2018 AMC 10A Problem 14

Below is the professionally curated solution for Problem 14 of the 2018 AMC 10A, from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2018 AMC 10A solutions, or check the answer key.

All of the real AMC 8, AMC 10, AMC 12, and AIME problems in our complete solution collection are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

Concepts:exponentfloor and ceiling functionsbounding to limit cases

Difficulty rating: 1540

14.

What is the greatest integer less than or equal to 3100+2100396+296?\dfrac{3^{100}+2^{100}}{3^{96}+2^{96}}?

8080

8181

9696

9797

625625

Solution:

Let a=396a=3^{96} and b=296b=2^{96}. The expression is 81a+16ba+b=16+65aa+b\dfrac{81a+16b}{a+b}=16+\dfrac{65a}{a+b}, so it is less than 16+65=8116+65=81.

To show the floor is 8080, we also need the expression to be greater than 8080. This is equivalent to 81a+16b>80a+80b81a+16b>80a+80b, or a>64ba>64b.

Because ab=(32)96>26=64\dfrac{a}{b}=\left(\dfrac32\right)^{96}>2^6=64, the expression is greater than 8080 and less than 8181. Thus, A is the correct answer.

Problem 14 in Other Years