2017 AMC 10B Problems
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Timed
1:15:00
1.
Mary thought of a positive two-digit number. She multiplied it by and added Then she switched the digits of the result, obtaining a number between and inclusive. What was Mary’s number?
Answer: B
Small Hint:
Work backward from the possible reversed results
Big Hint:
After reversing and subtracting , check divisibility by
Solution:
Work backward from the possible results. Reversing gives respectively. Subtracting gives Only and are divisible by and only is a two-digit number.
Thus, the correct answer is B .
2.
Sofia ran laps around the -meter track at her school. For each lap, she ran the first meters at an average speed of meters per second and the remaining meters at an average speed of meters per second. How much time did Sofia take running the laps?
minutes and seconds
minutes and seconds
minutes and seconds
minutes and seconds
minutes and seconds
Answer: C
Small Hint:
Find the time for the first meters and the last meters of one lap
Big Hint:
Multiply one-lap time by and convert seconds to minutes
Solution:
She ran a total of meters at meters per second and meters at meters per second.
Therefore, her time is seconds.
This is equal to a total of minutes and seconds.
Thus, the correct answer is C .
3.
Real numbers and satisfy the inequalities and
Which of the following numbers is necessarily positive?
Answer: E
Small Hint:
The choice can be tested directly from the given bounds
Big Hint:
Use one small counterexample to reject each other expression
Solution:
Since and we can add the inequalities to see that This naturally proves choice E correct.
Furthermore, we can eliminate every other choice with the following values:
Thus, the correct answer is E .
4.
Suppose that and are nonzero real numbers such that What is the value of
Answer: D
Small Hint:
Clear the denominator in the given equation
Big Hint:
The equation quickly forces a relation between and
Solution:
Given that we can multiply by the denominator to get Solving, we can see that
Therefore,
Thus, the correct answer is D .
5.
Camilla had twice as many blueberry jelly beans as cherry jelly beans. After eating pieces of each kind, she now has three times as many blueberry jelly beans as cherry jelly beans. How many blueberry jelly beans did she originally have?
Answer: D
Small Hint:
Let the original cherry and blueberry counts be variables
Big Hint:
Use one equation before and one equation after eating the jelly beans
Solution:
Let the number of cherry jelly beans be and let the number of blueberry jelly beans be
Then, we know from the first and second statements respectively.
Therefore, This means that
Thus, the correct answer is D .
6.
What is the largest number of solid -in -in -in blocks that can fit in a -in -in -in box?
Answer: B
Small Hint:
Start with the volume upper bound
Big Hint:
Then check that four blocks really can be arranged
Solution:
The volume of the large solid object is and volume of the smaller object is This means we can fit at most of the small objects.
We can make this happen by putting of the small objects in a rectangular prism, and then we have a space left where we can place one small object.
Thus, the correct answer is B .
7.
Samia set off on her bicycle to visit her friend, traveling at an average speed of kilometers per hour. When she had gone half the distance to her friend’s house, a tire went flat, and she walked the rest of the way at kilometers per hour.
In all, it took her minutes to reach her friend’s house. In kilometers rounded to the nearest tenth, how far did Samia walk?
Answer: C
Small Hint:
Let the walking distance be , so the biking distance is also
Big Hint:
Add the biking time and walking time to get minutes
Solution:
Let be the distance Samia walked. She bicycled the same distance, so her total travel time gives Solving yields which rounds to kilometers.
Thus, the correct answer is C .
8.
Points and are vertices of with The altitude from meets the opposite side at What are the coordinates of point
Answer: C
Small Hint:
In an isosceles triangle, the altitude from the vertex also bisects the base
Big Hint:
Use as the midpoint of
Solution:
Since the altitude from also bisects the base Therefore, is the midpoint of If then we have As such,
Thus, the correct answer is C .
9.
A radio program has a quiz consisting of multiple-choice questions, each with choices. A contestant wins if he or she gets or more of the questions right. The contestant answers randomly to each question. What is the probability of winning?
Answer: D
Small Hint:
Count exactly three correct plus exactly two correct
Big Hint:
For exactly two correct, choose which question is missed
Solution:
The probability that a contestant gets all correct is The probability of getting exactly correct is The combined probability is
Thus, the correct answer is D .
10.
The lines with equations and are perpendicular and intersect at What is
Answer: E
Small Hint:
Rewrite both lines in slope-intercept form
Big Hint:
Perpendicular slopes and the point determine the parameters
Solution:
The first equation can be rewritten as and the second as Because the lines are perpendicular, their slopes multiply to so
Substituting into the two original equations gives and Adding these equations yields so and
Thus, the correct answer is E .
11.
At Typico High School, of the students like dancing, and the rest dislike it. Of those who like dancing, say that they like it, and the rest say that they dislike it. Of those who dislike dancing, say that they dislike it, and the rest say that they like it. What fraction of students who say they dislike dancing actually like it?
Answer: D
Small Hint:
Separate actual preference from reported preference
Big Hint:
The denominator is everyone who says they dislike dancing
Solution:
Observe that of the of people that actually like dancing, only say they like dancing. This suggests that of the students say that they like dancing, and as such, of the students who like dancing say they don’t like it.
Then, we know that of the of people who don’t like dancing say they don’t like it, which is of the total student population.
This means the total amount of people who say they don’t like dancing is
We know then that the fraction of people who say they dislike dancing but actually like it is equal to:
Thus, the correct answer is D .
12.
Elmer’s new car gets better fuel efficiency, measured in kilometers per liter, than his old car. However, his new car uses diesel fuel, which is more expensive per liter than the gasoline his old car uses. By what percent will Elmer save money if he uses his new car instead of his old car for a long trip?
Answer: A
Small Hint:
Compare cost per kilometer, not cost per liter
Big Hint:
New fuel uses fewer liters but each liter costs more
Solution:
Let the old car’s fuel efficiency be kilometers per liter and let gasoline cost dollars per liter. The old car therefore costs dollars per kilometer to fuel.
The new car gets kilometers per liter and its fuel costs dollars per liter, so its fuel cost per kilometer is
The new fuel cost is of the old one, so Elmer saves
Thus, the correct answer is A .
13.
There are students participating in an after-school program offering classes in yoga, bridge, and painting. Each student must take at least one of these three classes, but may take two or all three.
There are students taking yoga, taking bridge, and taking painting. There are students taking at least two classes. How many students are taking all three classes?
Answer: C
Small Hint:
Let count students taking exactly one, two, and three classes
Big Hint:
The total class enrollment counts these groups with weights
Solution:
The number of classes taken total is
Let represent the number of people who take let represent the number of people who take classes, and let represent the number of people who take classes.
Then, we know
As such, the total number of people is so This makes
The number of people who take at least two classes is so
Therefore, making that the answer.
Thus, the correct answer is C .
14.
An integer is selected at random in the range . What is the probability that the remainder when is divided by is
Answer: D
Small Hint:
Modulo , only whether is divisible by matters
Big Hint:
Use Fermat’s little theorem or check residue classes modulo
Solution:
By Fermat’s Little Theorem, whenever is not divisible by Therefore,
There are multiples of so there are allowable values of
A multiple of has so no other values work. Thus the probability is
Thus, the correct answer is D .
15.
Rectangle has and Point is the foot of the perpendicular from to diagonal What is the area of
Answer: E
Small Hint:
Use similarity between and
Big Hint:
Then compare to using their bases on
Solution:
The area of is . Since lies on , triangles and share the same altitude from , so .
By the Pythagorean Theorem, . Also , so , giving . Thus .
Therefore . Thus, E is the correct answer.
16.
How many of the base-ten numerals for the positive integers less than or equal to contain the digit
Answer: A
Small Hint:
Count the complement: numbers with no digit
Big Hint:
Split by one-, two-, three-, and four-digit numbers up to
Solution:
For numbers less than we only have a if it is a multiple of of which there are
For numbers between and inclusive, we will use complementary counting. There are total numbers in this range. Also, there are numbers in this range with no since there are ways to choose each digit to not be Thus, the total in this range is
For numbers between and inclusive, we will use complementary counting again. There are total numbers in this range. Also, there are numbers in this range with no since there are ways to choose each of the last digits to not be and the first digit must be Thus, the total in this range is
There are numbers between and inclusive, each with a in the second digit from the left.
This makes the total
Thus, the correct answer is A .
17.
Call a positive integer monotonous if it is a one-digit number or its digits, when read from left to right, form either a strictly increasing or a strictly decreasing sequence. For example, and are monotonous, but and are not. How many monotonous positive integers are there?
Small Hint:
Increasing numbers are determined by their digit set
Big Hint:
Decreasing numbers may include , but the number itself is not positive
Solution:
The strictly increasing positive integers correspond to the nonempty subsets of , written in increasing order. There are of these.
The strictly decreasing positive integers correspond to subsets of , written in decreasing order, except for the empty set and . There are of these.
The one-digit numbers through were counted in both groups, so the total is . Thus, B is the correct answer.
18.
In the figure below, of the disks are to be painted blue, are to be painted red, and is to be painted green. Two paintings that can be obtained from one another by a rotation or a reflection of the entire figure are considered the same. How many different paintings are possible?
Answer: D
Small Hint:
Use symmetry to reduce the green disk to two cases
Big Hint:
For each green position, count possible red-disk placements up to symmetry
Solution:
By symmetry, the green disk has two possible types of position: a corner or a side midpoint. Fix one representative of either type. There are ways to choose the two red disks.
The reflection that fixes the green position fixes one of the other disks and exchanges the other four disks in two pairs. Exactly red-disk choices are unchanged by this reflection: choosing either exchanged pair. The other choices form mirror-image pairs. Hence there are paintings for each type of green position.
The two types therefore give paintings.
Thus, the correct answer is D .
19.
Let be an equilateral triangle. Extend side beyond to a point so that Similarly, extend side beyond to a point so that and extend side beyond to a point so that
What is the ratio of the area of to the area of
Answer: E
Small Hint:
Break the large triangle into the original triangle and six surrounding triangles
Big Hint:
Compare each surrounding triangle area to the original using base and height
Solution:
Let be the area of Each of and has a base three times as long as a side of and the same corresponding altitude. Each therefore has area
Next, has three times the base and the same altitude as whose area is Thus has area Similarly, and each have area
These seven regions partition the large triangle, so The requested ratio is
Thus, the correct answer is E .
20.
The number has over positive integer divisors. One of them is chosen at random. What is the probability that it is odd?
Answer: B
Small Hint:
Count the exponent of in
Big Hint:
For each odd part of a divisor, only one exponent of gives an odd divisor
Solution:
The exponent of in is Thus for some odd integer
For every divisor of the divisors of with odd part are Exactly one of these divisors is odd, so the probability is
Thus, the correct answer is B .
21.
In and is the midpoint of What is the sum of the radii of the circles inscribed in and
Answer: D
Small Hint:
First recognize the triangle as right
Big Hint:
Use area equals inradius times semiperimeter for the two smaller triangles
Solution:
The triangle is a right triangle with a right angle at This makes the circumcenter of the triangle since it is the midpoint of the hypotenuse.
Therefore, Also, the area of is
The bases and are equal, and the two triangles share the same altitude from Therefore, and each have area
Then, for each triangle, we have where is the area, is the inradius, and is the semiperimeter. Equivalently, where is the perimeter, so For the inradius is For it is
Their sum is
Thus, the correct answer is D .
22.
The diameter of a circle of radius is extended to a point outside the circle so that Point is chosen so that and line is perpendicular to line Segment intersects the circle at a point between and What is the area of
Answer: D
Small Hint:
Use the semicircle angle to get a right triangle
Big Hint:
Compare and by similarity
Solution:
Since the radius is and we have Since and the angle at is a right angle, the area of is
By the Pythagorean Theorem, Also, is a right angle because is a diameter. The triangles share the angle at so by angle-angle similarity.
Their corresponding hypotenuses are and so their area ratio is Therefore,
Thus, the correct answer is D .
23.
Let be the -digit number that is formed by writing the integers from to in order, one after the other. What is the remainder when is divided by
Answer: C
Small Hint:
Find the remainder modulo and modulo
Big Hint:
Combine them to get the remainder modulo
Solution:
To find the remainder when divided by we must find the remainder when divided by and The remainder when divided by is the remainder when the units digit is divided by making it
To find the remainder when divided by we usually find the sum of the digits. However, each double digit number has the same remainder when divided by as its digit sum, so we can just sum the integers from to because each integer is congruent to its own digit sum. This sum is which is a multiple of Thus, is a multiple of
Since it is a multiple of and has a remainder of when divided by the remainder when divided by is
Thus, the correct answer is C .
24.
The vertices of an equilateral triangle lie on the hyperbola and a vertex of this hyperbola is the centroid of the triangle. What is the square of the area of the triangle?
Answer: C
Small Hint:
Use symmetry of the hyperbola about
Big Hint:
Relate the centroid-to-vertex distance to the circumradius of the equilateral triangle
Solution:
By symmetry, assume that the centroid is the hyperbola vertex At least two triangle vertices lie on the same branch of the hyperbola. They cannot both lie on the negative branch: if two of their -coordinates were negative, the third would exceed while the sum of the three -coordinates would be less than contradicting that their centroid is Thus two vertices lie on the positive branch.
Write these vertices as and where The centroid of an equilateral triangle is also its circumcenter, so and are equidistant from For the squared distance from to is This is strictly increasing as increases from so the distinct points must satisfy Hence and are reflections across
The third vertex lies on the perpendicular bisector Its coordinates also satisfy so it is either or It cannot equal the centroid, so it is Therefore, the circumradius is the distance from to namely
Dividing the equilateral triangle into three triangles at its center gives its area as The square of the area is
Thus, the correct answer is C .
25.
Last year Isabella took math tests and received different scores, each an integer between and inclusive. After each test she noticed that the average of her test scores was an integer. Her score on the seventh test was What was her score on the sixth test?
Answer: E
Small Hint:
The final total score must be a multiple of
Big Hint:
Use the seventh score to force the first six-score sum, then use divisibility by
Solution:
Let be the sum of all seven scores. Since all seven averages were integers, is divisible by . Also the seven distinct scores are between and , so .
Thus , and the possible multiples of are . Since the seventh score is , the first six scores sum to , which must be divisible by . This forces .
The first six scores sum to . The first five-score average was also an integer, so the sum of the first five scores is divisible by . Therefore the sixth score is divisible by . Since the seventh score is already and all scores are distinct, the sixth score is . Thus, E is the correct answer.