2022 AIME I Problems/Problem 4

Revision as of 18:09, 17 February 2022 by MRENTHUSIASM (talk | contribs) (Solution)

Problem

Let $w = \dfrac{\sqrt{3} + i}{2}$ and $z = \dfrac{-1 + i\sqrt{3}}{2},$ where $i = \sqrt{-1}.$ Find the number of ordered pairs $(r,s)$ of positive integers not exceeding $100$ that satisfy the equation $i \cdot w^r = z^s.$

Solution

We rewrite $w$ and $z$ in polar form: \begin{align*} w &= e^{i\cdot\frac{\pi}{6}}, \\ z &= e^{i\cdot\frac{2\pi}{3}}. \end{align*} The equation $i \cdot w^r = z^s$ becomes \begin{align*} e^{i\cdot\frac{\pi}{2}} \cdot \left(e^{i\cdot\frac{\pi}{6}}\right)^r &= \left(e^{i\cdot\frac{2\pi}{3}}\right)^s \\ e^{i\left(\frac{\pi}{2}+\frac{\pi}{6}r\right)} &= e^{i\left(\frac{2\pi}{3}s\right)} \\ \frac{\pi}{2}+\frac{\pi}{6}r &= \frac{2\pi}{3}s+2\pi k \\ 3+r &= 4s+12k \\ 3+r &= 4(s+3k). \end{align*} for some integer $k.$

Since $4\leq 3+r\leq 103$ and $4\mid 3+r,$ we conclude that \begin{align*} 3+r &\in \{4,8,12,\ldots,100\}, \\ s+3k &\in \{1,2,3,\ldots,25\}. \end{align*} Note that the values for $s+3k$ and the values for $r$ have one-to-one correspondence.

We apply casework to the values for $s+3k:$

  1. $s+3k\equiv0\pmod{3}$
  2. There are $8$ values for $s+3k,$ so there are $8$ values for $r.$ It follows that $s\equiv0\pmod{3},$ so there are $33$ values for $s.$

    There are $8\cdot33=264$ ordered pairs $(r,s)$ in this case.

  3. $s+3k\equiv1\pmod{3}$
  4. There are $9$ values for $s+3k,$ so there are $9$ values for $r.$ It follows that $s\equiv1\pmod{3},$ so there are $34$ values for $s.$

    There are $9\cdot34=306$ ordered pairs $(r,s)$ in this case.

  5. $s+3k\equiv2\pmod{3}$
  6. There are $8$ values for $s+3k,$ so there are $8$ values for $r.$ It follows that $s\equiv2\pmod{3},$ so there are $33$ values for $s.$

    There are $8\cdot33=264$ ordered pairs $(r,s)$ in this case.

Together, the answer is $264+306+264=\boxed{834}.$

~MRENTHUSIASM ~bluesoul

See Also

2022 AIME I (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 3
Followed by
Problem 5
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
All AIME Problems and Solutions

The problems on this page are copyrighted by the Mathematical Association of America's American Mathematics Competitions. AMC logo.png