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Algebra Difficulty 3.5 AMC 10/12 Find the answer

Given sets A={xm+1x3m1}A=\{x \mid m+1 \leq x \leq 3m-1\} and B={x1x10}B=\{x \mid 1 \leq x \leq 10\}, and also AB=BA \cup B = B. Find the range of the real number mm.

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

Solution

Since AB=BA \cup B = B, it means that AA must be a subset of BB, which is denoted by ABA \subseteq B. We'll explore two cases based on whether AA is empty or not.

1. First, consider the case where AA is empty, which we denote by A=A = \emptyset. This occurs if the condition for set AA doesn't hold for any real number, that is, if m+1>3m1m+1 > 3m-1, which simplifies to m<1m < 1.

2. Now consider the case where AA is non-empty (AA \neq \emptyset). In this case, the inequalities defining set AA must align with the inequalities defining set BB. This gives us the following system of inequalities:

{m+13m11m+13m110 \begin{cases} m+1 \leq 3m-1 \\ 1 \leq m+1 \\ 3m-1 \leq 10 \end{cases}

Solving this system, we have:
- From the first inequality: m22=1m \geq \frac{2}{2} = 1.
- From the second inequality: m11=0m \geq 1-1 = 0.
- From the third inequality: 3m11m1133m \leq 11 \Rightarrow m \leq \frac{11}{3}.

All three inequalities must be satisfied simultaneously, so combining them, we have 1m1131 \leq m \leq \frac{11}{3}.

Combining both cases, the range for mm must satisfy m113m \leq \frac{11}{3}. Therefore, the value range for mm can be described as {mm113}\boxed{\{m \mid m \leq \frac{11}{3}\}}.

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