2020 AMC 10A Problem 16

Attempt Problem 16 of the 2020 AMC 10A below, then check your answer against the video solution and professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2020 AMC 10A solutions, or check the answer key.

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16.

A point is chosen at random within the square in the coordinate plane whose vertices are (0,0),(0, 0), (2020,0),(2020, 0), (2020,2020),(2020, 2020), and (0,2020).(0, 2020). The probability that the point is within dd units of a lattice point is 12.\tfrac{1}{2}. (A point (x,y)(x, y) is a lattice point if xx and yy are both integers.) What is dd to the nearest tenth?

0.30.3

0.40.4

0.50.5

0.60.6

0.70.7

Answer: B
Concepts:geometric probabilitycircle arealattice point
Difficulty rating: 1540
Video solution:
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Written solution:

For d<12d<\dfrac12, the points within dd of lattice points occupy, in each unit square, four quarter-circles whose total area is πd2\pi d^2. The enormous square is tiled by unit squares, so the desired probability is πd2\pi d^2.

Setting πd2=12\pi d^2=\dfrac12 gives d=12π0.399d=\sqrt{\dfrac{1}{2\pi}}\approx0.399, which rounds to 0.40.4. Thus, B is the correct answer.

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