2020 AMC 10B Exam Problems
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All of the real AMC 8 and AMC 10 problems in our complete solution collection are used with official permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).
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1.
What is the value of
Answer: D
Solution:
Let's first notice that when we subtract a negative number, it is the same as adding it's positive counterpart. In other words: With that in mind, we can rewrite the above expression as: Which can be solved to yield as our final answer.
Thus, D is the correct answer.
2.
Carl has cubes each having side length and Kate has cubes each having side length What is the total volume of the cubes?
Answer: E
Solution:
Recall that a cube with a side length of has a volume of With this in mind, Carl's cubes (each with side length ) have a volume of each. Therefore, all of Carl's cubes will have a total volume of
Similarly, Kate's cubes (each with side length ) have a volume of each. Therefore, all of Kates's cubes will have a total volume of
Therefore, the total volume of these 10 cubes is
Thus, the correct answer is E.
3.
The ratio of to is the ratio of to is and the ratio of to is What is the ratio of to
Answer: E
Solution:
Let's begin by restating the following: Armed with these three equations, we want to find To do this, we must try and represent using and
Notice that we can represent as
Further notice that Therefore, combining these two facts shows us that: As such: Thus, E is the correct answer.
4.
The acute angles of a right triangle are and where and both and are prime numbers. What is the least possible value of
Answer: D
Solution:
We know that the interior angles of a triangle add up to and since the triangle in question is a right triangle, by definition one of the interior angles must measure The remaining two acute angles, and must therefore have a sum of
Let's begin by exploring the largest values of and going from there, as those will naturally yield the smallest values of
The greatest possible value of is This makes which is not prime, so this is not a valid possible case.
Moving on, the next largest possible value of is This makes which is prime! Therefore, this is the smallest possible value of
Thus, D is the correct answer.
5.
How many distinguishable arrangements are there of brown tile, purple tile, green tiles, and yellow tiles in a row from left to right? (Tiles of the same color are indistinguishable.)
Answer: B
Solution:
We have total tiles, and as such, there are total ways to order them. However, notice that this is overcounting, as it assumes that all tiles are indistinguishable, when in reality, the yellow and green tiles can be reordered amongst themselves without any change to the overall tiling pattern.
Let's remove this overcounting as follows. There are yellow tiles, and as such, there are ways to switch them around amongst themselves such that the overall tiling pattern is unchanged, as they are indistinguishable.
Similarly, there are green tiles, and as such, there are ways to switch them around amongst themselves such that the overall tiling pattern is unchanged, as they are indistinguishable.
Therefore, there are possible tilings.
Thus, B is the correct answer.
6.
Driving along a highway, Megan noticed that her odometer showed (miles). This number is a palindrome — it reads the same forward and backward. Then hours later, the odometer displayed the next higher palindrome. What was her average speed, in miles per hour, during this -hour period?
50
55
60
65
70
Answer: B
Solution:
We want to find the smallest palindrome larger than and to do so, we want to increase the value of the middle digit. This is because if we increased the value of any other digit with less place value (say, the ones place), we would also need to increase the value of the digit with greater place value (i.e. ten-thousands place).
Therefore, we must replace the number to the next greatest integer: As all digits must be between and (inclusive), we write a zero in place of the nine, and increase the thousands digit (and the tens — to preserve the palindrome).
As such, the next smallest palindrome larger than is
As Megan drives miles in hours, she drives at an average of mph.
Thus, B is the correct answer.
7.
How many positive even multiples of less than are perfect squares?
Answer: A
Solution:
If a number is even, it must be a multiple of and as such, if a number is a positive even multiple of it is a multiple of and meaning that it is a multiple of
As such, we can write arbitrary positive multiples of six as for
We want to find the number of positive even multiples of — or more simply, positive integers of the form — that are also perfect squares. Therefore, we are looking for integers less than of the form:
Notice that for and for This means that the maximum we can have is and as all are valid solutions.
As such, there are solutions.
Thus, A is the correct answer.
8.
Points and lie in a plane with How many locations for point in this plane are there such that the triangle with vertices and is a right triangle with area square units?
Answer: D
Solution:
We know that the area of denoted is equal to where is equal to the height of
As and we can see that
WLOG, allow and With this in mind, let's case on the position of the right angle:
This implies that
This implies that
This implies that Thus, we have
As such, we have possible locations for
Thus, the correct answer is D.
9.
How many ordered pairs of integers satisfy the equation
infinitely many
Answer: D
Solution:
We can rewrite the equation as Using the quadratic formula, we know that:
As must be an integer, and therefore a real number, we must have to prevent negative square roots. This suggests: Since must be an integer for to be an integer, this gives us three values, each with either one or two corresponding values. With this, we have the following four solutions:
Thus, D is the correct answer.
10.
A three-quarter sector of a circle of radius inches together with its interior can be rolled up to form the lateral surface area of a right circular cone by taping together along the two radii shown. What is the volume of the cone in cubic inches?
Answer: C
Solution:
Remember that the volume of a cone is equal to Further notice that the circumference of the base of the cone is equal to the remaining circumference of the circle: the circumference of the complete circle.
Therefore, the circumference of the base of the cone is equal to: This suggests that the radius of the cone's base () is equal to: Also, when we tape together the marked radii to form the cone, the radii in question become the slanted height of the cone. This can be used to find the actual height of the cone, which by the Pythagorean Theorem, is equal to: Thus, the volume of the cone is equal to:
Thus, the correct answer is C.
11.
Ms. Carr asks her students to read any of the books on a reading list. Harold randomly selects books from this list, and Betty does the same. What is the probability that there are exactly books that they both select?
Answer: D
Solution:
Assume that Harold has already picked his books. Of these five books, there are ways that Betty can have picked exactly two of the same books as Harold, and ways that Betty can choose her other three books from the books not on Harold's list.
As such, there are ways for Betty to choose her books such that she chooses exactly two books on Harold's list and three books not on Harold's list.
Therefore, as there are ways that Betty can choose her books arbitrarily, and of those choices satisfy the above conditions, the probability that they have exactly two books in common is:
Thus, D is the correct answer.
12.
The decimal representation of consists of a string of zeros after the decimal point, followed by a and then several more digits. How many zeros are in that initial string of zeros after the decimal point?
Answer: D
Solution:
Before tackling the problem itself, let's notice that a pattern emerges when dividing 1 by different integers, where is one digit: for some digit (the dots represent the fact that there may be digits after ).
It seems that will have zeros after the decimal point.
Returning to the original problem, notice that As it follows that Thus: Therefore: which, by the pattern established above, implies that there are zeroes after the decimal point.
Thus, the correct answer is D.
13.
Andy the Ant lives on a coordinate plane and is currently at facing east (that is, in the positive -direction). Andy moves unit and then turns left. From there, Andy moves units (north) and then turns left. He then moves units (west) and again turns left. Andy continues his progress, increasing his distance each time by unit and always turning left. What is the location of the point at which Andy makes the left turn?
Answer: B
Solution:
Let's begin by seeing how each step changes the Andy's coordinate:
Step 1: Andy moves one unit east and then turns left. Therefore, his new position is facing north.
Step 2: Andy moves two units north and then turns left. Therefore, his new position is facing west.
Step 3: Andy moves three units west and then turns left. Therefore, his new position is facing south.
Step 4: Andy moves four units south and then turns left. Therefore, his new position is facing east.
A cyclic pattern seems to emerge, as every four steps Andy takes, it seems that if his original position is facing east, is new position is facing east.
As there are such -step cycles in the steps Andy takes, it follows that Andy's final position is:
Thus, B is the correct answer.
14.
As shown in the figure below, six semicircles lie in the interior of a regular hexagon with side length 2 so that the diameters of the semicircles coincide with the sides of the hexagon. What is the area of the shaded region — inside the hexagon but outside all of the semicircles?
Answer: D
Solution:
Firstly construct the following lines between points on the hexagon:
Observe that the area of the shaded region is simply times the area of the following shaded region:
As the entire figure is simply two equilateral triangles with side length the total area is: The unshaded region has an area equal to a circular sector with radius and an angle (as the triangle is equilateral). As such, the area of the unshaded region is: Meaning the area of the shaded region is: And as such, the area of the larger, complete shaded area in the hexagon is: Thus, D is the correct answer.
15.
Steve wrote the digits and in order repeatedly from left to right, forming a list of digits, beginning
He then erased every third digit from his list (that is, the rd, th, th, digits from the left), then erased every fourth digit from the resulting list (that is, the th, th, th, digits from the left in what remained), and then erased every fifth digit from what remained at that point.
What is the sum of the three digits that were then in the positions
Answer: D
Solution:
Let's begin by analyzing the list of digits after the removal of the third digits.
Although the list initially cycles with a period of (as in, the list repeats itself every digits), as lcm( the relative positions from which we delete digits from repeats every digits. Therefore: Therefore, the new list is: and repeats every digits.
Similarly, we consider the same procedure for removing the fourth digits.
As lcm let's consider the first digits of this list when making our deletions, as after this point, the relative positions of our deletions will repeat. Therefore, the new list is: and repeats every digits.
Lastly, we consider the same procedure for removing the fifth digits.
As lcm let's consider the first digits of this list when making our deletions, as after this point, the relative positions of our deletions will repeat. Therefore, the new list is: and repeats every digits.
As we know that the th digit is equal to the rd digit in the list above. As such, it follows that: Therefore, the sum of these values is
Thus, the correct answer is D.
16.
Bela and Jenn play the following game on the closed interval of the real number line, where is a fixed integer greater than They take turns playing, with Bela going first. At his first turn, Bela chooses any real number in the interval Thereafter, the player whose turn it is chooses a real number that is more than one unit away from all numbers previously chosen by either player. A player unable to choose such a number loses. Using optimal strategy, which player will win the game?
Bela will always win.
Jenn will always win.
Bela will win if and only if is odd.
Jenn will win if and only if is odd.
Bela will win if and only if n >8.
Answer: A
Solution:
Consider the following strategy:
Bela begins by choosing the middle value in From then on, whatever value say — — Jenn chooses, Bela will always choose As Bela goes first, and chooses the middle value, she will always be able to choose the mirrored value of Jenn's move and Jenn will run out of number to pick first.
Therefore, following this strategy, Bela will always win.
Thus, A is the correct answer.
17.
There are people standing equally spaced around a circle. Each person knows exactly of the other people: the people standing next to her or him, as well as the person directly across the circle. How many ways are there for the people to split up into pairs so that the members of each pair know each other?
Answer: C
Solution:
We case upon the number of opposite pairs. As in, we count the number of possible pairs when we have pairs whose members are across the circle from one another. Then, we will add up all these values to find the total number of ways to split up the people.
opposite pairs
In this case, we select pairs by either matching person with person and person with person and so on. Or, we can match person with person and person with person and so on. As such, there are ways to pair up individuals in this case.
opposite pair
In this case, we have possible pairs where a person is matched with the person across from them, and everyone else pairs with the person next to them.
opposite pairs
We cannot have opposite pairs, as there would be one person on either side that will not have a pair adjacent to them.
opposite pairs
In this case, we have possible ways to match a person with the person across from them, where everyone else pairs with the person next to them. However, notice that there are duplicates, so we divide the possibilities by to get
opposite pairs
We cannot have opposite pairs, as there would be one person on either side that will not have a pair adjacent to them.
opposite pairs
In this case, there is only one way to do this.
As such, there are ways to pair up individuals such that the members of each pair know each other.
Thus, the correct answer is C.
18.
An urn contains one red ball and one blue ball. A box of extra red and blue balls lie nearby. George performs the following operation four times: he draws a ball from the urn at random and then takes a ball of the same color from the box and returns those two matching balls to the urn. After the four iterations the urn contains six balls. What is the probability that the urn contains three balls of each color?
Answer: B
Solution:
Begin by noting that there are ways to arrange two red and two blue balls in different orders.
Now, given an arbitrary arrangement of these four balls, we want to find the probability of said arrangement happening. We will show that the probability of each arrangement is the same.
We first want to find the total number of choices we have to choose from, and as there are choices for the first step, choices for the second step, choices for the third step, and choices for the fourth step, it follows that there are different ways to choose an arrangement.
Regardless of the details of the specific arrangement we aim to get, the first time a red ball is added will come from choice, and the second time will come from choices, as that is the initial number of red balls in the urn. This also holds for the greens. As such, the number of successful choices is:
As such, for an arbitrary ordering of two red and two blue balls, we have a probability. As there are possible arrangements, the total probability is
Thus, the correct answer is B.
19.
In a certain card game, a player is dealt a hand of cards from a deck of distinct cards. The number of distinct (unordered) hands that can be dealt to the player can be written as What is the digit
Answer: A
Video solution:
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Written solution:
The number of distinct hands that can be dealt to the player is equal to:
Therefore:
To find the units digit, we can find the value of this expression mod :
Therefore, as and it follows that
Thus, A is the correct answer.
20.
Let be a right rectangular prism (box) with edges lengths and together with its interior. For real let be the set of points in -dimensional space that lie within a distance of some point in The volume of can be expressed as where and are positive real numbers. What is
Answer: B
Video solution:
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Written solution:
Consider at the following regions:
The rectangular prism itself
In this region, and therefore the volume of
The extensions of the faces of
The volumes of this region are equal to the sums of the volumes of the boxes produced by extending every face on to a distance Therefore, the total volume of this region is:
The quarter-cylinders at each of the edges of
There are edges on meaning that there are quarter-cylinders. of which have length of which have length and of which have length All of these cylinders have radius Therefore, the volumes is:
The eighth-spheres at every vertex of
There are vertices on and the eighth-sphere corresponding to each one has a radius As such, the total volume is:
Therefore, the total area enclosed by
As such:
Therefore:
Thus, the correct answer is B.
21.
In square points and lie on and respectively, so that Points and lie on and respectively, and points and lie on so that and See the figure below. Triangle quadrilateral quadrilateral and pentagon each has area What is
Answer: B
Video solution:
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Written solution:
As we know that the sum of the areas of we know that the side length of the square is
Similarly, as has an area of we know that
Now, let us extend the figure as follows:
With the construction of as the eventual intersection of and we can notice that is a right isosceles triangle, with side length Therefore, its area is
From this, we can further deduce that is also a right isosceles triangle, with area implying that
Thus, the correct answer is B.
22.
What is the remainder when is divided by
Answer: D
Video solution:
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Written solution:
Observe that: where and Thus, by difference of squares: Which means that: Therefore,
Thus, the correct answer is D.
23.
Square in the coordinate plane has vertices at the points and Consider the following four transformations:
• a rotation of counterclockwise around the origin;
• a rotation of clockwise around the origin;
• a reflection across the -axis; and
• a reflection across the -axis.
Each of these transformations maps the squares onto itself, but the positions of the labeled vertices will change. For example, applying and then would send the vertex at to and would send the vertex at to itself. How many sequences of transformations chosen from will send all of the labeled vertices back to their original positions? (For example, is one sequence of transformations that will send the vertices back to their original positions.)
Answer: C
Video solution:
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Written solution:
Notice that all of these transformations result in each vertex being moved to some adjacent vertex. For example, after one transformation, vertex will always be at either or
It follows that after any odd number of transformations, vertex will always be either in quadrant II or IV, and after any even number of transformations, will always be in either quadrant I or III. This rule holds for all other vertices, and after moves, we are left with the following four possible states:
•
•
•
•
From each of these positions, it is possible to return to the original position with only one transformation as transformation : In order, they are
As such, as there are ways to make the first transformations, and all of these transformations lead to one of four final configurations, each with one valid move to get back to the original position, we conclude that there are exactly sequences of transformations that map the square back to its original position.
Thus, C is the correct answer.
24.
How many positive integers satisfy
(Recall that is the greatest integer not exceeding )
Answer: C
Video solution:
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Written solution:
We know that by definition that Therefore: Solving each inequality separately: and Using the qudratic formula yields or
Therefore, as we now know that is in the interval or in
Furthermore, we know that is an integer, and as must be an integer, then it follows that: As such, for some integer Therefore, we substitute to see that: or And so, we have values of and as each corresponds to exactly one we have solutions for
Thus, C is the correct answer.
25.
Let denote the number of ways of writing the positive integer as a product where the are integers strictly greater than and the order in which the factors are listed matters (that is, two representations that differ only in the order of the factors are counted as distinct). For example, the number can be written as and so What is
Answer: A
Video solution:
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Written solution:
Notice that To find all the ways to factor with the conditions listed above, we must find all the ways to group our five 's and one such that each group has at least one element, from which we multiply all the elements in each group to get our factor pair.
This can be solved using a method similar to stars and bars, as we can depict this situation as: Where we have groups created by dividers, and as we have 6 ways to arrange the prime factors and ways to place the dividers such that each group has at least one element, we have total ways to arrange factors.
However, we must notice that whenever we have a group that includes and at least one other prime factor (i.e. any groups that have a product of ) such that the factor that this group represents is of the form then we will overcount this case by a factor of In other words, we double count our 's, triple count our 's, and quadruple count our 's.
This is because we consider different arrangements within a group to constitute entirely different groups, when in fact, they are the same. For example: both represent the same factor triple, but are considered to be distinct.
We must compensate for this overcounting by counting the number of these distinct but equal cases and subtracting. To do this, consider all cases where is grouped with at least one This can be similarly represented as the previous case, only this time with four 's and one (as ), resulting in groups such as: With this representation, there are ways to arrange the elements, and ways to place dividers, and as such, there are overcounted cases.
Therefore, all that is left is to subtract our overcount, and from this, we see that
Thus, A is the correct answer.