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Algebra Difficulty 3.2 AMC 10/12 Find the answer

Given that the function f(x)f(x) is an odd function defined on R\mathbb{R}, and for x>0x > 0, f(x)=x22x3f(x) = x^2 - 2x - 3, find the number of integer solutions for the inequality f(x)0f(x) \geq 0 when x0x \leq 0.

A number or a short expression. Fractions can be typed as 3/2, and spacing doesn't matter.

Solution

Since f(x)f(x) is an odd function defined on the real number set R\mathbb{R}:
- For x>0x > 0, we have f(x)=x22x3f(x) = x^2 - 2x - 3. The axis of symmetry for the parabola defined by this function is at x=1x = 1, and the parabola opens upwards. Setting x22x3=0x^2 - 2x - 3 = 0 yields solutions x=3x = 3 and x=1x = -1. Since x>0x > 0, we discard the solution x=1x = -1.
- When x0x \leq 0, the function's graph will be mirrored about the y-axis (due to it being an odd function), with an axis of symmetry at x=1x = -1 and the parabola opening downwards. Solving f(x)=0f(x) = 0 for x0x \leq 0 gives us x=3x = -3 and x=1x = 1. Again, we discard the solution x=1x =1 because x0x \leq 0. By the definition of an odd function, at x=0x = 0, f(x)=0f(x) = 0.

Thus, when x0x \leq 0, the set of solutions for the inequality f(x)0f(x)\geq0 is [3,0][-3, 0].

Now, to find the number of integer solutions within the interval [3,0][-3, 0], we list them as: 3,2,1,0-3, -2, -1, 0. There are 44 such integers.

Hence, the final answer is 4\boxed{4}, which corresponds to option A.

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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.