Maths Olympiad Prep

Track / Stage 5 / 65 of 400 #665 of 1964

Problem 665

AIME late
Algebra Difficulty 5.2 Find the answer

13.320. Impurities constitute 20%20 \% of the total volume of the solution. What is the smallest number of filters through which the solution must be passed so that the final impurity content does not exceed 0.01%0.01 \%, if each filter absorbs 80%80 \% of the impurities? (It is known that lg20.30\lg 2 \approx 0.30.)

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

Official solution

Solution.

Impurities constitute 15\frac{1}{5} of the solution. After the first filtration, (15)2\left(\frac{1}{5}\right)^{2} of the impurities will remain, and after the kk-th filtration, (15)k+1-\left(\frac{1}{5}\right)^{k+1}. According to the condition, (15)k+1104;(k+1)lg54\left(\frac{1}{5}\right)^{k+1} \leq 10^{-4} ;-(k+1) \lg 5 \leq-4, from which k4.7k \geq 4.7.

Answer: 5 filters.

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