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2008 AIME II Problems/Problem 9

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Problem

A particle is located on the coordinate plane at (5,0). Define a move for the particle as a counterclockwise rotation of \pi/4 radians about the origin followed by a translation of 10 units in the positive x-direction. Given that the particle's position after 150 moves is (p,q), find the greatest integer less than or equal to |p| + |q|.

Contents

Solution

Solution 1

Let P(x, y) be the position of the particle on the xy-plane, r be the length OP where O is the origin, and \theta be the inclination of OP to the x-axis. If (x', y') is the position of the particle after a move from P, then x'=rcos(\pi/4+\theta)+10 = \sqrt{2}(x - y)/2 + 10 and y' = rsin(\pi/4+\theta) = \sqrt{2}(x + y)/2. Let (x_n, y_n) be the position of the particle after the nth move, where x_0 = 5 and y_0 = 0. Then x_{n+1} + y_{n+1} =  \sqrt{2}x_n+10, x_{n+1} - y_{n+1} = -\sqrt{2}y_n+10. This implies x_{n+2} = -y_n + 5\sqrt{2}+ 10, y_{n+2}=x_n + 5\sqrt{2}. Substituting x_0 = 5 and y_0 = 0, we have x_8 = 5 and y_8 = 0 again for the first time. Thus, p = x_{150} = x_6 = -5\sqrt{2} and q = y_{150} = y_6 = 5 + 5\sqrt{2}. Hence, the final answer is

5\sqrt {2} + 5(\sqrt {2} + 1) \approx 19.1 \Longrightarrow \boxed{019}

Solution 2

Let the particle's position be represented by a complex number. The transformation takes z to f(z) = az + b where a = e^{i\pi/4} = \frac {\sqrt {2}}{2} + i\frac {\sqrt {2}}{2} and b = 10. We let a_0 = 5 and a_{n + 1} = f(a_n) so that we want to find a_{150}.

Basically, the thing comes out to

a_{150} = (((5a + 10)a + 10)a + 10 \ldots) = 5a^{150} + 10 a^{149} + 10a^{149}+ \ldots + 10

Notice that

10(a^{150} + \ldots + 1) = 10(1 + a + \ldots + a^6) = - 10(a^7) = - 10( - \sqrt {2}/2 - i\sqrt {2}/2)

Furthermore, 5a^{150} = - 5i. Thus, the final answer is

5\sqrt {2} + 5(\sqrt {2} + 1) \approx 19.1 \Longrightarrow \boxed{019}

See also

2008 AIME II (ProblemsResources)
Preceded by
Problem 8
Followed by
Problem 10
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?
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