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Printjmc
algebra senior
Problem
Compute the number of intersection points of the graphs of and
Solution
We can write so Completing the square in we get Let so Hence, Consider the case where Then and the equation becomes This is the equation of the circle centered at with radius
Now consider the case where Then and the equation becomes This is the equation of the circle centered at with radius
In general, for is the equation of a circle centered at with radius
Thus, the graph of is a chain of circles, each of radius one for each integer
We then add the graph of
The graph of intersects each of the six circles closest to the origin in two points. For so the line does not intersect any circles. Similarly, the line does not intersect any circles for
One point of intersection is repeated twice, namely the origin. Hence, the number of points of intersection of the two graphs is
Now consider the case where Then and the equation becomes This is the equation of the circle centered at with radius
In general, for is the equation of a circle centered at with radius
Thus, the graph of is a chain of circles, each of radius one for each integer
We then add the graph of
The graph of intersects each of the six circles closest to the origin in two points. For so the line does not intersect any circles. Similarly, the line does not intersect any circles for
One point of intersection is repeated twice, namely the origin. Hence, the number of points of intersection of the two graphs is
Final answer
11