Maths Olympiad Prep

Library / /337 of 520

Algebra Difficulty 3.5 AMC 10/12 Find the answer

Given f(x)=2sin2x+2sinxcosxf(x)=2\sin^2x+2\sin x\cos x, find the smallest positive period and a monotonic decreasing interval for f(x)f(x).

A number or a short expression. Spacing and $ signs are ignored.

Solution

We start by simplifying the given function f(x)f(x):
\begin{align*}
f(x) &= 2\sin^2x + 2\sin x\cos x \\
&= \sin 2x + 1 - \cos 2x \\
&= \sqrt{2}\sin \left(2x - \frac{\pi}{4}\right) + 1.
\end{align*}

The smallest positive period TT can be determined by looking at the argument of the sine function. Since the sin\sin function has a period of 2π2\pi, and the argument of sin\sin here is 2xπ42x - \frac{\pi}{4}, we conclude the smallest positive period for f(x)f(x) is:
T=2π2=π. T = \frac{2\pi}{2} = \pi.

Next, we consider the interval in which 2sin(2xπ4)\sqrt{2}\sin \left(2x - \frac{\pi}{4}\right) is monotonic decreasing. For the sine function, this occurs when:
π2+2kπ2xπ43π2+2kπ,kZ. \frac{\pi}{2} + 2k\pi \leq 2x - \frac{\pi}{4} \leq \frac{3\pi}{2} + 2k\pi, \quad k \in \mathbb{Z}.
By solving these inequalities for xx, we find:
3π8+kπx7π8+kπ,kZ. \frac{3\pi}{8} + k\pi \leq x \leq \frac{7\pi}{8} + k\pi, \quad k \in \mathbb{Z}.
For k=0k=0, we get a monotonic decreasing interval for f(x)f(x) to be:
[3π8,7π8]. \left[\frac{3\pi}{8}, \frac{7\pi}{8}\right].

Thus, the smallest positive period of f(x)f(x) is π\pi, and one interval where f(x)f(x) is monotonic decreasing is [3π8,7π8]\left[\frac{3\pi}{8}, \frac{7\pi}{8}\right]. Therefore, the correct answer is \boxed{\text{B}}.

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: NuminaMath-1.5, licensed Apache-2.0. Statement and solution reproduced as published; topic and difficulty added by this site.