2024 AIME I Problems/Problem 12

Revision as of 20:38, 2 February 2024 by Ryanjwang (talk | contribs) (Solution)

Problem

Define $f(x)=|| x|-\tfrac{1}{2}|$ and $g(x)=|| x|-\tfrac{1}{4}|$. Find the number of intersections of the graphs of \[y=4 g(f(\sin (2 \pi x))) \quad\text{ and }\quad x=4 g(f(\cos (3 \pi y))).\]

Solution 1 (BASH, DO NOT ATTEMPT IF INSUFFICIENT TIME)

If we graph $4g(f(x))$, we see it forms a sawtooth graph that oscillates between $0$ and $1$ (for values of $x$ between $-1$ and $1$, which is true because the arguments are between $-1$ and $1$). Thus by precariously drawing the graph of the two functions in the square bounded by $(0,0)$, $(0,1)$, $(1,1)$, and $(1,0)$, and hand-counting each of the intersections, we get $\boxed{384}$

Note

While this solution might seem unreliable (it probably is), the only parts where counting the intersection might be tricky is near the origin.

See also

2024 AIME I (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 11
Followed by
Problem 13
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