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2019 AMC 10B Problem 9

Problem 9 of 25EasierAlgebraProblem-Solving Techniques

The function ff is defined by f(x)=⌊∣x∣⌋−∣⌊x⌋∣f(x) = \lfloor|x|\rfloor - |\lfloor x \rfloor| for all real numbers x,x, where ⌊r⌋\lfloor r \rfloor denotes the greatest integer less than or equal to the real number r.r. What is the range of f?f?

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Solution

If x≥0x\ge0, then ⌊∣x∣⌋=⌊x⌋=∣⌊x⌋∣\lfloor|x|\rfloor=\lfloor x\rfloor=|\lfloor x\rfloor|, so f(x)=0f(x)=0. If xx is a negative integer, both terms equal ∣x∣|x|, so again f(x)=0f(x)=0. If xx is negative and not an integer, write x=−k−tx=-k-t, where kk is a nonnegative integer and 0<t<10<t<1. Then ⌊∣x∣⌋=k\lfloor|x|\rfloor=k, while ∣⌊x⌋∣=∣−k−1∣=k+1|\lfloor x\rfloor|=|-k-1|=k+1, so f(x)=−1f(x)=-1. Therefore, the range is {−1,0}.\{-1,0\}. Thus, the answer is A .
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Tagged: floor and ceiling functions · absolute value · casework

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