2003 AMC 12A Problem 6

Below is the professionally curated solution for Problem 6 of the 2003 AMC 12A, from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2003 AMC 12A solutions, or check the answer key.

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).

Concepts:absolute valuecounterexample

Difficulty rating: 1200

6.

Define xyx\heartsuit y to be xy|x - y| for all real numbers xx and y.y. Which of the following statements is not true?

xy=yxx\heartsuit y = y\heartsuit x for all xx and yy

2(xy)=(2x)(2y)2(x\heartsuit y) = (2x)\heartsuit(2y) for all xx and yy

x0=xx\heartsuit 0 = x for all xx

xx=0x\heartsuit x = 0 for all xx

xy>0x\heartsuit y \gt 0 if xyx \neq y

Solution:

Since x0=x0=x,x\heartsuit 0=|x-0|=|x|, statement (C) claims x=x|x|=x for all x,x, which fails when x<0.x\lt0. For example, (1)0=11.(-1)\heartsuit 0 = 1 \neq -1.

Every other statement follows directly from properties of the absolute value.

Thus, the correct answer is C.

Problem 6 in Other Years