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2010 AMC 12A Problem 22

Problem 22 of 25HarderAlgebraProblem-Solving Techniques

What is the minimum value of f(x)=∣x−1∣+∣2x−1∣+∣3x−1∣+⋯+∣119x−1∣? \begin{gathered} f(x) = |x-1|+|2x-1| \\ {}+|3x-1|+\cdots+|119x-1|? \end{gathered}

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Solution

The function ff is piecewise linear with breakpoints at x=1k.x=\tfrac1k. On the interval [1m,1m−1]\left[\tfrac1m,\tfrac1{m-1}\right] its slope is ∑k=m119k−∑k=1m−1k=7140−(m−1)m, \begin{aligned} &\sum_{k=m}^{119}k \\ &\quad {}-\sum_{k=1}^{m-1}k=7140-(m-1)m, \end{aligned} where 7140=119⋅1202.7140=\tfrac{119\cdot120}{2}. This slope is zero when (m−1)m=7140,(m-1)m=7140, i.e. m=85,m=85, so the minimum occurs at the right endpoint x=184.x=\tfrac1{84}. There, terms with k≤84k\le84 contribute 84−k84\tfrac{84-k}{84} and terms with k≥85k\ge85 contribute k−8484,\tfrac{k-84}{84}, so f(184)=348684+63084=41.5+7.5=49. \begin{aligned} f\left(\tfrac1{84}\right) &= \frac{3486}{84}+\frac{630}{84} \\ &= 41.5+7.5=49. \end{aligned} Thus, A is the correct answer.
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