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2009 AMC 12B Problem 15

Problem 15 of 25IntermediateAlgebra

Assume 0<r<3.0 \lt r \lt 3. Below are five equations for x.x. Which equation has the largest solution x?x?

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Solution

Each equation gives x=log(73)log(1+f(r)),x = \dfrac{\log(\frac{7}{3})}{\log(1 + f(r))}, which is largest when the positive quantity f(r)f(r) is smallest. For 0<r<3,0 \lt r \lt 3, we have r10<r<2r\dfrac r{10}\lt r\lt2r and r10<r\dfrac r{10}\lt\sqrt r because r<100.r\lt100. Also r2<9<10,r^2\lt9\lt10, so r10<1r.\dfrac r{10}\lt\dfrac1r. Thus r10\frac{r}{10} is the smallest of the five quantities, and equation (B) has the largest solution. Thus, the correct answer is B.

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Concepts: logarithm · inequality

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