each of them has the same number of internet friends. In how many different ways can this happen?

6060

170170

290290

320320

660660

Difficulty rating: 2090

Solution:

Model people as vertices of a graph, with edges for friendships. Everyone has the same degree nn with 1n4.1 \le n \le 4. The cases nn and 61n6 - 1 - n are complementary graphs, so n=1n = 1 pairs with n=4n = 4 and n=2n = 2 with n=3.n = 3.

For n=1n = 1 the graph is a perfect matching: 53=155 \cdot 3 = 15 ways. Thus n=4n = 4 also gives 15.15.

For n=2n = 2 the graph is a union of cycles: either two triangles ((52)=10)\left(\binom{5}{2} = 10\right) or one hexagon (6!12=60),\left(\dfrac{6!}{12} = 60\right), totaling 70.70. Thus n=3n = 3 also gives 70.70.

The total is 15+15+70+70=170.15 + 15 + 70 + 70 = 170.

Thus, the correct answer is B.

20.

Consider the polynomial P(x)=k=010(x2k+2k)=(x+1)(x2+2)(x4+4)(x1024+1024).P(x) = \prod_{k=0}^{10}\left(x^{2^k} + 2^k\right) = (x+1)(x^2+2)(x^4+4)\cdots(x^{1024}+1024).

The coefficient of x2012x^{2012} is equal to 2a.2^a. What is a?a?

55

66

77

1010

2424

Difficulty rating: 2220

Solution:

Expanding the product, a term of degree 20122012 comes from choosing x2kx^{2^k} from some factors so that the exponents sum to 2012.2012. Since powers of two are distinct, this corresponds to the binary representation 2012=111110111002.2012 = 11111011100_2.

That representation is unique, so exactly one term gives x2012,x^{2012}, and its coefficient is the product of the constants 2k2^k from the remaining factors: those with k{0,1,5}.k \in \{0, 1, 5\}.

The coefficient is 202125=26,2^0 \cdot 2^1 \cdot 2^5 = 2^6, so a=6.a = 6.

Thus, the correct answer is B.

21.

Let a,a, b,b, and cc be positive integers with abca \ge b \ge c such that a2b2c2+ab=2011a^2 - b^2 - c^2 + ab = 2011 and a2+3b2+3c23ab2ac2bc=1997.a^2 + 3b^2 + 3c^2 - 3ab - 2ac - 2bc = -1997.

What is a?a?

249249

250250

251251

252252

253253

Solution:

Adding the two equations gives 2a2+2b2+2c22ab2bc2ca=14,2a^2 + 2b^2 + 2c^2 - 2ab - 2bc - 2ca = 14, that is, (ab)2+(bc)2+(ca)2=14.(a-b)^2 + (b-c)^2 + (c-a)^2 = 14.

The only way to write 1414 as a sum of three squares is 9+4+1.9 + 4 + 1. Since abc,a \ge b \ge c, we get ac=3,a - c = 3, with either (ab,bc)=(2,1)(a-b, b-c) = (2,1) or (1,2).(1,2).

Substituting (a,b,c)=(c+3,c+1,c)(a, b, c) = (c+3, c+1, c) into the first equation gives 3(2c+3)+2(c+1)=2011,3(2c+3) + 2(c+1) = 2011, so c=250c = 250 and (a,b,c)=(253,251,250).(a, b, c) = (253, 251, 250). The other case has no integer solution.

Thus, the correct answer is E.

22.

Distinct planes p1,p2,,pkp_1, p_2, \ldots, p_k intersect the interior of a cube Q.Q. Let SS be the union of the faces of QQ and let P=j=1kpj.P = \bigcup_{j=1}^{k} p_j. The intersection of PP and SS consists of the union of all segments joining the midpoints of every pair of edges belonging to the same face of Q.Q. What is the difference between the maximum and the minimum possible values of k?k?

88

1212

2020

2323

2424

Difficulty rating: 2460

Solution:

On every face, the required segments join midpoints of edges. A plane cutting the cube meets the faces in one of four symmetric shapes: a square through midpoints (33 such planes), a rectangle per edge (1212 planes), a triangle per vertex (88 planes), or a regular hexagon per pair of opposite vertices (44 planes).

Using all of them gives the maximum k=3+12+8+4=27.k = 3 + 12 + 8 + 4 = 27.

The full figure consists of 2424 short segments and 1212 long segments. The 44 hexagon planes together contain all 2424 short segments, and the 33 square planes contain all 1212 long segments, so the minimum is k=4+3=7.k = 4 + 3 = 7.

The difference is 277=20.27 - 7 = 20.

Thus, the correct answer is C.

23.

Let SS be the square one of whose diagonals has endpoints (0.1,0.7)(0.1, 0.7) and (0.1,0.7).(-0.1, -0.7). A point v=(x,y)v = (x, y) is chosen uniformly at random over all pairs of real numbers xx and yy such that 0x20120 \le x \le 2012 and 0y2012.0 \le y \le 2012. Let T(v)T(v) be a translated copy of SS centered at v.v. What is the probability that the square region determined by T(v)T(v) contains exactly two points with integer coordinates in its interior?

0.1250.125

0.140.14

0.160.16

0.250.25

0.320.32

Difficulty rating: 2340

Solution:

The diagonal from (0.1,0.7)(0.1, 0.7) to (0.1,0.7)(-0.1, -0.7) has length 0.22+1.42=2,\sqrt{0.2^2 + 1.4^2} = \sqrt2, so SS is a square of area 1.1. The translate T(v)T(v) contains a lattice point exactly when vv lies inside the copy of SS centered at that point.

Containing exactly two interior lattice points requires vv to lie in the overlap of two copies centered at adjacent lattice points. By periodicity the answer is the total such overlap area within one unit cell.

The overlap of two unit-area copies whose centers are one unit apart has area 0.08.0.08. Summing over the horizontal and vertical adjacencies gives probability 20.08=0.16.2 \cdot 0.08 = 0.16.

Thus, the correct answer is C.

24.

Let {ak}k=12011\{a_k\}_{k=1}^{2011} be the sequence of real numbers defined by a1=0.201,a_1 = 0.201, a2=(0.2011)a1,a_2 = (0.2011)^{a_1}, a3=(0.20101)a2,a_3 = (0.20101)^{a_2}, and a4=(0.201011)a3,a_4 = (0.201011)^{a_3}, and more generally ak={(0.201010101k+2 digits)ak1,if k is odd,(0.2010101011k+2 digits)ak1,if k is even.a_k = \begin{cases} \left(0.\underbrace{20101\ldots0101}_{k+2 \text{ digits}}\right)^{a_{k-1}}, & \text{if } k \text{ is odd,} \\ \left(0.\underbrace{20101\ldots01011}_{k+2 \text{ digits}}\right)^{a_{k-1}}, & \text{if } k \text{ is even.} \end{cases}

Rearranging the numbers in the sequence {ak}k=12011\{a_k\}_{k=1}^{2011} in decreasing order produces a new sequence {bk}k=12011.\{b_k\}_{k=1}^{2011}. What is the sum of all the integers k,k, 1k2011,1 \le k \le 2011, such that ak=bk?a_k = b_k?

671671

10061006

13411341

20112011

20122012

Difficulty rating: 2460

Solution:

Because each base lies strictly between 00 and 1,1, the function t(base)tt \mapsto (\text{base})^t is decreasing, while ttbt \mapsto t^b is increasing for b>0.b \gt 0. Comparing terms shows the sequence orders as 1>a2>a4>>a2010>a2011>a2009>>a1>0.1 \gt a_2 \gt a_4 \gt \cdots \gt a_{2010} \gt a_{2011} \gt a_{2009} \gt \cdots \gt a_1 \gt 0.

So in the decreasing arrangement, the even-indexed terms come first, then the odd-indexed terms in reverse. A term satisfies ak=bka_k = b_k exactly when its position equals its index, which for the descending odd tail requires 2(k1006)=2011k.2(k - 1006) = 2011 - k.

Solving gives 3k=4023,3k = 4023, so k=1341,k = 1341, the unique fixed index, and the sum is 1341.1341.

Thus, the correct answer is C.

25.

Let f(x)=2{x}1f(x) = |2\{x\} - 1| where {x}\{x\} denotes the fractional part of x.x. The number nn is the smallest positive integer such that the equation nf(xf(x))=xnf(xf(x)) = x has at least 20122012 real solutions x.x. What is n?n?

Note: the fractional part of xx is a real number y={x},y = \{x\}, such that 0y<10 \le y \lt 1 and xyx - y is an integer.

3030

3131

3232

6262

6464

Solution:

Since 0f(x)1,0 \le f(x) \le 1, every solution lies in [0,n].[0, n]. The function ff is a triangular wave of period 1,1, and g(x)=xf(x)g(x) = xf(x) is monotonic on each half-integer interval, mapping it onto an interval on which f(g(x))f(g(x)) oscillates.

Counting the oscillations, on the intervals [a,a+12)[a, a + \tfrac12) and [a+12,a+1)[a + \tfrac12, a+1) the curve y=f(g(x))y = f(g(x)) meets the line y=xny = \tfrac{x}{n} a total of 2a2a and 2(a+1)2(a+1) times. Summing over a=0,,n1a = 0, \ldots, n-1 gives a=0n1(2a+2(a+1))=2n2\sum_{a=0}^{n-1}\bigl(2a + 2(a+1)\bigr) = 2n^2 real solutions.

The smallest nn with 2n220122n^2 \ge 2012 is n=32,n = 32, since 2312=19222 \cdot 31^2 = 1922 and 2322=2048.2 \cdot 32^2 = 2048.

Thus, the correct answer is C.