Question

An even number of circles are nested, starting with a radius of $1$ and increasing by $1$ each time, all sharing a common point. The region between every other circle is shaded, starting with the region inside the circle of radius $2$ but outside the circle of radius $1.$ An example showing $8$ circles is displayed below. What is the least number of circles needed to make the total shaded area at least $2023\pi?$

$46$

$48$

$56$

$60$

$64$

Answer: E

Concepts:circle area arithmetic sequence summation

Difficulty rating: 1560

Solution:

A circle of radius $r$ has area $\pi r^2.$ So the shaded ring between radius $2k$ and $2k-1$ has area $\pi\big((2k)^2 - (2k-1)^2\big)$ $= (4k-1)\pi.$ With $2n$ circles the shaded total is $\pi\sum_{k=1}^{n}(4k-1) = \pi(2n^2 + n).$ We want $2n^2 + n \ge 2023.$ At $n = 31$ it's $1953,$ at $n = 32$ it's $2080.$ So $n = 32,$ which means $2n = 64$ circles. Thus, E is the correct answer.

2023 AMC 10A Problem 15

Answer: E

Difficulty rating: 1560

Solution:

Problem 15 in Other Years