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Algebra Difficulty 4.1 AIME Find the answer

Let f(x)=xp+x15+xp15f(x)=|x-p|+|x-15|+|x-p-15|, where 0<p<150 < p < 15. Determine the minimum value taken by f(x)f(x) for xx in the interval px15p \leq x\leq15.

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

Solution

Solution 1
It is best to get rid of the absolute values first.
Under the given circumstances, we notice that xp=xp|x-p|=x-p, x15=15x|x-15|=15-x, and xp15=15+px|x-p-15|=15+p-x.
Adding these together, we find that the sum is equal to 30x30-x, which attains its minimum value (on the given interval px15p \leq x \leq 15) when x=15x=15, giving a minimum of 015\boxed{015}.

Solution 2
Let pp be equal to 15ε15 - \varepsilon, where ε\varepsilon is an almost neglectable value. Because of the small value ε\varepsilon, the domain of f(x)f(x) is basically the set 15{15}. plugging in 1515 gives ε+0+15ε\varepsilon + 0 + 15 - \varepsilon, or 1515, so the answer is 15\boxed{15}

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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.