10th Annual Harvard-MIT Mathematics Tournament

Saturday 24 February 2007

Individual Round: Calculus Test

1. [3] Compute:
x2
lim
x→0 1 − cos(x)

Answer: 2. Since sin2 (x) = 1 − cos2 (x), we multiply the numerator and denominator by 1 + cos(x)
and use the fact that x/ sin(x) → 1, obtaining
2
x2 x2 (1 + cos(x))

x
lim = lim = lim ·2=2
x→0 1 − cos(x) x→0 1 − cos2 (x) x→0 sin(x)
x2 2x
Remarks. Another solution, using L’Hôpital’s rule, is possible: limx→0 1−cos(x) = limx→0 sin(x) = 2.

2. [3] Determine the real number a having the property that f (a) = a is a relative minimum of f (x) =
x4 − x3 − x2 + ax + 1.
Answer: 1. Being a relative minimum, we have 0 = f 0 (a) = 4a3 − 3a2 − 2a + a = a(4a + 1)(a − 1).
Then a = 0, 1, −1/4 are the only possibilities. However, it is easily seen that a = 1 is the only value
satisfying f (a) = a.
3. [4] Let a be a positive real number. Find the value of a such that the definite integral
Z a2
dx
√
a x+ x

achieves its smallest possible value.

√
Answer: 3 − 2 2. Let F (a) denote the given definite integral. Then
Z a2
d dx 1 1
F 0 (a) = √ = 2a · √ − √ .
ada x+ x a2 + a2 a+ a
√ √ √ √
Setting F√0 (a) = 0, we√find that 2a + 2√ a = a + 1 or ( a + 1)2 = 2. We find a = ± 2 − 1, and
because a > 0, a = ( 2 − 1)2 = 3 − 2 2.
4. [4] Find the real number α such that the curve f (x) = ex is tangent to the curve g(x) = αx2 .
Answer: e2 /4. Suppose tangency occurs at x = x0 . Then ex0 = αx20 and f 0 (x0 ) = 2αx0 . On the
other hand, f 0 (x) = f (x), so αx20 = 2αx0 . Clearly, α = 0 and x0 = 0 are impossible, so it must be that
x0 = 2. Then α = ex0 /(x20 ) = e2 /4.
5. [5] The function f : R → R satisfies f (x2 )f 00 (x) = f 0 (x)f 0 (x2 ) for all real x. Given that f (1) = 1 and
f 000 (1) = 8, determine f 0 (1) + f 00 (1).
Answer: 6. Let f 0 (1) = a and f 00 (1) = b. Then setting x = 1 in the given equation, b = a2 .
Differentiating the given yields

2xf 0 (x2 )f 00 (x) + f (x2 )f 000 (x) = f 00 (x)f 0 (x2 ) + 2xf 0 (x)f 00 (x2 ).

Plugging x = 1 into this equation gives 2ab + 8 = ab + 2ab, or ab = 8. Then because a and b are real,
we obtain the solution (a, b) = (2, 4).
Remarks. A priori, the function needn’t exist, but one possibility is f (x) = e2x−2 .

1
6. [5] The elliptic curve y 2 = x3 +1 is tangent to a circle centered at (4, 0) at the point (x0 , y0 ). Determine
the sum of all possible values of x0 .
1
Answer: 3. Note that y 2 ≥ 0, so x3 ≥ −1 and x ≥ −1. Let the circle be defined by (x − 4)2 + y 2 = c
dy
for some c ≥ 0. Now differentiate the equations with respect to x, obtaining 2y dx = 3x2 from the
dy dy
given and 2y dx = −2x + 8 from the circle. For tangency, the two expressions dx must be equal if they
are well-defined, and this is almost always the case. Thus, −2x0 + 8 = 3x20 so x0 = −2 or x0 = 4/3,
but only the latter corresponds to a point on y 2 = x3 + 1. Otherwise, y0 = 0, and this gives the trivial
solution x0 = −1.
7. [5] Compute
∞
X 1
.
n=1
n · (n + 1) · (n + 1)!

Answer: 3 − e. We write
∞ ∞   ∞ ∞
X 1 X 1 1 1 X 1 X 1
= − = −
n=1
n · (n + 1) · (n + 1)! n=1
n n + 1 (n + 1)! n=1
n · (n + 1)! n=1
(n + 1) · (n + 1)!
∞ ∞ ∞
1 X 1 X 1 1 X 1 1
+ − = + −
2 n=2 n · (n + 1)! n=1 (n + 1) · (n + 1)! 2 n=1 (n + 1) · (n + 2)! (n + 1) · (n + 1)!
∞    
1 X 1 − (n + 2) 1 1 1 1 1 1
+ = − + + ··· = 3 − + + + · · · = 3 − e.
2 n=1 (n + 1) · (n + 2)! 2 3! 4! 0! 1! 2!

Alternatively, but with considerably less motivation, we can induce telescoping by adding and sub-
tracting e − 2 = 1/2! + 1/3! + · · · , obtaining
∞ ∞
X n(n + 1) + 1 X (n + 1)2 − n
2−e+ =2−e+
n=1
n · (n + 1) · (n + 1)! n=1
n · (n + 1) · (n + 1)!
∞
X 1 1
2−e+ − = 3 − e.
n=1
n · n! (n + 1) · (n + 1)!

2006
X 1
8. [6] Suppose that ω is a primitive 2007th root of unity. Find 22007 − 1 .
j=1
2 − ωj
k
For this problem only, you may express your answer in the form m · n + p, where m, n, k, and p are
positive integers. Note that a number z is a primitive nth root of unity if z n = 1 and n is the smallest
number amongst k = 1, 2, . . . , n such that z k = 1.
Answer: 2005 · 22006 + 1. Note that
P2006 Q i
1 1 j=1 i6=j (z − ω )
+ ··· + =
z−ω z − ω 2006 (z − ω) · · · (z − ω 2006 )
d
 
z 2006 + z 2005 + · · · + 1 2006z 2005 + 2005z 2004 + · · · + 1 z − 1
= dz 2006 2005
= ·
z +z + ··· + 1 z 2006 + z 2005 + · · · + 1 z−1
2006z 2006 − z 2005 − z 2004 − · · · − 1 z − 1 2006z 2007 − 2007z 2006 + 1
= · = .
z 2007 − 1 z−1 (z 2007 − 1)(z − 1)
2005·22006 +1
Plugging in z = 2 gives 22007 −1 ; whence the answer.
9. [7] g is a twice differentiable function over the positive reals such that
g(x) + 2x3 g 0 (x) + x4 g 00 (x) = 0 for all positive reals x. (1)
lim xg(x) = 1 (2)
x→∞

2
 Find the real number α > 1 such that g(α) = 1/2.
Answer: 6
π. In the first equation, we can convert the expression 2x3 g 0 (x)+x4 g 00 (x) into the derivative
of a product, and in fact a second derivative, by writing y = 1/x. Specifically,
     
3 0 4 00 1 −3 0 1 −4 00 1
0 = g(x) + 2x g (x) + x g (x) = g + 2y g +y g
y y y
    
1 d −2 0 1
= g + −y g
y dy y
d2
    
1 1
= g + 2 g
y dy y
 
Thus g y1 = c1 cos(y) + c2 sin(y) or g(x) = c1 cos(1/x) + c2 sin(1/x). Now the second condition gives

sin(1/x)
1 = lim c1 x + c2 · = c2 + lim c1 x
x→∞ 1/x x→∞

It must be that c1 = 0, c2 = 1. Now since 0 < 1/α < 1, the value of α such that g(α) = sin(1/α) = 1/2
is given by 1/α = π/6 and so α = 6/π.
10. [8] Compute
∞
e−x sin(x)
Z
dx
0 x

Answer: π4 . We can compute the integral by introducing a parameter and exchanging the order of
integration:
Z ∞   Z ∞ Z 1  Z 1 Z ∞ 
sin(x)
e−x dx = e−x cos(ax)da dx = e−x cos(ax)dx da
0 x 0 0 0 0
Z 1 Z ∞ Z 1 " ∞ #
e(−1+ai)x

(−1+ai)x
= Re e dx da = Re da
0 0 0 −1 + ai
x=0
Z 1   Z 1  
1 1 + ai
= Re da = Re da
0 1 − ai 0 1 + a2
Z 1 1
1 −1 π
= 2
da = tan (a) =
0 1 + a 4
a=0