2022 AIME I Problem 7

Attempt Problem 7 of the 2022 AIME I 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 2022 AIME I solutions, or check the answer key.

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7.

Let a,a, b,b, c,c, d,d, e,e, f,f, g,g, h,h, ii be distinct integers from 11 to 9.9. The minimum possible positive value of abcdefghi\frac{a \cdot b \cdot c - d \cdot e \cdot f}{g \cdot h \cdot i} can be written as mn,\frac{m}{n}, where mm and nn are relatively prime positive integers. Find m+n.m + n.

Answer: 289
Concepts:optimizationextremal argumentbounding to limit cases
Difficulty rating: 2560
Small Hint:

Aim for a numerator of 1:1: look for two triples of distinct digits whose products differ by exactly 11

Big Hint:

Save the three largest leftover digits for the denominator, then rule out bigger denominators by showing they force a numerator difference of at least 22

Solution:

Try to make the numerator equal to 11 while keeping large digits in the denominator. The products 236=362 \cdot 3 \cdot 6 = 36 and 157=351 \cdot 5 \cdot 7 = 35 differ by 11 and leave 4,8,94, 8, 9 for the denominator, giving the value 3635489=1288.\frac{36 - 35}{4 \cdot 8 \cdot 9} = \frac{1}{288}.

To beat this, a fraction would need numerator 11 with denominator greater than 288.288. The denominators exceeding 288288 are 504,504, 432,432, 360,360, 378,378, 315,315, and 336,336, coming respectively from {7,8,9},\{7,8,9\}, {6,8,9},\{6,8,9\}, {5,8,9},\{5,8,9\}, {6,7,9},\{6,7,9\}, {5,7,9},\{5,7,9\}, and {6,7,8}.\{6,7,8\}. Splitting the remaining six digits into two triples, the smallest positive numerator differences are respectively 6,6, 2,2, 8,8, 2,2, 4,4, and 6.6. The resulting lower bounds 6504,2432,8360,2378,4315,6336\begin{aligned}&\frac{6}{504},\quad \frac{2}{432},\quad \frac{8}{360},\\&\frac{2}{378},\quad \frac{4}{315},\quad \frac{6}{336}\end{aligned} all exceed 1288.\frac{1}{288}.

So the minimum positive value is 1288,\frac{1}{288}, and m+n=1+288=289.m + n = 1 + 288 = 289.

Problem 6#6
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