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1999 AIME Problems/Problem 7

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Problem

There is a set of 1000 switches, each of which has four positions, called A, B, C, and D. When the position of any switch changes, it is only from A to B, from B to C, from C to D, or from D to A. Initially each switch is in position A. The switches are labeled with the 1000 different integers (2^{x})(3^{y})(5^{z}), where x, y, and z take on the values 0, 1, \ldots, 9. At step i of a 1000-step process, the i-th switch is advanced one step, and so are all the other switches whose labels divide the label on the i-th switch. After step 1000 has been completed, how many switches will be in position A?

Solution

For each ith switch (designated by x_{i},y_{i},z_{i}), it advances itself only one time at the ith step; thereafter, only a switch with larger x_{j},y_{j},z_{j} values will advance the ith switch by one step provided d_{i}= 2^{x_{i}}3^{y_{i}}5^{z_{i}} divides d_{j}= 2^{x_{j}}3^{y_{j}}5^{z_{j}}. Let N = 2^{9}3^{9}5^{9} be the max switch label. To find the divisor multiples in the range of d_{i} to N, we consider the exponents of the number \frac{N}{d_{i}}= 2^{9-x_{i}}3^{9-y_{i}}5^{9-z_{i}}. In general, the divisor-count of \frac{N}{d} must be a multiple of 4 to ensure that a switch is in position A:

4n = [(9-x)+1] [(9-y)+1] [(9-z)+1] = (10-x)(10-y)(10-z), where 0 \le x,y,z \le 9.

We consider the cases where the 3 factors above do not contribute multiples of 4.

  • Case of no 2's:
The switches must be (\mathrm{odd})(\mathrm{odd})(\mathrm{odd}). There are 5 odd integers in 0 to 9, so we have 5 \times 5 \times 5 = 125 ways.
  • Case of a single 2:
The switches must be one of (2\cdot \mathrm{odd})(\mathrm{odd})(\mathrm{odd}) or (\mathrm{odd})(2 \cdot \mathrm{odd})(\mathrm{odd}) or (\mathrm{odd})(2 \cdot \mathrm{odd}).
Since 0 \le x,y,z \le 9, the terms 2\cdot 1, 2 \cdot 3, and 2 \cdot 5 are three valid choices for the (2 \cdot odd) factor above.
We have {3\choose{1}} \cdot 3 \cdot 5^{2}= 225 ways.

The number of switches in position A is 1000-125-225 = 650.

See also

1999 AIME (ProblemsResources)
Preceded by
Problem 6
Followed by
Problem 8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Looking for a challenging algebra text? Preparing for MATHCOUNTS or the AMC exams?
Check out Art of Problem Solving's Introduction to Algebra by Richard Rusczyk.
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