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2021 Fall AMC 10B Problem 19

Problem 19 of 25HarderAlgebraNumber Theory

Let NN be the positive integer 7777777,7777\ldots777, a 313313-digit number where each digit is a 7.7. Let f(r)f(r) be the leading digit of the rrth root of N.N. What is f(2)+f(3)+f(4)+f(5)+f(6)? \begin{aligned} &f(2)+f(3)+f(4)\\ &\quad{}+f(5)+f(6)? \end{aligned}

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Solution

The number NN satisfies 710312<N<810312.7\cdot10^{312}\lt N\lt 8\cdot10^{312}. Multiplying or dividing by a power of 1010 only shifts the decimal point, so we only need the leading factor left after taking out the largest convenient power of 10.10. For r=2,r=2, N\sqrt N has leading factor between 7\sqrt7 and 8,\sqrt8, so f(2)=2.f(2)=2. For r=3,r=3, the leading factor is between 73\sqrt[3]{7} and 83,\sqrt[3]{8}, so f(3)=1.f(3)=1. For r=4,r=4, the leading factor is between 74\sqrt[4]{7} and 84,\sqrt[4]{8}, so f(4)=1.f(4)=1. For r=5,r=5, since 312=562+2,312=5\cdot62+2, the leading factor is between 7005\sqrt[5]{700} and 8005.\sqrt[5]{800}. Since 35<700<800<45,3^5\lt700\lt800\lt4^5, f(5)=3.f(5)=3. For r=6,r=6, the leading factor is between 76\sqrt[6]{7} and 86,\sqrt[6]{8}, so f(6)=1.f(6)=1. The sum is 2+1+1+3+1=8.2+1+1+3+1=8. Thus, the answer is A .

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Concepts: digits · exponent · bounding to limit cases

Problem text and solution from the LIVE past-contest archive. See also the AoPS wiki page for community solutions.