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2006 AMC 10A Problem 10

Problem 10 of 25EasierAlgebraCombinatorics

For how many real values of xx is 120−x\sqrt{120 - \sqrt{x}} an integer?

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Solution

Let k=120−x.k = \sqrt{120 - \sqrt{x}}. Since x≥0,\sqrt{x} \ge 0, we need 0≤k≤120,0 \le k \le \sqrt{120}, so k∈{0,1,…,10},k \in \{0, 1, \ldots, 10\}, giving 1111 values. Each kk yields x=120−k2,\sqrt{x} = 120 - k^2, and since 120−k2120 - k^2 is positive and strictly decreasing, the resulting values x=(120−k2)2x = (120 - k^2)^2 are distinct. Thus, the correct answer is E.
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Tagged: radical · counting integers in a range

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