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2005 AMC 12B Problems/Problem 22

Revision as of 02:47, 29 January 2019 by N3ptune (talk | contribs)

Problem

A sequence of complex numbers $z_{0}, z_{1}, z_{2}, ...$ is defined by the rule

\[z_{n+1} = \frac {iz_{n}}{\overline {z_{n}}},\]

where $\overline {z_{n}}$ is the complex conjugate of $z_{n}$ and $i^{2}=-1$. Suppose that $|z_{0}|=1$ and $z_{2005}=1$. How many possible values are there for $z_{0}$?

$\textbf{(A)}\ 1 \qquad \textbf{(B)}\ 2 \qquad \textbf{(C)}\ 4 \qquad \textbf{(D)}\ 2005 \qquad \textbf{(E)}\ 2^{2005}$

Solution 1

Since $|z_0|=1$, let $z_0=e^{i\theta_0}$, where $\theta_0$ is an argument of $z_0$. We will prove by induction that $z_n=e^{i\theta_n}$, where $\theta_n=2^n(\theta_0+\frac{\pi}{2})-\frac{\pi}{2}$.

Base Case: trivial

Inductive Step: Suppose the formula is correct for $z_k$, then \[z_{k+1}=\frac{iz_k}{\overline {z_k}}=i e^{i\theta_k} e^{i\theta_k}=e^{i(2\theta_k+\pi/2)}\] Since \[2\theta_k+\frac{\pi}{2}=2\cdot 2^n(\theta_0+\frac{\pi}{2})-\pi+\frac{\pi}{2}=2^{n+1}(\theta_0+\frac{\pi}{2})-\frac{\pi}{2}=\theta_{n+1}\] the formula is proven

$z_{2005}=1\Rightarrow \theta_{2005}=2k\pi$, where $k$ is an integer. Therefore, \[2^{2005}(\theta_0+\frac{\pi}{2})=(2k+\frac{1}{2})\pi\] \[\theta_0=\frac{k}{2^{2004}}\pi+\left(\frac{1}{2^{2006}}-\frac{1}{2}\right)\pi\] The value of $\theta_0$ only matters modulo $2\pi$. Since $\frac{k+2^{2005}}{2^{2004}}\pi\equiv\frac{k}{2^{2004}}\pi\mod 2\pi$, k can take values from 0 to $2^{2005}-1$, so the answer is $2^{2005}\Rightarrow\boxed{E}$

Solution 2

Let $z_0 = \cos \theta + i\sin \theta$. \[z_1 = \frac {iz_{0}}{\overline {z_{0}}} = \frac{i(\cos \theta + i\sin \theta)}{\cos \theta - i\sin \theta} = i(\cos \theta + i\sin \theta)^2 = i(\cos 2\theta + i\sin 2\theta) = ie^{i2\theta}\] \[z_2 = \frac {iz_{1}}{\overline {z_{1}}} = \frac{i(\cos 2\theta + i\sin 2\theta)}{\cos 2\theta - \sin 2\theta} = i(\cos 2\theta + i\sin 2\theta)^{2} = i(\cos 2^2\theta + i\sin 2^2\theta) = ie^{i2^2\theta}\] Repeating through this recursive process, we can quickly see that \[z_{2005} = ie^{i2^{2005}\theta} = i(\cos 2^{2005}\theta + i\sin 2^{2005}\theta) = 1\] Thus, $\sin 2^{2005}\theta = -1$. The solutions for $\theta$ are thus $\frac{\frac{3\pi}{2}+2\pi k} {2^{2005}}$ where $k = 0,1,2...(2^{2005}-1)$. The answer is $2^{2005}\Rightarrow\boxed{E}$. (Author: Patrick Yin)

See Also

2005 AMC 12B (Problems • Answer Key • Resources)
Preceded by
Problem 21 		Followed by
Problem 23
1 • 2 • 3 • 4 • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • 10 • 11 • 12 • 13 • 14 • 15 • 16 • 17 • 18 • 19 • 20 • 21 • 22 • 23 • 24 • 25
All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

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