1996 AMC 12 Problem 4

Attempt Problem 4 of the 1996 AMC 12 below, then check your answer against the professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 1996 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.

All problems are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

4.

Six numbers from a list of nine integers are 7,7, 8,8, 3,3, 5,5, 9,9, and 5.5. The largest possible value of the median of all nine numbers in this list is
55
66
77
88
99
Answer: D
Concepts:medianextremal reasoning
Small hint:
The median is the fifth number after all nine are sorted
Big hint:
To maximize the median, take each of the three unspecified numbers as large as needed
Solution:
The six specified values in order are 3,5,5,7,8,9.3,5,5,7,8,9. Even if all three unspecified integers exceed 9,9, the fifth entry of the full sorted list is 8.8. This is attainable, so the correct answer is D.
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