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Algebra Difficulty 4.6 AIME Prove it Japan

For a real number rr, let [r][r] represent the largest integer less than or equal to rr. Determine the sum of all real numbers xx which satisfy the equation
[x]+[2x]+[3x]+[4x]+[5x]+[6x]+[7x]+[8x]+[9x]=44x. [x] + [2x] + [3x] + [4x] + [5x] + [6x] + [7x] + [8x] + [9x] = 44x.

Solution

[3792]\left[\frac{379}{2}\right].
The left-hand side of the given equation represents an integer. So, the right-hand side must also be an integer and thus we can write x=n44x = \frac{n}{44}, for some integer nn. We then have n=44m+rn = 44m + r, where m,rm, r are integers and 0r430 \le r \le 43. Therefore, the given equation can be transformed as
k=19[k(m+r44)]=44m+r    k=19km+k=19[kr44]=44m+r    m=rk=19[kr44]. \begin{aligned} \sum_{k=1}^{9} \left[ k \left( m + \frac{r}{44} \right) \right] &= 44m + r \\ \iff \sum_{k=1}^{9} km + \sum_{k=1}^{9} \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right] = 44m + r \\ \iff m &= r - \sum_{k=1}^{9} \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right]. \end{aligned}
From the transformed equation above, it is clear that if we fix rr, then a corresponding mm can be determined uniquely. Therefore, there are 44 real solutions xx of the given equation since there are 44 possible values rr can take. Let us denote by SS the sum of these 44 solutions xx, and write mrm_r for the value of mm corresponding to rr. Then we have
44S=r=043(44mr+r)=r=043(44(rk=19[kr44])+r)=r=04345r44r=043k=19[kr44]=454344244r=043k=19[kr44], \begin{aligned} 44S &= \sum_{r=0}^{43} (44m_r + r) = \sum_{r=0}^{43} \left( 44 \left( r - \sum_{k=1}^{9} \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right] \right) + r \right) \\ &= \sum_{r=0}^{43} 45r - 44 \sum_{r=0}^{43} \sum_{k=1}^{9} \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right] \\ &= 45 \cdot \frac{43 \cdot 44}{2} - 44 \sum_{r=0}^{43} \sum_{k=1}^{9} \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right], \end{aligned}
from which it follows that
S=45432r=043k=19[kr44]=19352r=043k=19[kr44]. S = \frac{45 \cdot 43}{2} - \sum_{r=0}^{43} \sum_{k=1}^{9} \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right] = \frac{1935}{2} - \sum_{r=0}^{43} \sum_{k=1}^{9} \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right].
Now we let TT be given by
T=r=043k=19[kr44]=r=143k=19[kr44]=k=19r=143[kr44], T = \sum_{r=0}^{43} \sum_{k=1}^{9} \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right] = \sum_{r=1}^{43} \sum_{k=1}^{9} \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right] = \sum_{k=1}^{9} \sum_{r=1}^{43} \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right],
then we have
2T=k=19r=143([kr44]+[k(44r)44])=k=19r=143([kr44]+[kkr44]) \begin{align*} 2T &= \sum_{k=1}^{9} \sum_{r=1}^{43} \left( \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right] + \left[ \frac{k(44 - r)}{44} \right] \right) \\ &= \sum_{k=1}^{9} \sum_{r=1}^{43} \left( \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right] + \left[ k - \frac{kr}{44} \right] \right) \end{align*}
and
[kr44]+[kkr44]{k,kr44 is an integerk1,kr44 is not an integer \left[ \frac{kr}{44} \right] + \left[ k - \frac{kr}{44} \right] \equiv \begin{cases} k, & \frac{kr}{44} \text{ is an integer} \\ k-1, & \frac{kr}{44} \text{ is not an integer} \end{cases}
When kk and rr vary over 1k91 \le k \le 9, 1r431 \le r \le 43, respectively, the quantity kr44\frac{kr}{44} takes an integer-value only when the pair (k,r)(k,r) is one of the following 8 pairs: (4, 11), (8, 11), (2, 22), (4, 22), (6, 22), (8, 22), (4, 33), (8, 33). Therefore, we have
2T8=k=19r=143(k1)=k=1943(k1)=43982=1548. \begin{align*} 2T - 8 &= \sum_{k=1}^{9} \sum_{r=1}^{43} (k - 1) \\ &= \sum_{k=1}^{9} 43(k - 1) \\ &= 43 \cdot \frac{9 \cdot 8}{2} = 1548. \end{align*}
From this it follows that T=1548+82=778T = \frac{1548+8}{2} = 778, and we finally obtain that S=1935/2778=379/2S = 1935/2 - 778 = 379/2 as the desired answer.

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