2009 AIME II Problem 14

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Concepts:recursiontrigonometric identitysubstitution

Difficulty rating: 3160

14.

The sequence (an)(a_n) satisfies a0=0a_0 = 0 and an+1=85an+654nan2a_{n+1} = \frac{8}{5}a_n + \frac{6}{5}\sqrt{4^n - a_n^2} for n0.n \ge 0. Find the greatest integer less than or equal to a10.a_{10}.

Solution:

Write an=2nsinθna_n = 2^n \sin\theta_n with θ0=0,\theta_0 = 0, so 4nan2=2ncosθn.\sqrt{4^n - a_n^2} = 2^n\,|\cos\theta_n|. Let θ=arcsin35,\theta = \arcsin\frac{3}{5}, so cosθ=45.\cos\theta = \frac{4}{5}. The recursion becomes an+1=2n+1(cosθsinθn+sinθcosθn)=2n+1sin(θn±θ),a_{n+1} = 2^{n+1}\left(\cos\theta \sin\theta_n + \sin\theta\,|\cos\theta_n|\right) = 2^{n+1}\sin(\theta_n \pm \theta), with the plus sign when cosθn0\cos\theta_n \ge 0 and the minus sign when cosθn<0.\cos\theta_n \lt 0.

Since 12<35<22,\frac{1}{2} \lt \frac{3}{5} \lt \frac{\sqrt{2}}{2}, we have 30<θ<45.30^\circ \lt \theta \lt 45^\circ. The angles θ,\theta, 2θ2\theta have positive cosine, so the sequence of angles runs 0,θ,2θ,3θ.0, \theta, 2\theta, 3\theta. But 90<3θ<13590^\circ \lt 3\theta \lt 135^\circ has negative cosine, so θ4=2θ,\theta_4 = 2\theta, and from then on the angle alternates between 3θ3\theta and 2θ.2\theta. In particular θn=2θ\theta_n = 2\theta for every even n2.n \ge 2.

With sin2θ=23545=2425,\sin 2\theta = 2 \cdot \frac{3}{5} \cdot \frac{4}{5} = \frac{24}{25}, a10=210sin2θ=10242425=2457625=983.04,a_{10} = 2^{10} \sin 2\theta = 1024 \cdot \frac{24}{25} = \frac{24576}{25} = 983.04, so the answer is 983.983.

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