Question

Four girls — Mary, Alina, Tina, and Hanna — sang songs in a concert as trios, with one girl sitting out each time. Hanna sang $7$ songs, which was more than any other girl, and Mary sang $4$ songs, which was fewer than any other girl. How many songs did these trios sing?

$7$

$8$

$9$

$10$

$11$

Answer: A

Concepts:divisibility double counting bounding to limit cases

Difficulty rating: 1610

Solution:

If $N$ songs are sung, the total number of girl-appearances is $3N.$ Alina and Tina each sang strictly between $4$ and $7,$ so each sang $5$ or $6.$

Then $3N = 7 + 4 + (\text{Alina}) + (\text{Tina}),$ which is $21, 22,$ or $23.$ Only $21$ is a multiple of $3,$ so $N = 7.$

Thus, the correct answer is A.

1999 AMC 12 Problem 14

Answer: A

Difficulty rating: 1610

Solution:

Problem 14 in Other Years