Difference between revisions of "2002 AMC 12P Problems/Problem 10"

(Solution)
(Solution)
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<cmath>2 - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x</cmath>
 
<cmath>2 - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x</cmath>
  
Putting everything together, we have <cmath>(3 - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x) - (2 - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x) = 1</cmath>
+
Putting everything together, we have <cmath>(3 - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x) - (2 - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x) = 1</cmath> or <cmath>1 = 1</cmath>.
  
 
== See also ==
 
== See also ==
 
{{AMC12 box|year=2002|ab=P|num-b=9|num-a=11}}
 
{{AMC12 box|year=2002|ab=P|num-b=9|num-a=11}}
 
{{MAA Notice}}
 
{{MAA Notice}}

Revision as of 13:20, 10 March 2024

Problem

Let $f_n (x) = \text{sin}^n x + \text{cos}^n x.$ For how many $x$ in $[0,\pi]$ is it true that

\[6f_{4}(x)-4f_{6}(x)=2f_{2}(x)?\]

$\text{(A) }2 \qquad \text{(B) }4  \qquad \text{(C) }6 \qquad \text{(D) }8 \qquad \text{(E) more than }8$

Solution

Divide by 2 on both sides to get \[3f_{4}(x)-2f_{6}(x)=f_{2}(x)\] Substituting the definitions of $f_{2}(x)$, $f_{4}(x)$, and $f_{6}(x)$, we may rewrite the expression as \[3(\text{sin}^4 x + \text{cos}^4 x) - 2(\text{sin}^6 x + \text{cos}^6 x) = 1\] We now simplify each term separately using some algebraic manipulation and the Pythagorean identity.

We can rewrite $3(\text{sin}^4 x + \text{cos}^4 x)$ as \[3(\text{sin}^2 x + \text{cos}^2 x)^2 - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x\] which is equivalent to \[3 - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x\]

As for $2(\text{sin}^6 x + \text{cos}^6 x)$, we may factor it as $2(\text{sin}^2 x + \text{cos}^2 x)(\text{sin}^4 x + \text{cos}^4 x - \text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x)$, which can be rewritten as \[2(\text{sin}^4 x + \text{cos}^4 x - \text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x)\] and then as \[2(\text{sin}^2 x + \text{cos}^2)^2) - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x\] which is equivalent to \[2 - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x\]

Putting everything together, we have \[(3 - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x) - (2 - 6\text{sin}^2 x \text{cos}^2 x) = 1\] or \[1 = 1\].

See also

2002 AMC 12P (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 9
Followed by
Problem 11
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All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

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