2025 AMC 10A Exam Solutions
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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).
1.
Andy and Betsy both live in Mathville. Andy leaves Mathville on his bicycle at 1:30, traveling due north at a steady miles per hour. Betsy leaves on her bicycle from the same point at 2:30, traveling due east at a steady miles per hour. At what time will they be exactly the same distance from their common starting point?
3:30
3:45
4:00
4:15
4:30
Difficulty rating: 860
Solution:
Let be the hours since 1:30. Andy has gone miles north. Betsy starts an hour later, so she's gone miles east. We want these equal: That gives so Three hours past 1:30 is 4:30. Thus, E is the correct answer.
2.
A box contains pounds of a nut mix that is percent peanuts, percent cashews, and percent almonds. A second nut mix containing percent peanuts, percent cashews, and percent almonds is added to the box, resulting in a new nut mix that is percent peanuts. How many pounds of cashews are now in the box?
Difficulty rating: 980
Solution:
The starting -pound mix holds pounds of peanuts and pounds of cashews. Add pounds of the second mix, which is peanuts. We want the new peanut fraction to be so This means giving Those pounds bring more pounds of cashews, so the box now has Therefore, the answer is B.
3.
How many isosceles triangles are there with positive area whose side lengths are all positive integers and whose longest side has length
Difficulty rating: 1130
Solution:
Split into two cases. Say two sides both equal Then the third side can be any integer from to which is triangles. Now suppose is the unique longest side. The two equal legs must satisfy by the triangle inequality, and So runs from to giving triangles. Adding up, Thus, D is the correct answer.
4.
A team of students is going to compete against a team of teachers in a trivia contest. The total number of students and teachers is Ash, a cousin of one of the students, wants to join the contest. If Ash plays with the students, the average age on that team will increase from to If Ash plays with the teachers, the average age on that team will decrease from to How old is Ash?
Difficulty rating: 1160
Solution:
Let be the number of students. If Ash joins them, his age is If he joins the teachers instead (there are of them), his age is Both describe the same Ash, so That gives and Ash is Therefore, the answer is A.
5.
Consider the sequence of positive integers
What is the th term in this sequence?
Difficulty rating: 1200
Solution:
Group the sequence into blocks. Block reads which is terms and ends on So after block we've used terms. Notice That's exactly the end of block whose last term is Thus, E is the correct answer.
6.
In an equilateral triangle each interior angle is trisected by a pair of rays. The intersection of the interiors of the middle -angle at each vertex is the interior of a convex hexagon. What is the degree measure of the smallest angle of this hexagon?
Difficulty rating: 1310
Solution:
Label the equilateral triangle Each angle splits into three pieces. Take the outermost trisectors from and : they meet at base angles so the hexagon vertex there has angle The innermost trisectors from and meet at base angles giving apex and by vertical angles that's the opposite hexagon angle. So the six angles alternate and The smallest is Therefore, the answer is C.
7.
Suppose and are real numbers. When the polynomial is divided by the remainder is When the polynomial is divided by the remainder is What is
Difficulty rating: 1250
Solution:
By the Remainder Theorem, just plug in. We get so And so Subtract the first from the second: hence Then Thus, E is the correct answer.
8.
Agnes writes the following four statements on a blank piece of paper.
• At least one of these statements is true.
• At least two of these statements are true.
• At least two of these statements are false.
• At least one of these statements is false.
Each statement is either true or false. How many false statements did Agnes write on the paper?
Difficulty rating: 1350
Solution:
Number them: (1) at least one true, (2) at least two true, (3) at least two false, (4) at least one false. Suppose (3) is true. Then at least two statements are false. But then (1), (2), and (4) all read as true, which leaves at most one false statement. That's a contradiction, so (3) must be false. Now (1), (2), and (4) are all true, and each matches reality with just one false statement. So exactly statement is false. Therefore, the answer is B.
9.
Let For how many real numbers does the graph of pass through the point
more than
Difficulty rating: 1440
Solution:
The graph passes through exactly when Let so we just need the number of solutions to Factor with roots Its local maximum on is which beats So the line cuts the cubic in points. Each one gives a single so there are values. Thus, C is the correct answer.
10.
A semicircle has diameter and chord of length parallel to A smaller semicircle with diameter on and tangent to is cut from the larger semicircle, as shown below.
What is the area of the resulting figure, shown shaded?
Difficulty rating: 1440
Solution:
Let be the center on and the midpoint of chord Set for the small radius and for the large one. Since the Pythagorean theorem in triangle gives The shaded area is the big semicircle minus the small one: Therefore, the answer is C.
11.
The sequence is arithmetic. The sequence is geometric. Both sequences are strictly increasing and contain only integers, and is as small as possible. What is the value of
Difficulty rating: 1500
Solution:
From the arithmetic sequence, so From the geometric one, for some integer ratio We want the smallest such so test Only works, since That forces and the sequences are and So Thus, E is the correct answer.
12.
Carlos uses a -digit passcode to unlock his computer. In his passcode, exactly one digit is even, exactly one (possibly different) digit is prime, and no digit is How many -digit passcodes satisfy these conditions?
Difficulty rating: 1560
Solution:
No digit is so digits run from to Put the single even digit in the first slot for now and multiply by at the end to place it. Split on that even digit. If it's the prime then the three odd digits all have to be non-prime, so each is or giving ways. Otherwise the even digit is or ( choices), and exactly one of the odd digits is prime, worth or ( choices) in one of the odd positions, while the other two odds come from ( ways). That's Altogether, Therefore, the answer is D.
13.
In the figure below, the outside square contains infinitely many squares, each of them with the same center and sides parallel to the outside square. The ratio of the side length of a square to the side length of the next inner square is where The spaces between squares are alternately shaded, as shown in the figure (which is not necessarily drawn to scale).
The area of the shaded portion of the figure is of the area of the original square. What is
Difficulty rating: 1560
Solution:
Let the outer side be The squares have sides and the shaded rings alternate, so the shaded area is We're told this equals so Then giving Thus, D is the correct answer.
14.
Six chairs are arranged around a round table. Two students and two teachers randomly select four of the chairs to sit in. What is the probability that the two students will sit in two adjacent chairs and the two teachers will also sit in two adjacent chairs?
Difficulty rating: 1600
Solution:
Seat the first student anywhere. The second student lands next to them with probability since two of the remaining five chairs are adjacent. Now the teachers fill two of the four leftover chairs. Of the ways to do that, exactly are adjacent pairs. So the probability is Therefore, the answer is B.
15.
In the figure below, is a rectangle, and What is the area of
Difficulty rating: 1730
Solution:
Let Since is a rectangle with and and we get and The triangles and are similar, so Clear denominators and square to get which factors as The positive root is So the area is Thus, A is the correct answer.
16.
There are three jars. Each of three coins is placed in one of the three jars, chosen at random and independently of the placements of the other coins. What is the expected number of coins in a jar with the most coins?
Difficulty rating: 1630
Solution:
There are equally likely placements. Of these, pile all coins into one jar (max ), and put one coin in each jar (max ). The other split - (max ). So the expected maximum is Therefore, the answer is D.
17.
Let be the unique positive integer such that dividing by leaves a remainder of and dividing by leaves a remainder of What is the tens digit of
Difficulty rating: 1730
Solution:
Subtract off the remainders. Both and are multiples of so their difference is too. Now which makes a multiple of as well. The remainder means and the only divisor of bigger than is itself. So and its tens digit is Thus, E is the correct answer.
18.
The harmonic mean of a collection of numbers is the reciprocal of the arithmetic mean of the reciprocals of the numbers in the collection. For example, the harmonic mean of is
What is the harmonic mean of all the real roots of the th degree polynomial
Difficulty rating: 1840
Solution:
Look at one factor Its discriminant is positive, so it has two distinct real roots. By Vieta, their reciprocals sum to and notice the cancels. Summing over all factors, the reciprocals total There are roots in all, so the harmonic mean is Therefore, the answer is B.
19.
An array of numbers is constructed beginning with the numbers in the top row. Each adjacent pair of numbers is summed to produce a number in the next row. Each row begins and ends with the numbers and respectively. The first three rows are shown below.
If the process continues, one of the rows will sum to In that row, what is the third number from the left?
Difficulty rating: 1910
Solution:
Each interior entry feeds two entries below, and the end values and cancel in the sum. So every row's total doubles the one above. The top row sums to and so this is the th row (counting the top as row ). Track the diagonals from the left. The second diagonal is dropping by each row. The third diagonal adds these up: for it equals Plug in : Thus, A is the correct answer.
20.
A silo (right circular cylinder) with diameter meters stands in a field. MacDonald is located meters west and meters south of the center of the silo. McGregor is located meters east and meters south of the center of the silo. The line of sight between MacDonald and McGregor is tangent to the silo. The value of can be written as where and are positive integers, is not divisible by the square of any prime, and is relatively prime to the greatest common divisor of and What is
Difficulty rating: 2080
Solution:
Put the silo's center at the origin with radius Then MacDonald is at and McGregor at The tangent length from is and from it's The tangent point sits between the two men, so But also Square twice and simplify: which gives So Therefore, the answer is A.
21.
A set of numbers is called sum-free if whenever and are (not necessarily distinct) elements of the set, is not an element of the set. For example, and the empty set are sum-free, but is not. What is the greatest possible number of elements in a sum-free subset of
Difficulty rating: 2120
Solution:
We can reach The odds are sum-free, since two odds sum to an even. So is since any two of those sum past Each has elements. Now we show you can't beat Let be the largest element of a sum-free subset. Pair up as A pair can't contribute both elements, or their sum would be in the set. There are such pairs, so the subset has at most elements. Thus, C is the correct answer.
22.
A circle of radius is surrounded by three circles, whose radii are and all externally tangent to the inner circle and to each other, as shown.
What is
Difficulty rating: 2120
Solution:
The three outer centers are pairwise and apart, a -- right triangle. Now apply Descartes' Circle Theorem with curvatures and all mutually tangent: Inverting, Therefore, the answer is B.
23.
Triangle has side lengths and The bisector of and the altitude to side intersect at point What is
Difficulty rating: 2270
Solution:
Let the bisector of hit at By the Angle Bisector Theorem, and since we get and Triangles and share with sides in ratio so they're similar. That gives which equals So is isosceles. Writing a short angle chase shows so is isosceles too, with Since is on segment Thus, D is the correct answer.
24.
Call a positive integer fair if no digit is used more than once, it has no s, and no digit is adjacent to two greater digits. For example, and are fair, but and are not. How many fair positive integers are there?
Difficulty rating: 2380
Solution:
In a fair number the digits climb up to the largest digit and then fall; otherwise some digit would be trapped between two bigger ones. So count by size. For digits, pick the digit set from to in ways. The largest is and each of the remaining digits chooses to sit left or right of ( ways), which pins down the number. Sum over : Therefore, the answer is C.
25.
A point is chosen at random inside square The probability that is neither the shortest nor the longest side of can be written as where and are positive integers, and is not divisible by the square of a prime. What is
Difficulty rating: 2600
Solution:
Place and on the unit square. is the middle length when or These two conditions carve out regions bounded by the circle of radius centered at (where ) and the perpendicular bisector (where ). Let be where that circle meets Then is equilateral, so Working out the pieces, the larger region has area and the smaller They add to So Thus, A is the correct answer.