2022 AMC 10A Problem 17

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Concepts:repeating decimaldigitsDiophantine Equation

Difficulty rating: 1660

17.

How many three-digit positive integers a b c\underline{a} \ \underline{b} \ \underline{c} are there whose nonzero digits a,b,a,b, and cc satisfy 0.a b c=13(0.a+0.b+0.c)?0.\overline{\underline{a}~\underline{b}~\underline{c}} = \dfrac{1}{3} (0.\overline{a} + 0.\overline{b} + 0.\overline{c})? (The bar indicates repetition, thus 0.a b c0.\overline{\underline{a}~\underline{b}~\underline{c}} in the infinite repeating decimal 0.a b c a b c 0.\underline{a}~\underline{b}~\underline{c}~\underline{a}~\underline{b}~\underline{c}~\cdots)

99

1010

1111

1313

1414

Solution:

Let's find a closed form expression for each of the repeating decimals. We can write 0.a b c0.\overline{\underline{a}~\underline{b}~\underline{c}} as 0.a b c+0.000 a b c+. 0.\underline{a} \ \underline{b} \ \underline{c} + 0.000 \ \underline{a} \ \underline{b} \ \underline{c} + \cdots.

From this, we can see that this an infinite geometric sequence with first term 0.a b c0.\underline{a} \ \underline{b} \ \underline{c} and ratio 11000.\dfrac{1}{1000}.

Using the formula for the sum of a infinite geometric sequence, we get that this equals 0.a b c111000=a b c999. \dfrac{0.\underline{a} \ \underline{b} \ \underline{c}}{1 - \dfrac{1}{1000}} = \dfrac{\underline{a} \ \underline{b} \ \underline{c}}{999}.

Similarly, note that we can write 0.a0.\overline{a} as 0.a+0.0a+0.00a+. 0.a + 0.0a + 0.00a + \cdots.

As above, this equals 0.a1110=a9. \dfrac{0.a}{1 - \dfrac{1}{10}} = \dfrac{a}{9}. Therefore, 0.b=b9 and 0.c=c9. 0.\overline{b} = \dfrac{b}{9} \text{ and } 0.\overline{c} = \dfrac{c}{9}.

Substituting all these values into the condition, we get a b c999=13a+b+c9. \dfrac{\underline{a} \ \underline{b} \ \underline{c}}{999} = \dfrac{1}{3} \cdot \dfrac{a + b + c}{9}. Multiplying through by 999999 yields a b c=37(a+b+c). \underline{a} \ \underline{b} \ \underline{c} = 37(a + b +c).

Note that we can express a b c\underline{a} \ \underline{b} \ \underline{c} as 100a+10b+c.100a + 10b + c. Substituting this in, we get 100a+10b+c=37(a+b+c), 100a + 10b + c = 37(a + b + c), which simplifies to 63a=27b+36c7a=3b+4c. 63a = 27b + 36c \Rightarrow 7a = 3b + 4c.

All the solutions where a=b=ca = b = c work. The expression 3b+4c3b + 4c remains constant if we increase bb by 44 and decrease cc by 4.4. We could also decrease bb by 44 and increase cc by 3.3.

Applying this principles to the first 99 triples yields (4,8,1),(5,1,8),(5,9,2),(6,2,9)(4, 8, 1), (5, 1, 8), (5, 9, 2), (6, 2, 9) as 44 more solutions. Therefore, there are a total of 1313 solutions.

Thus, D is the correct solution.

Problem 17 in Other Years