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Algebra Difficulty 4.8 AIME Prove it United States

Problem:
What is the period of the function f(x)=cos(cos(x))f(x) = \cos(\cos(x))?

Solution

Solution:
π\boxed{\pi}

Since f(x)f(x) never equals cos(1)\cos(1) for x(0,π)x \in (0, \pi) but f(0)=cos(1)f(0) = \cos(1), the period is at least π\pi. However, cos(x+π)=cos(x)\cos(x+\pi) = -\cos(x), so cos(cos(x+π))=cos(cos(x))\cos(\cos(x+\pi)) = \cos(\cos(x)).

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Source: MathNet, licensed CC-BY-4.0. Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.