1986 AMC 12 Problem 25

Attempt Problem 25 of the 1986 AMC 12 below, then check your answer against the professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 1986 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.

All problems are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

25.

If ⌊x⌋\lfloor x\rfloor is the greatest integer less than or equal to x,x, then ∑N=11024⌊log⁡2N⌋= \sum_{N=1}^{1024}\lfloor\log_2N\rfloor=
81928192
82048204
92189218
⌊log⁡2(1024!)⌋\lfloor\log_2(1024!)\rfloor
none of these
Answer: B
Concepts:floor functionlogarithmgeometric series
Small hint:
Group the integers NN according to the interval 2k≤N<2k+12^k\le N\lt2^{k+1}
Big hint:
There are 2k2^k integers in the kkth group; handle N=1024N=1024 separately
Solution:
For 0≤k≤9,0\le k\le9, exactly 2k2^k integers NN satisfy 2k≤N<2k+1,2^k\le N\lt2^{k+1}, and each contributes k.k. The final integer 1024=2101024=2^{10} contributes 10.10. Hence ∑N=11024⌊log⁡2N⌋=∑k=09k2k+10. \sum_{N=1}^{1024}\lfloor\log_2N\rfloor =\sum_{k=0}^{9}k2^k+10. The finite geometric-sum identity gives ∑k=09k2k=8194,\sum_{k=0}^{9}k2^k=8194, so the requested sum is 8204.8204.
Thus the correct answer is B.
LIVE by Po-Shen Loh
Programs

LIVE Classes

Self-Paced Classes

Stars

Scholarship

About Us

Who Is Po-Shen Loh?

Email Contact

Newsletter

Jobs

Become a Star

For a more Thought Full world.

© 2026 Expii, Inc.