2021 AIME II Problem 11

Attempt Problem 11 of the 2021 AIME II 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 2021 AIME II solutions, or check the answer key.

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11.

A teacher was leading a class of four perfectly logical students. The teacher chose a set SS of four integers and gave a different number in SS to each student. Then the teacher announced to the class that the numbers in SS were four consecutive two-digit positive integers, that some number in SS was divisible by 6,6, and a different number in SS was divisible by 7.7. The teacher then asked if any of the students could deduce what SS is, but in unison, all of the students replied no.

However, upon hearing that all four students replied no, each student was able to determine the elements of S.S. Find the sum of all possible values of the greatest element of S.S.

Answer: 258
Concepts:logical deductiondivisibilitycasework
Difficulty rating: 3060
Solution:

Call a run any set of four consecutive two-digit integers containing a multiple of 66 and a different multiple of 7;7; the runs are exactly the candidates for SS allowed by the announcement. A student holding a number that lies in exactly one run could name SS immediately, so the unanimous "no" reveals that every element of SS lies in at least two runs.

A number belongs to two different runs only when nearby runs overlap, which happens when a multiple of 66 and a multiple of 77 are consecutive integers, both two-digit: the pairs (35,36),(35, 36), (48,49),(48, 49), (77,78),(77, 78), and (90,91).(90, 91). Checking each cluster, the runs all four of whose elements are ambiguous are exactly the ones with such a pair in the two middle positions: {34,35,36,37},{47,48,49,50},{76,77,78,79},{89,90,91,92}. \begin{aligned} &\{34, 35, 36, 37\}, \\ &\{47, 48, 49, 50\}, \\ &\{76, 77, 78, 79\}, \\ &\{89, 90, 91, 92\}. \end{aligned} These four sets are pairwise disjoint, so after the four "no" replies each student's own number singles out one of them, consistent with everyone then deducing S.S.

The possible greatest elements are 37,37, 50,50, 79,79, and 92,92, with sum 258.258.

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