AlgebraDifficulty 5.1AIME, harderProve itUnited States
Problem: Find p so that limx→∞xp(3x+1+3x−1−23x) is some non-zero real number.
Solution
Solution: Answer: 35
Make the substitution t=x1. Then the limit equals to t→0limt−p(3t1+1+3t1−1−23t1)=t→0limt−p−31(31+t+31−t−2) We need the degree of the first nonzero term in the Maclaurin expansion of 31+t+31−t−2. We have 31+t=1+31t−91t2+o(t2),31−t=1−31t−91t2+o(t2) It follows that 31+t+31−t−2=−92t2+o(t2). By considering the degree of the leading term, it follows that −p−31=−2. So p=35.
Want a route through all this instead of an archive? The track
puts 2,000 problems in a working order, from AMC 10 level to the IMO shortlist.
Source: MathNet,
licensed CC-BY-4.0.
Statement reproduced verbatim; metadata (topic, difficulty) added by this project.