2012 AMC 10A Exam Problems

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1.

Cagney can frost a cupcake every 2020 seconds and Lacey can frost a cupcake every 3030 seconds. Working together, how many cupcakes can they frost in 55 minutes?

1010

1515

2020

2525

3030

Answer: D
Solution:

Cagney can make 60÷20=360 \div 20 = 3 cupcakes per minute, and Lacey can make 60÷30=2.60 \div 30 = 2.

In 55 minutes, they can make 5(2+3)=55=25. 5(2 + 3) = 5 \cdot 5 = 25.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

2.

A square with side length 88 is cut in half, creating two congruent rectangles. What are the dimensions of one of these rectangles?

2 by 42 \text{ by } 4

2 by 62 \text{ by } 6

2 by 82 \text{ by } 8

4 by 44 \text{ by } 4

4 by 84 \text{ by } 8

Answer: E
Solution:

Note that the one of the sides remains the same as the original square.

This means that one dimension is 8.8. The other dimension is the original side cut in half, which is 4.4.

Thus, E is the correct answer.

3.

A bug crawls along a number line, starting at 2.-2. It crawls to 6,-6, then turns around and crawls to 5.5. How many units does the bug crawl altogether?

99

1111

1313

1414

1515

Answer: E
Solution:

It crawls a distance of 2(6)=4=4 |-2 - (-6)| = |-4| = 4 when it moves from 2-2 to 6.-6. It then travels a distance of 65=11=11 |-6 - 5| = |-11| = 11 as it moves from 6-6 to 5.5.

The total distance is then 4+11=15. 4 + 11 = 15.

Thus, E is the correct answer.

4.

Let ABC=24\angle ABC = 24^\circ and ABD=20.\angle ABD = 20^\circ . What is the smallest possible degree measure for CBD?\angle CBD?

00

22

44

66

1212

Answer: C
Solution:

Note that both of the angles share the ray AB.AB. To minimize the desired degree, we want DD to be between AA and C.C.

This would make CBD=ABCABD=4. \angle CBD = \angle ABC - \angle ABD = 4^{\circ}.

Thus, C is the correct answer.

5.

Last year 100100 adult cats, half of whom were female, were brought into the Smallville Animal Shelter. Half of the adult female cats were accompanied by a litter of kittens. The average number of kittens per litter was 4.4. What was the total number of cats and kittens received by the shelter last year?

150150

200200

250250

300300

400400

Answer: B
Solution:

We have that there are 100÷2=50100 \div 2 = 50 female cats. We then have that 50÷2=2550 \div 2 = 25 cats that have kittens.

Since the average number of kittens per litter is 4,4, the total number of kittens is 425=100. 4 \cdot 25 = 100.

The total number of cats and kittens is then 100+100=200. 100 + 100 = 200.

Thus, B is the correct answer.

6.

The product of two positive numbers is 9.9. The reciprocal of one of these numbers is 44 times the reciprocal of the other number. What is the sum of the two numbers?

103\dfrac{10}{3}

203\dfrac{20}{3}

77

152\dfrac{15}{2}

88

Answer: D
Solution:

Let the two numbers be xx and yy such that xy=9 and 1x=4y. xy = 9 \text{ and } \dfrac{1}{x} = \dfrac{4}{y}.

We get that y=9x y = \dfrac{9}{x} 1x=4x9. \dfrac{1}{x} = \dfrac{4x}{9}. x=32, x = \dfrac{3}{2}, since xx is positive.

Then y=9÷32=6. y = 9 \div \dfrac{3}{2} = 6.

The desired sum is then 6+32=152. 6 + \dfrac{3}{2} = \dfrac{15}{2}.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

7.

In a bag of marbles, 35\dfrac{3}{5} of the marbles are blue and the rest are red. If the number of red marbles is doubled and the number of blue marbles stays the same, what fraction of the marbles will be red?

25\dfrac{2}{5}

37\dfrac{3}{7}

47\dfrac{4}{7}

35\dfrac{3}{5}

45\dfrac{4}{5}

Answer: C
Solution:

WLOG, let the number of marbles in the bag be 5.5. Since we only care about ratios, we can do this. Then there are 33 blue marbles and 22 red marbles.

Doubling the red marbles gives us 44 of them. Then the fraction of red marbles is 44+3=47. \dfrac{4}{4 + 3} = \dfrac{4}{7}.

Thus, C is the correct answer.

8.

The sums of three whole numbers taken in pairs are 12,17,12, 17, and 19.19. What is the middle number?

44

55

66

77

88

Answer: D
Solution:

Let the three numbers be a,b,ca, b, c where a<b<c.a \lt b \lt c. None of them are equal, since all three sums are different.

Then a+b=12,a+c=17, a + b = 12, a + c = 17, and b+c=19. b + c = 19.

Adding all three equations together gives us 2(a+b+c)=48. 2(a + b + c) = 48.

Then a+b+c=24, a + b + c = 24, from which we can subtract a+c=17, a + c = 17, to get b=7.b = 7.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

9.

A pair of six-sided dice are labeled so that one die has only even numbers (two each of 2,4,2, 4, and 66), and the other die has only odd numbers (two of each 1,3,1, 3, and 55). The pair of dice is rolled. What is the probability that the sum of the numbers on the tops of the two dice is 7?7?

16\dfrac{1}{6}

15\dfrac{1}{5}

14\dfrac{1}{4}

13\dfrac{1}{3}

12\dfrac{1}{2}

Answer: D
Solution:

The pairs of numbers that sum to 77 are (2,5),(4,3), and (6,1). (2, 5), (4, 3), \text{ and } (6, 1).

There is a 1313=19 \dfrac{1}{3} \cdot \dfrac{1}{3} = \dfrac{1}{9} chance that we get any of these pairs.

There are 33 pairs, which means that the total probability that the rolls sum to 77 is 319=13. 3 \cdot \dfrac{1}{9} = \dfrac{1}{3}.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

10.

Mary divides a circle into 1212 sectors. The central angles of these sectors, measured in degrees, are all integers and they form an arithmetic sequence. What is the degree measure of the smallest possible sector angle?

55

66

88

1010

1212

Answer: C
Solution:

Let aa be the smallest possible sector angle and dd be the difference in the arithmetic sequence.

Then we have that 122(a+a+11d)=12a+66d \dfrac{12}{2}(a + a + 11d) = 12a + 66d is the sum of the arithmetic sequence.

We have that this sums to 360,360, so 12a+66d=360 12a + 66d = 360 2a+11d=60. 2a + 11d = 60.

We want to minimize a,a, so we maximize d.d. If d=5,d = 5, then aa is not an integer, so d=4d = 4 and a=8.a = 8.

Thus, C is the correct answer.

11.

Externally tangent circles with centers at points AA and BB have radii of lengths 55 and 3,3, respectively. A line externally tangent to both circles intersects ray ABAB at point C.C. What is BC?BC?

44

4.84.8

10.210.2

1212

14.414.4

Answer: D
Solution:

Let xx be BC.BC. Note that CEB\triangle CEB and CDA\triangle CDA are similar due to angle-angle (tangent lines are perpendicular to radii).

Then x3=8+x5. \dfrac{x}{3} = \dfrac{8 + x}{5}. Cross-multiplying gives us 5x=24+3x 5x = 24 + 3x x=12. x = 12.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

12.

A year is a leap year if and only if the year number is divisible by 400400 (such as 20002000) or is divisible by 44 but not 100100 (such as 20122012). The 200200th anniversary of the birth of novelist Charles Dickens was celebrated on February 7,2012,7, 2012, a Tuesday. On what day of the week was Dickens born?

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

Monday

Tuesday

Answer: A
Solution:

On a typical year with 365365 days, moving one year into the future moves the day of the week forward one since 365=527+1. 365 = 52 \cdot 7 + 1.

On a leap year however, the day of the week gets moved forward twice since there is an extra day.

Fifty of the years between 20122012 and 18121812 are multiples of 4,4, but we have to discard 1900,1900, which leaves us with 4949 leap years.

Therefore, moving back 200200 years means we have to go back 200+49=249=357+4 200 + 49 = 249 = 35 \cdot 7 + 4 days, which means we move back 44 days in the week.

This takes us back to Friday, which is the day that corresponds to February 7,1812.7, 1812.

Thus, A is the correct answer.

13.

An iterative average of the numbers 1,2,3,4,1, 2, 3, 4, and 55 is computed the following way. Arrange the five numbers in some order. Find the mean of the first two numbers, then find the mean of that with the third number, then the mean of that with the fourth number, and finally the mean of that with the fifth number. What is the difference between the largest and smallest possible values that can be obtained using this procedure?

3116\dfrac{31}{16}

22

178\dfrac{17}{8}

33

6516\dfrac{65}{16}

Answer: C
Solution:

Let the order of the numbers be a,b,c,d,e. a, b, c, d, e.

Then the iterative average is a+b2+c2+d2+e2 \dfrac{\dfrac{\dfrac{\dfrac{a + b}{2} + c}{2} + d}{2} + e}{2}=a+b+2c+4d+8e16. = \dfrac{a + b + 2c + 4d + 8e}{16}.

To minimize this, we make the order 5,4,3,2,1, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, which gives us a sum of 5+4+6+8+816=3116. \dfrac{5 + 4 + 6 + 8 + 8}{16} = \dfrac{31}{16}.

To maximize it, we have to reverse this order to get an average of 1+2+6+16+4016=6516. \dfrac{1 + 2 + 6 + 16 + 40}{16} = \dfrac{65}{16}.

The difference between these is 65163116=3416=178. \dfrac{65}{16} - \dfrac{31}{16} = \dfrac{34}{16} = \dfrac{17}{8}.

Thus, C is the correct answer.

14.

Chubby makes nonstandard checkerboards that have 3131 squares on each side. The checkerboards have a black square in every corner and alternate red and black squares along every row and column. How many black squares are there on such a checkerboard?

480480

481481

482482

483483

484484

Answer: B
Solution:

Note that there are 1515 rows with 1515 black tiles and 1616 rows with 1616 black tiles.

This can seen by observing that the first row has 1616 black tiles, and all the other rows alternate with 1515 and 1616 tiles.

Then, due to the alternating pattern, there will be a total of 1616 rows with 1616 tiles, and the other rows have 1515 tiles.

The total number of black squares is then 152+162=481. 15^2 + 16^2 = 481.

Thus, B is the correct answer.

15.

Three unit squares and two line segments connecting two pairs of vertices are shown. What is the area of ABC?\triangle ABC?

16\dfrac16

15\dfrac15

29\dfrac29

13\dfrac13

24\dfrac{\sqrt{2}}{4}

Answer: B
Solution:

We can use coordinate geometry to figure out where the intersection of the two lines occurs.

Let AA be the origin and B=(1,0).B = (1, 0). Then the slope of the line through AA is 12,-\dfrac{1}{2}, which makes the equation of the line y=12x. y = -\dfrac{1}{2}x. The slope of the line through BB is 2.2. The yy-intercept is 2.-2. This makes the equation of this line y=2x2. y = 2x - 2.

Equating the equations, we get 2x2=12x 2x - 2 = -\dfrac{1}{2}x x=45. x = \dfrac{4}{5}.

This makes the yy-coordinate of CC 1245=25. -\dfrac{1}{2} \cdot \dfrac{4}{5} = -\dfrac{2}{5}.

The area of triangle ABCABC is then 12125=15. \dfrac{1}{2} \cdot 1 \cdot \dfrac{2}{5} = \dfrac{1}{5}.

Thus, B is the correct answer.

16.

Three runners start running simultaneously from the same point on a 500500-meter circular track. They each run clockwise around the course maintaining constant speeds of 4.4,4.8,4.4, 4.8, and 5.05.0 meters per second. The runners stop once they are all together again somewhere on the circular course. How many seconds do the runners run?

1,0001,000

1,2501,250

2,5002,500

5,0005,000

10,00010,000

Answer: C
Solution:

Let us find the amount of time that it takes for the runner running at 4.84.8 meters per second to lap the second fastest person.

We must have that 4.8x4.4x=500 4.8x - 4.4x = 500 x=1250, x = 1250, where xx is the amount of time it takes for the faster runner to lap the other.

Note that 4.41250=5500,4.4 \cdot 1250 = 5500, which means that these two runners always intersect at the starting line.

We now have to find the least time, t,t, such that tt is a multiple of 12501250 and the fastest runner ends up at the starting line.

Every 12501250 seconds, the fastest runner runs 12505=62501250 \cdot 5 = 6250 meters. Then in 25002500 seconds, the fastest runner runs 1250012500 meters, which is a whole number of laps.

Thus, C is the correct answer.

17.

Let aa and bb be relatively prime positive integers with a>b>0a > b > 0 and a3b3(ab)3=733.\dfrac{a^3-b^3}{(a-b)^3} = \dfrac{73}{3}. What is ab?a-b?

11

22

33

44

55

Answer: C
Solution:

Recall that we can factor a3b3=(ab)(a2+ab+b2). a^3 - b^3 = (a - b)(a^2 + ab + b^2). Canceling out this factor gives us that a2+ab+b2a22ab+b2=733. \dfrac{a^2 + ab + b^2}{a^2 - 2ab + b^2} = \dfrac{73}{3}.

Cross-multiplying and rearranging gives us 70a2149ab+70b2=0. 70a^2 - 149ab + 70b^2 = 0. Since b0,b \neq 0, we can divide through by b2b^2 to get 70(ab)2149ab+70=0. 70\left(\dfrac{a}{b}\right)^2 - 149\dfrac{a}{b} + 70 = 0.

Applying the quadratic formula and noting that a>ba \gt b gives us that ab=107.\dfrac{a}{b} = \dfrac{10}{7}.

Since aa and bb are relatively prime, we have that a=10a = 10 and b=7.b = 7. Their difference is 107=3.10 - 7 = 3.

Thus, C is the correct answer.

18.

The closed curve in the figure is made up of 99 congruent circular arcs each of length 2π3,\dfrac{2\pi}{3}, where each of the centers of the corresponding circles is among the vertices of a regular hexagon of side 2.2. What is the area enclosed by the curve?

2π+62\pi+6

2π+432\pi+4\sqrt{3}

3π+43\pi+4

2π+33+22\pi+3\sqrt{3}+2

π+63\pi+6\sqrt{3}

Answer: E
Solution:

Note that the region enclosed by the curve but outside the hexagon consists of 33 sectors with angle 240.240^{\circ}.

This means that together they form 22 whole circles with radius 1.1. Now to find the area of the region inside both the hexagon and the curve.

This area can be found by finding the area of the hexagon and subtracting out the areas of the sectors outside the curve.

There are three 13\dfrac{1}{3} circles that together form a whole circle. The area of the hexagon can be given by 32223=63. \dfrac{3}{2} \cdot 2^2 \cdot \sqrt{3} = 6\sqrt{3}.

The desired area is then 2π+(63π)=π+63. 2\pi + (6\sqrt{3} - \pi) = \pi + 6\sqrt{3}.

Thus, E is the correct answer.

19.

Paula the painter and her two helpers each paint at constant, but different, rates. They always start at 8:008:00 AM, and all three always take the same amount of time to eat lunch.

On Monday the three of them painted 50%50\% of a house, quitting at 4:004:00 PM. On Tuesday, when Paula wasn't there, the two helpers painted only 24%24\% of the house and quit at 2:122:12 PM. On Wednesday Paula worked by herself and finished the house by working until 7:127:12 P.M.

How long, in minutes, was each day's lunch break?

3030

3636

4242

4848

6060

Answer: D
Solution:

Let Paula work at a rate of x%x \% per hour and the helpers combined work at a rate of y.y. Let ll be the duration of the lunch break.

Then we have the following equations. (8l)(x+y)=50(6.2l)y=24(11.2l)x=36. \begin{gather*} (8 - l)(x + y) = 50 \\ (6.2 - l)y = 24 \\ (11.2 - l)x = 36. \end{gather*}

Adding the second and third equations together gives us 6.2y+11.2xL(x+y)=50. 6.2y + 11.2x - L(x + y) = 50. We can then subtract the first equation from this to get 1.8y+3.2x=0 -1.8y + 3.2x = 0 h=169p. h = \dfrac{16}{9}p.

We can now substitute this into the second equation, which gives us (6.2l)169x=24 (6.2 - l)\dfrac{16}{9}x = 24 (6.2l)p=272. (6.2 - l)p = \dfrac{27}{2}. Finally, subtracting this from the third equation gets us 5p=26272 5p = 26 - \dfrac{27}{2} p=52. p = \dfrac{5}{2}.

Plugging in this value gives us l=45,l = \dfrac{4}{5}, which is the same as 4848 minutes.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

20.

A 3×33 \times 3 square is partitioned into 99 unit squares. Each unit square is painted either white or black with each color being equally likely, chosen independently and at random.

The square is then rotated 9090^{\circ} clockwise about its center, and every white square in a position formerly occupied by a black square is painted black. The colors of all other squares are left unchanged. What is the probability the grid is now entirely black?

49512\dfrac{49}{512}

764\dfrac{7}{64}

1211024\dfrac{121}{1024}

81512\dfrac{81}{512}

932\dfrac{9}{32}

Answer: A
Solution:

Since the center square does not get affected by the rotation, we have that it must be black.

Now, let us analyze the corners. Clearly, if they are all black, that works. If only one is white, that also works.

If two are white, they must diagonal from each other, since otherwise a white will move onto a white, keeping it white.

There is no way for three or all four of them to be white, since that ensures a white square will move onto a white square.

This gives us 1+4+(42)=7 1 + 4 + \binom{4}{2} = 7 possible colorings for the corners. Similarly, we have that there are also 77 working colorings for the edges.

This gives us a total probability of 7729=49512. \dfrac{7 \cdot 7}{2^9} = \dfrac{49}{512}.

Thus, A is the correct answer.

21.

Let points A=(0,0,0),A = (0 ,0 ,0), B=(1,0,0),B = (1, 0, 0), C=(0,2,0),C = (0, 2, 0), D=(0,0,3).D = (0, 0, 3). Points E,E, F,F, G,G, and HH are midpoints of line segments BD, AB, AC,\overline{BD},\text{ } \overline{AB}, \text{ } \overline {AC}, and DC\overline{DC} respectively. What is the area of EFGH?EFGH?

2\sqrt{2}

253\dfrac{2\sqrt{5}}{3}

354\dfrac{3\sqrt{5}}{4}

3\sqrt{3}

273\dfrac{2\sqrt{7}}{3}

Answer: C
Solution:

Note that EF=12ADEF = \dfrac{1}{2}AD since it is a midsegment of ABD.\triangle ABD. Similarly, HG=12ADHG = \dfrac{1}{2}AD and FG=12BC.FG = \dfrac{1}{2}BC.

We also have that EF\overline{EF} and HG\overline{HG} are perpendicular to the xyxy-plane, which means that they are perpendicular to FG\overline{FG} and EH.\overline{EH}.

This tells us that EFGHEFGH is rectangle since EF=HG.EF = HG. We have EF=123=32.EF = \dfrac{1}{2} \cdot 3 = \dfrac{3}{2}.

We also have that FG=1212+22=52. FG = \dfrac{1}{2} \sqrt{1^2 + 2^2} = \dfrac{\sqrt{5}}{2}.

The area of EFGHEFGH is then EFFG=3252=354. EF \cdot FG = \dfrac{3}{2} \cdot \dfrac{\sqrt{5}}{2} = \dfrac{3\sqrt{5}}{4}.

Thus, C is the correct answer.

22.

The sum of the first mm positive odd integers is 212212 more than the sum of the first nn positive even integers. What is the sum of all possible values of n?n?

255255

256256

257257

258258

259259

Answer: A
Solution:

Recall that the sum of the first mm odd numbers is m2m^2 and the first nn even numbers is n2+n.n^2 + n.

We have that m2=n2+n+212. m^2 = n^2 + n + 212.

We can view this equation as a quadratic in terms of nn as follows. n2+n+(212m2)=0. n^2 + n + (212 - m^2) = 0.

We can apply the quadratic formula to get n=1+14(212m2)2. n = \dfrac{-1 + \sqrt{1 - 4(212 - m^2)}}{2}.

We have that mm and nn are integers, so 14(212m2)=4m2847 1 - 4(212 - m^2) = 4m^2 - 847 must be a square number. Also, since we add 1-1 and divide by 2,2, this must be odd.

Let x=4m2947. x = \sqrt{4m^2 - 947}.

Squaring and rearranging gives us 4m2x2=847 4m^2 - x^2 = 847 (2m+x)(2mx) (2m + x)(2m - x)=847=7112. = 847 = 7 \cdot 11^2.

Note that n=1+x2. n = \dfrac{-1 + x}{2}.

Given the values for 2m+x2m + x and 2mx,2m - x, we have that the difference between the two is 2x.2x.

The possible pairs of values are 8471,1217,7711. 847 \cdot 1, 121 \cdot 7, 77 \cdot 11.

These pairs contribute the following values for xx respectively: 423,57,33. 423, 57, 33. Then the possible values for nn are 211,28,211, 28, and 16.16.

Thus, A is the correct answer.

23.

Adam, Benin, Chiang, Deshawn, Esther, and Fiona have internet accounts. Some, but not all, of them are internet friends with each other, and none of them has an internet friend outside this group. Each of them has the same number of internet friends. In how many different ways can this happen?

6060

170170

290290

320320

660660

Answer: B
Solution:

We case on the value of friends that each person has. This value ranges from 11 to 44 since all of them are not friends.

Note that the cases for 11 and 22 friends correspond with the case for 44 and 33 friends, since choosing who are friends determines who are not friends.

Case 1: everyone has 11 friend

This means that the 66 people must split up into 33 pairs where the people in each pair are friends.

There are 55 choices for the friend for the first person. This leaves 44 people remaining.

There are then 33 choices for the friend of the next person. The remaining 22 people are then forced to be friends.

Therefore, there are 35=153 \cdot 5 = 15 possibilities for this case.

Case 2: everyone has 22 friends

There are two possibilities for this case. There could be two triples where everyone in a triple is friends with each other.

For this possibility, there are (63)=20\binom{6}{3} = 20 ways to choose the people in the first pair. We have to divide by 22 since we can swap the pairs. This gives us 20÷2=1020 \div 2 = 10 configurations.

The second possibility is if the friends form a hexagon where the person at each vertex is friends with the adjacent people.

The first person can be placed anywhere on the hexagon. There are (52)=10\binom{5}{2} = 10 ways to choose the people adjacent to this person.

The final 33 people can placed in 3!=63! = 6 ways in the remaining spots. This case then has a total number of 10+106=70 10 + 10 \cdot 6 = 70 configurations.

The total number of arrangements is then have 2(15+70)=170. 2(15 + 70) = 170.

Thus, B is the correct answer.

24.

Let a,a, b,b, and cc be positive integers with aa\ge bb\ge cc such that a2b2c2+ab=2011a^2-b^2-c^2+ab=2011 and a2+3b2+3c23ab2ac2bca^2+3b^2+3c^2-3ab-2ac-2bc=1997.=-1997. What is a?a?

249249

250250

251251

252252

253253

Answer: E
Solution:

Adding together the equations gives us 2(a2+b2+c2)2(ab+ac+bc) 2(a^2 + b^2 + c^2) - 2(ab + ac + bc)=14. = 14.

We can group terms and factor this to get (ab)2+(ac)2+(bc)2 (a - b)^2 + (a - c)^2 + (b - c)^2=14. = 14.

Note that every term on the left hand side is a positive square integer. The only triple of squares that add to 1414 is 9,4,9, 4, and 1.1.

We have that aca - c is the biggest difference among the three pairs. Therefore, ac=3.a - c = 3.

We cannot discern which of the other terms we can match with the other squares. Let us try ab=1a - b = 1 and bc=2.b - c = 2.

Plugging in these values into the first equation gives us a2(a1)2(a3)2 a^2 - (a - 1)^2 - (a - 3)^2 +a(a1)=2011. + a(a - 1) = 2011. Simplifying yields 7a=2021.7a = 2021. Since 20212021 is not divisible by 7,7, we have that ab=2a - b = 2 and bc=1.b - c = 1.

Plugging these in again and solving gives us a=253.a = 253.

Thus, E is the correct answer.

25.

Real numbers x,x, y,y, and zz are chosen independently and at random from the interval [0,n][0,n] for some positive integer n.n. The probability that no two of x,x, y,y, and zz are within 1 unit of each other is greater than 12.\dfrac{1}{2}. What is the smallest possible value of n?n?

77

88

99

1010

1111

Answer: D
Solution:

This problem lends itself to geometric probability since we can view the interval as a range on an axis.

WLOG, let nxyz0. n \geq x \geq y \geq z \geq 0.

Then we have that the points (x,y,z)(x, y, z) which satisfy this restriction form a tetrahedron.

The height of this tetrahedron is n,n, and the base has an area of n22.\dfrac{n^2}{2}. This makes the volume 13n22n=n36. \dfrac{1}{3} \cdot \dfrac{n^2}{2} \cdot n = \dfrac{n^3}{6}.

Now we have to apply the restrictions from the problem statement. We need to find the region where xy,xz,yz1. |x - y|, |x - z|, |y - z| \geq 1.

From our ordering condition that we imposed, these inequalities reduce to xy1 and yz1. x - y \geq 1 \text{ and } y - z \geq 1.

These two restrictions form another tetrahedron as shown below.

Note that in the new tetrahedron, all the dimensions have been reduced by 2.2. This makes the height n2n - 2 and the base (n2)22.\dfrac{(n - 2)^2}{2}.

The area is then 12(n2)22(n2) \dfrac{1}{2} \cdot \dfrac{(n - 2)^2}{2} \cdot (n - 2)=(n2)36. = \dfrac{(n - 2)^3}{6}.

The desired probability is then (n2)36÷n36=(n2)3n3. \dfrac{(n - 2)^3}{6} \div \dfrac{n^3}{6} = \dfrac{(n - 2)^3}{n^3}.

Plugging in all the answer choices, we get that the smallest value such that this fraction is greater than 12\dfrac{1}{2} is 10.10.

Thus, D is the correct answer.