2019 AMC 10A Exam Solutions

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All of the real AMC 8 and AMC 10 problems in our complete solution collection are used with official permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

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1.

What is the value of 2(0(19))+((20)1)9?2^{\left(0^{\left(1^9\right)}\right)}+\left(\left(2^0\right)^1\right)^9?

00

11

22

33

44

Solution:

We can evaluate this as follows.2(0(19))+((20)1)9=2(01)+(11)9=20+19=1+1=2 \begin{align*} &2^{\left(0^{\left(1^9\right)}\right)}+\left(\left(2^0\right)^1\right)^9\\ &= 2^{\left(0^1\right)} + \left(1^1\right)^9 \\&= 2^0 + 1^9 \\ &= 1 + 1 \\&= 2 \end{align*}

Thus, C is the correct answer.

2.

What is the hundreds digit of (20!15!)?(20!-15!)?

00

11

22

44

55

Solution:

Note that 20!20! and 15!15! both have factors of 535^3 in them.

This means that they are both divisible by a 1000,1000, making their difference also a multiple of 1000.1000.

Being a multiple of 10001000 makes the last three digits 0,0, which shows that the hundreds digit is also 0.0.

Thus, A is the correct answer.

3.

Ana and Bonita were born on the same date in different years, nn years apart. Last year Ana was 55 times as old as Bonita. This year Ana's age is the square of Bonita's age. What is n?n?

33

55

99

1212

1515

Solution:

Let aa be Ana's age and bb be Bonita's age. The statement then gives us that a1=5(b1),a=b2. \begin{gather*} a - 1 = 5(b - 1), \\ a = b^2. \end{gather*}

We can substitute the second equation into the first to get b21=5b5b25b+4=0(b4)(b1)=0. \begin{gather*} b^2 - 1 = 5b - 5 \\ b^2 - 5b + 4 = 0 \\ (b - 4)(b - 1) = 0. \end{gather*}

We can see that b1b \neq 1 since that would make Ana and Bonita the same age, so we know that b=4.b = 4.

This gives us that a=42=16a = 4^2 = 16 and n=164=12.n = 16 - 4 = 12.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

4.

A box contains 2828 red balls, 2020 green balls, 1919 yellow balls, 1313 blue balls, 1111 white balls, and 99 black balls. What is the minimum number of balls that must be drawn from the box without replacement to guarantee that at least 1515 balls of a single color will be drawn?

7575

7676

7979

8484

9191

Solution:

Note that we can pull as many as 1414 balls of each color without ensuring that 1515 balls of one color are drawn.

This means that we can draw all of the black, white and blue balls, along with 1414 red, green, and yellow balls.

This gives us a total of 9+11+13+314 9 + 11 + 13 + 3 \cdot 14 =33+42= 33 + 42 =75.= 75. We need to add one at the end, however, to ensure that we get that 1515th ball of some color, 75+1=76.75 + 1 = 76.

Thus, B is the correct answer.

5.

What is the greatest number of consecutive integers whose sum is 45?45?

99

2525

4545

9090

120120

Solution:

Note that negative integers are allowed to be in the sequence.

This means that we could form the sequence 44,43,,44,45, -44, -43, \cdots, 44, 45, which clearly adds up to 45.45. There are 9090 terms in this sequence.

Adding another negative term wouldn't work, since that would require having to go up to 4646 in the positive numbers, which puts the sum over 45.45.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

6.

For how many of the following types of quadrilaterals does there exist a point in the plane of the quadrilateral that is equidistant from all four vertices of the quadrilateral?

• a square

• a rectangle that is not a square

• a rhombus that is not a square

• a parallelogram that is not a rectangle or a rhombus

• an isosceles trapezoid that is not a parallelogram

11

22

33

44

55

Solution:

Note that if a point is equidistant from all the vertices, than that point is the center of the shape's circumcircle.

The question then becomes which of these shapes is cyclic (has a circumcircle). One condition that we can use is that opposite angles are supplementary.

Clearly, a square and rectangle that is not a square work (opposite angles are right, adding up to 180180^{\circ}).

A rhombus that is not a square does not work, since opposite angles are equal, but they are not 90.90^{\circ}.

A parallelogram that is not a rectangle or a rhombus faces the same problem as above, making it not cyclic as well.

An isosceles trapezoid that is not a parallelogram by definition has supplementary opposite angles, making it cyclic.

Thus, C is the correct answer.

7.

Two lines with slopes 12\frac{1}{2} and 22 intersect at (2,2).(2, 2). What is the area of the triangle enclosed by these two lines and the line x+y=10?x + y = 10?

44

424\sqrt{2}

66

88

626\sqrt{2}

Solution:

Let us first find the equations of the two lines. Using slope-intercept form, we know they are the form y=ax+b.y = ax + b.

For the first line, we know that a=12,a = \dfrac{1}{2}, so we get 2=122+b 2 = \dfrac{1}{2} \cdot 2 + b b=1. b = 1.

Similarly, for the second line, we get that a=2,a = 2, which gives us 2=22+b 2 = 2 \cdot 2 + b b=2. b = -2.

Our two lines are now y=12x+1y = \dfrac{1}{2}x + 1 and y=2x2.y = 2x - 2.

We can rewrite x+y=10x + y = 10 as y=10x.y = 10 - x. Substituting this into the first line yields 10x=12x+1 10 - x = \dfrac{1}{2}x + 1 x=6,y=4. x = 6, y = 4.

Similarly, for the second line, 10x=2x2 10 - x = 2x - 2 x=4,y=6. x = 4, y = 6.

The three vertices of the triangle are therefore (2,2),(6,4),(2, 2), (6, 4), and (4,6).(4, 6).

Note that these vertices form an isosceles triangle (distance formula yields the three sides as 25,25,2\sqrt{5}, 2\sqrt{5}, and 22.2\sqrt{2}.

The midpoint of the base is (5,5),(5, 5), and applying the distance formula again tells us that the height is 32.3\sqrt{2}.

The area is therefore 122232=6. \dfrac{1}{2} \cdot 2\sqrt{2} \cdot 3 \sqrt{2} = 6. Thus, C is the correct answer.

8.

The figure below shows line \ell with a regular, infinite, recurring pattern of squares and line segments.

How many of the following four kinds of rigid motion transformations of the plane in which this figure is drawn, other than the identity transformation, will transform this figure into itself?

• some rotation around a point of line \ell

• some translation in the direction parallel to line \ell

• the reflection across line \ell

• some reflection across a line perpendicular to line \ell

00

11

22

33

44

Solution:

The first transformation works, as we can rotate \ell 180180^{\circ} around the midpoint between an upward-facing and downward-facing square.

The second also works, as we can just move ellell to the right until the squares line up with each other again.

The third fails, as a reflection would cause the line segments to face the opposite direction.

The fourth transformation also doesn't work since the diagonal lines would again be facing in the wrong direction.

Thus, C is the correct answer.

9.

What is the greatest three-digit positive integer nn for which the sum of the first nn positive integers is not a divisor of the product of the first nn positive integers?

995995

996996

997997

998998

999999

Solution:

The sum of the first nn numbers is n(n+1)2.\dfrac{n(n + 1)}{2}. We need this to not divide n!.n!.

Note that if n+1n + 1 is composite, then it can be broken down into factors that divide n!.n!.

This means that we need n+1n + 1 to be prime. The largest three-digit prime is 997,997, so the largest nn value is 9971=996.997 - 1 = 996.

Thus, B is the correct answer.

10.

A rectangular floor that is 1010 feet wide and 1717 feet long is tiled with 170170 one-foot square tiles. A bug walks from one corner to the opposite corner in a straight line. Including the first and the last tile, how many tiles does the bug visit?

1717

2525

2626

2727

2828

Solution:

Note that every time the bug crosses a vertical or horizontal line, the bug visits one new tile.

This means that the number of tiles the bug visits is 11 (the first tile) plus the number of lines it crosses.

The bug never walks over a corner since 1010 and 1717 are relatively prime, so we don't have to worry about that.

The bug crosses 1616 horizontal lines and 99 vertical lines for a total of 1+16+9=26 1 + 16 + 9 = 26 tiles.

Thus, C see the correct answer.

11.

How many positive integer divisors of 2019201^9 are perfect squares or perfect cubes (or both)?

3232

3636

3737

3939

4141

Solution:

Taking the prime factorization of 2019,201^9, we get 39679.3^9 \cdot 67^9.

Note that a perfect square has even exponents for its prime factors, and a cube's exponents are divisible by 3.3.

There are 55 options for an even exponent (0(0 through 8,)8,) and 44 options for multiples of 33 (0(0 through 9).9).

This gives us 525^2 options for the squares and 424^2 options for the cubes. We have to subtract out the powers of 6,6, however.

Using the same logic, sixth powers have to have exponents of prime factors be divisible by 6.6. There are 22 options (0(0 and 6).6).

This means that there are 22=42^2 = 4 sixth powers. This gives us a total of 25+164=37 25 + 16 - 4 = 37 perfect squares or perfect cubes.

Thus, C is the correct answer.

12.

Melanie computes the mean μ,\mu, the median M,M, and the modes of the 365365 values that are the dates in the months of 2019.2019. Thus her data consist of 1212 1s,1\text{s}, 1212 2s,2\text{s}, . . . , 1212 28s,28\text{s}, 1111 29s,29\text{s}, 1111 30s,30\text{s}, and 77 31s.31\text{s}. Let dd be the median of the modes. Which of the following statements is true?

μ<d<M\mu \lt d \lt M

M<d<μM \lt d \lt \mu

d=M=μd = M =\mu

d<M<μd \lt M \lt \mu

d<μ<Md \lt \mu \lt M

Solution:

dd must have to be less than MM because MM accounts for the larger numbers that are not modes (29,3029, 30 and 3131).

There are 365365 entries, so mm is the 183183 rd number. The first 1515 numbers take up 1512=18015 \cdot 12 = 180 spots, so mm is 16.16.

μ\mu is less than 1616 since there are fewer occurrences of the larger numbers, making the distribution left skewed.

dd is also less than μ\mu since μ\mu accounts for 29,3029, 30 and 31.31. Therefore, we get that d<μ<M. d \lt \mu \lt M. Thus, E is the correct answer.

13.

Let ABC\triangle ABC be an isosceles triangle with BC=ACBC = AC and ACB=40.\angle ACB = 40^{\circ}. Construct the circle with diameter BC,\overline{BC}, and let DD and EE be the other intersection points of the circle with the sides AC\overline{AC} and AB,\overline{AB}, respectively. Let FF be the intersection of the diagonals of the quadrilateral BCDE.BCDE. What is the degree measure of BFC?\angle BFC ?

9090

100100

105105

110110

120120

Solution:

Since BC\overline{BC} is the diameter of the circle, we get that BDC\angle BDC and BEC\angle BEC are right angles.

We know that ABC=70\angle ABC = 70^{\circ} from the fact that ABC\triangle ABC is isosceles.

Using the fact that the angles of a triangle add up to 180,180^{\circ}, we get that ECB=1807090=20 \begin{align*} \angle ECB &= 180^{\circ} - 70^{\circ} - 90^{\circ}\\&= 20^{\circ} \end{align*} and DBC=1804090=50. \begin{align*} \angle DBC &= 180^{\circ} - 40^{\circ} - 90^{\circ}\\&= 50^{\circ}.\end{align*}

Now, from BFC,\triangle BFC, we get that BFC=1805020=110.\begin{align*} \angle BFC &= 180^{\circ} - 50^{\circ} - 20^{\circ} \\&= 110^{\circ}.\end{align*} Thus, D is the correct answer.

14.

For a set of four distinct lines in a plane, there are exactly NN distinct points that lie on two or more of the lines. What is the sum of all possible values of N?N?

1414

1616

1818

1919

2121

Solution:

It is shown below that 0,1,3,4, and 5 0, 1, 3, 4, \text{ and } 5 are attainable.

We need to show that it is impossible to attain only 22 intersection points. Let XX and YY be the intersection points.

Case 1:1: no lines go through both XX and YY

This means that there are 22 unique pairs of lines that go through each of XX and Y.Y.

Take one line that goes through XX and call it .\ell. For \ell to not intersect the lines that go through Y,Y, it must be parallel to them.

This means that all 33 lines must be parallel, but this is not possible since the other two lines intersect at Y.Y.

Case 2:2: one line goes through both XX and YY

Let this common line be .\ell. Then the other two lines that go through XX and YY must be parallel.

For there to be no other intersections, every other line must also be parallel to this two lines.

This, however, ensures that all the other lines are not parallel with ,\ell, which results in more intersections.

In both cases, 22 intersections is not possible. Therefore, the sum of all values of NN is 1+3+4+5+6=19. 1 + 3 + 4 + 5 + 6 = 19. Thus, D is the correct answer.

15.

A sequence of numbers is defined recursively by a1=1,a_1 = 1, a2=37,a_2 = \frac{3}{7}, and an=an2an12an2an1a_n=\dfrac{a_{n-2} \cdot a_{n-1}}{2a_{n-2} - a_{n-1}}for all n3.n \geq 3. Then a2019a_{2019} can be written as pq,\frac{p}{q}, where pp and qq are relatively prime positive integers. What is p+q?p+q ?

20202020

40394039

60576057

60616061

80788078

Solution:

We can rewrite the recursive formula as 1an=an2an12an2an1=2an11an2.\begin{align*} \dfrac{1}{a_n} &= \dfrac{a_{n - 2} \cdot a_{n - 1}}{2a_{n - 2} - a_{n - 1}} \\&= \dfrac{2}{a_{n - 1}} - \dfrac{1}{a_{n - 2}}. \end{align*}

This means that 1an1an1=1an11an2, \dfrac{1}{a_n} - \dfrac{1}{a_{n - 1}} = \dfrac{1}{a_{n - 1}} - \dfrac{1}{a_{n - 2}}, which tells us that {1an}\left\{\dfrac{1}{a_n}\right\} is an arithmetic sequence.

Using a1a_1 and a2,a_2, we get that the common difference is 13711=731=43.\dfrac{1}{\frac{3}{7}} - \dfrac{1}{1} = \dfrac{7}{3} - 1 = \dfrac{4}{3}.

From this, we get that 1a2019=1+291843=80753.\begin{align*} \dfrac{1}{a_{2019}} &= 1 + 2918 \cdot \dfrac{4}{3} \\&= \dfrac{8075}{3}. \end{align*}

p+qp + q is therefore 8075+3=8078.8075 + 3 = 8078.

Thus, E is the correct answer.

16.

The figure below shows 1313 circles of radius 11 within a larger circle. All the intersections occur at points of tangency. What is the area of the region, shaded in the figure, inside the larger circle but outside all the circles of radius 1?1?

4π34 \pi \sqrt{3}

7π7 \pi

π(33+2)\pi\left(3\sqrt{3} +2\right)

10π(31)10 \pi \left(\sqrt{3} - 1\right)

π(3+6)\pi\left(\sqrt{3} + 6\right)

Solution:

We know ABC\triangle ABC and ABO\triangle ABO are equilateral triangles.

We get that OC=23OC = 2\sqrt{3} using special right triangles to find the altitudes of the triangles.

The radius of the larger circle is therefore 23+1,2\sqrt{3} + 1, since there is the extra unit radius after OC.\overline{OC}.

The area of the larger circle is (23+1)2π=(13+43)π. (2\sqrt{3} + 1)^2\pi = (13 + 4\sqrt{3})\pi.

The area of all the inner circles is 13π.13\pi.

The area of the shaded region is (13+43)π13π=4π3. (13 + 4\sqrt{3})\pi - 13\pi = 4\pi\sqrt{3}.

Thus, A is the correct answer.

17.

A child builds towers using identically shaped cubes of different colors. How many different towers with a height 88 cubes can the child build with 22 red cubes, 33 blue cubes, and 44 green cubes? (One cube will be left out.)

2424

288288

312312

1,2601,260

40,32040,320

Solution:

Every tower of height 88 could have been formed by creating a tower of height 99 and removing the top cube.

This shows that there is a one-to-one correspondence between towers of height 88 and 9.9.

There are 9!9! ways to make a tower of height 9,9, but we are overcounting since there are multiple cubes of the same color.

We have to divide through by 2!2! ways to arrange the red cubes, 3!3! for the blue cubes, and 4!4! for the green cubes.

Therefore, the number of valid arrangements is 9!2!3!4!=1,260. \dfrac{9!}{2! \cdot 3! \cdot 4!} = 1,260.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

18.

For some positive integer k,k, the repeating base-kk representation of the (base-ten) fraction 751\dfrac{7}{51} is 0.23k=0.232323...k.0.\overline{23}_k = 0.232323..._k. What is k?k?

1313

1414

1515

1616

1717

Solution:

We can expand the repeating fraction as 0.23k=2k1+3k2+. 0.\overline{23}_k = 2 \cdot k^{-1} + 3 \cdot k^{-2} + \cdots.

We can rearrange this to get the sum of two infinite sequences: 2(k1+k3+k5+k7) 2(k^{-1} + k^{-3} + k^{-5} + k^{-7} \cdots) and 3(k2+k4+k6+k8). 3(k^{-2} + k^{-4} + k^{-6} + k^{-8} \cdots).

These sums evaluate to 2k11k2=2kk2+1 2 \cdot \dfrac{k^{-1}}{1 - k^{-2}} = \dfrac{2k}{k^2 + 1} and 3k21k2=3k2+1. 3 \cdot \dfrac{k^{-2}}{1 - k^{-2}} = \dfrac{3}{k^2 + 1}.

Adding these together yields 2kk2+1+3k2+1=2k+3k2+1. \dfrac{2k}{k^2 + 1} + \dfrac{3}{k^2 + 1} = \dfrac{2k + 3}{k^2 + 1}.

We know that these equals 751,\dfrac{7}{51}, which gives us the quadratic 51(2k+3)=7(k21)7k2102k160=0(k16)(7k+10)=0. \begin{gather*} 51(2k + 3) = 7(k^2 - 1) \\ 7k^2 - 102k - 160 = 0 \\ (k - 16)(7k + 10) = 0. \end{gather*} kk can't be negative, so we get that k=16.k = 16.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

19.

What is the least possible value of (x+1)(x+2)(x+3)(x+4)(x+1)(x+2)(x+3)(x+4)+2019,+ 2019,where xx is a real number?

20172017

20182018

20192019

20202020

20212021

Solution:

Multiplying the first two terms and the last terms yields (x2+5x+4)(x2+5x+6). (x^2 + 5x + 4)(x^2 + 5x + 6).

Note that these two terms differ by 2.2. We can try to express this as a difference of squares, which is (x2+5x+5)21. (x^2 + 5x + 5)^2 - 1.

Adding 20192019 to this gets us (x2+5x+5)2+2018. (x^2 + 5x + 5)^2 + 2018.

Squares are non-negative, so as long as we find a way to make the inner expression 0,0, we can make the square 0.0.

The discriminant is 5245=5,5^2 - 4 \cdot 5 = 5, which is positive meaning that there is a value that makes the square 0.0.

This means that the minimum value would be 02+2018=2018. 0^2 + 2018 = 2018. Thus, B is the correct answer.

20.

The numbers 1,2,,91,2,\dots,9 are randomly placed into the 99 squares of a 3×33 \times 3 grid. Each square gets one number, and each of the numbers is used once. What is the probability that the sum of the numbers in each row and each column is odd?

121\dfrac{1}{21}

114\dfrac{1}{14}

563\dfrac{5}{63}

221\dfrac{2}{21}

17\dfrac{1}{7}

Solution:

Note that the only way to get an odd sum is if there are either 00 or 22 even numbers in the row or column.

The only way for this to happen is if the 44 even numbers form a rectangle with sides parallel to the large square.

The way to see this is we choose a spot for the first even number. Then we need to choose another square in the same row, x,x, and column, y,y, to be even.

The final even has to be in same column as xx and the same row as y.y. This forms the aforementioned rectangle.

There are four 2×22 \times 2 rectangles, two 3×23 \times 2 rectangles, two 2×32 \times 3 rectangles, and one 3×33 \times 3 rectangle.

This gives us a total of 4+2+2+1=9 4 + 2 + 2 + 1 = 9 rectangles, are arrangements for the even numbers.

There are 4!4! ways to arrange the even numbers and 5!5! ways to arrange the odd numbers.

This means that there are a total of 94!5! 9 \cdot 4! \cdot 5! configurations of squares that satisfy the condition.

There are a total of 9!9! arrangements with no restrictions. The probability is therefore 94!5!9!=114. \dfrac{9 \cdot 4! \cdot 5!}{9!} = \dfrac{1}{14}.

Thus, B is the correct answer.

21.

A sphere with center OO has radius 6.6. A triangle with sides of length 15,15,15, 15, and 2424 is situated in space so that each of its sides is tangent to the sphere. What is the distance between OO and the plane determined by the triangle?

232\sqrt{3}

44

323\sqrt{2}

252\sqrt{5}

55

Solution:

We get the following diagrams by taking the cross-section of the plane of the triangle.

Note that AC=9AC = 9 by the Pythagorean theorem. We also get that ADPACB.\triangle ADP \sim \triangle ACB.

We can see that PCBDPCBD is a kite, so we know that DB=BC=12, DB = BC = 12, which makes AD=1512=3.AD = 15 - 12 = 3. Using the similar triangles, above, we get that r3=129 \dfrac{r}{3} = \dfrac{12}{9} r=4. r = 4.

Let dd be the distance from the sphere to this plane. dd is also the distance from OO to P.P.

Once again using the Pythagorean theorem, we get that d=6242=25. d = \sqrt{6^2 - 4^2} = 2\sqrt{5}.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

22.

Real numbers between 00 and 1,1, inclusive, are chosen in the following manner. A fair coin is flipped. If it lands heads, then it is flipped again and the chosen number is 00 if the second flip is heads, and 11 if the second flip is tails. On the other hand, if the first coin flip is tails, then the number is chosen uniformly at random from the closed interval [0,1].[0,1]. Two random numbers xx and yy are chosen independently in this manner. What is the probability that xy>12?|x-y| > \tfrac{1}{2}?

13\dfrac{1}{3}

716\dfrac{7}{16}

12\dfrac{1}{2}

916\dfrac{9}{16}

23\dfrac{2}{3}

Solution:

We can case on whether xx and yy are chosen from the interval or from 00 and 1.1. Each case has a 14\frac{1}{4} chance of happening, since they depend on two coin flips.

Case 1:x1: x and yy are either 00 or 11

xx and yy need to be different, which happens with a 12\frac{1}{2} probability.

Case 2:x2: x is either 00 or 1,1, and yy is chosen from [0,1][0, 1]

If x=0,x = 0, then yy has to be chosen from (12,1],\left(\dfrac{1}{2}, 1\right], and if x=1,x = 1, then yy has to be chosen from [0,12).\left[0, \dfrac{1}{2}\right).

This means that yy always has a 12\frac{1}{2} probability of being chosen from the correct interval.

Case 3:x3: x is chosen from [0,1],[0, 1], and yy is either 00 or 11

This has the same probability as case 22 due to symmetry.

4:x4: x and yy are chosen from [0,1][0, 1]

We can use geometric probability since we are working with an infinite number of (x,y)(x, y) pairs. We graph xy>12.|x - y| \gt \frac{1}{2}.

The shaded area covers 14\frac{1}{4} of the graph, showing that there is a 14\frac{1}{4} probability of this case working.

Adding up all the probabilities, we get 14(312+14)=1474=716.\begin{align*} \dfrac{1}{4}\left(3 \cdot \dfrac{1}{2} + \dfrac{1}{4}\right) &= \dfrac{1}{4} \cdot \dfrac{7}{4}\\&= \dfrac{7}{16}. \end{align*}

Thus, B is the correct answer.

23.

Travis has to babysit the terrible Thompson triplets. Knowing that they love big numbers, Travis devises a counting game for them. First Tadd will say the number 1,1, then Todd must say the next two numbers (22 and 33), then Tucker must say the next three numbers (4,4, 5,5, 66), then Tadd must say the next four numbers (7,7, 8,8, 9,9, 1010), and the process continues to rotate through the three children in order, each saying one more number than the previous child did, until the number 10,00010,000 is reached. What is the 20192019th number said by Tadd?

57435743

58855885

59795979

60016001

60116011

Solution:

We can find how many numbers each triplet says in one round.

Tadd: 1,4,7,10,13Todd: 2,5,8,11,14Tucker: 3,6,9,12,15 \begin{align*} &\text{Tadd: } 1, 4, 7, 10, 13 \cdots \\ &\text{Todd: } 2, 5, 8, 11, 14 \cdots \\ &\text{Tucker: } 3, 6, 9, 12, 15 \cdots \end{align*}

Now we can find a general formula for the number of numbers Tadd says after the nn th round.

i=1n3n2=2n+3i=1n=2n+3n(n+1)2=3n2n2\begin{align*} \sum_{i = 1}^n 3n - 2 &= -2n + 3 \sum_{i = 1}^n \\ &= -2n + \dfrac{3n(n + 1)}{2} \\&= \dfrac{3n^2 - n}{2} \end{align*}

Now we to find the largest nn such that 3n2n22019. \dfrac{3n^2 - n}{2} \leq 2019.

We can guess and check to find that 3636 is the largest such value.

Note that Todd and Tucker also go through 3636 turns each before Tadd says the 20192019 th number.

The number of numbers that Todd and Tucker go through, plus the 20192019 numbers that Tadd says, is i=1363n+i=136(3n1)+2019=i=136(6n1)+2019=(5+11++215)+2019=362202+2019=5979.\begin{align*} &\sum_{i = 1}^{36} 3n + \sum_{i = 1}^{36} (3n - 1) + 2019 \\ &= \sum_{i = 1}^{36} (6n - 1) + 2019 \\&= (5 + 11 + \cdots + 215) + 2019 \\&= \dfrac{36 \cdot 220}{2} + 2019 \\&= 5979. \end{align*}

Thus, C is the correct answer.

24.

Let p,p, q,q, and rr be the distinct roots of the polynomial x322x2+80x67.x^3 - 22x^2 + 80x - 67. It is given that there exist real numbers A,A, B,B, and CC such that 1s322s2+80s67=\dfrac{1}{s^3 - 22s^2 + 80s - 67} =Asp+Bsq+Csr \dfrac{A}{s-p} + \dfrac{B}{s-q} + \dfrac{C}{s-r}for all s∉{p,q,r}.s\not\in\{p,q,r\}. What is 1A+1B+1C?\dfrac1A+\dfrac1B+\dfrac1C?

243243

244244

245245

246246

247247

Solution:

We can multiply each side by (sp)(sq)(sr) (s - p)(s - q)(s - r) to get A(sq)(sr)+B(sp)(sr) A(s - q)(s - r) + B(s - p)(s - r)+C(sp)(sq)=1. + C(s - p)(s - q) = 1.

We can expand to get s2(A+B+C)s s^2(A + B + C) - s \cdot (Aq+Ar+Bp+Br+Cp+Cq) (Aq + Ar + Bp + Br + Cp + Cq) +(Aqr+Bpr+Cpq1)=0. + (Aqr + Bpr + Cpq - 1) = 0.

Note that the coefficients of ss and s2s^2 must both be 0.0.

From A+B+C=0,(1) A + B + C = 0, \tag*{(1)} we get A=(B+C), A = -(B + C),B=(A+C), B = -(A + C), and C=(A+B). C = -(A + B).

Plugging this into the coefficient of s,s, we get Ap+Bq+Cr=0. Ap + Bq + Cr = 0.

Subtracting (1)r(1) \cdot r form this above equation, we get A(pr)+B(qr)=0(2) A(p - r) + B(q - r) = 0 (2) We also know that Aqr+Bpr+Cpq=1. Aqr + Bpr + Cpq = 1. Subtracting (1)pq(1) \cdot pq from this equation, we get Aq(rp)+Bp(rq)=1. Aq(r - p) + Bp(r - q) = 1.

Adding (2)p(2) \cdot p to this equation, we get A(rp)(qp)=1, A(r - p)(q - p) = 1, which gets us A=1(rp)(qp). A = \dfrac{1}{(r - p)(q - p)}.

Similarly, we get B=1(rq)(pq) B = \dfrac{1}{(r - q)(p - q)} and C=1(qr)(pr). C = \dfrac{1}{(q - r)(p - r)}.

This gives us 1A+1B+1C= \dfrac{1}{A} + \dfrac{1}{B} + \dfrac{1}{C} = p2+q2+r2pqqrpr. p^2 + q^2 + r^2 - pq - qr - pr.

Using Vieta's formulas, we get p2+q2+r2=(p+q+r)2 p^2 + q^2 + r^2 = (p + q + r)^2 - 2(pq+qr+pr)=324. 2(pq + qr + pr) = 324. Finally, since pq+qr+pr=80, pq + qr + pr = 80, we get our desired value of 32480=244.324 - 80 = 244.

Thus, B is the correct answer.

25.

For how many integers nn between 11 and 50,50, inclusive, is (n21)!(n!)n\dfrac{(n^2-1)!}{(n!)^n} an integer? (Recall that 0!=1.0! = 1.)

3131

3232

3333

3434

3535

Solution:

One fact that greatly helps with this problem is realizing that (n2)!(n!)n+1 \dfrac{(n^2)!}{(n!)^{n + 1}} is always an integer.

This is because it is the number of ways to split up n2n^2 objects into nn unordered groups of size n.n.

Now, we get that (n21)!(n!)n=(n2)!(n!)n+1n!n2. \dfrac{(n^2 - 1)!}{(n!)^n} = \dfrac{(n^2)!}{(n!)^{n + 1}} \cdot \dfrac{n!}{n^2}.

Therefore, we need to find when n2÷n!,n^2 \div n!, or when n÷(n1)!.n \div (n - 1)!.

This condition is false if n=4,n = 4, or if nn is prime. n=4n = 4 is too large for it to divide 3!.3!.

nn cannot be prime because (n1)!(n - 1)! does not contain any numbers where nn could be a factor.

If nn is not nn and not prime, this works since nn can be decomposed into 22 numbers both less than nn that are found in (n1)!.(n - 1)!.

There are 1515 primes less than 50,50, and adding on 4,4, we get that there are 1616 values for nn that do not work.

Therefore, the desired answer is 5016=34.50 - 16 = 34.

Thus, D is the correct answer.