2003 AMC 12A Problem 7

Below is the professionally curated solution for Problem 7 of the 2003 AMC 12A, from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2003 AMC 12A solutions, or check the answer key.

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Concepts:triangle inequalitypartitions and compositions

Difficulty rating: 1270

7.

How many non-congruent triangles with perimeter 77 have integer side lengths?

11

22

33

44

55

Solution:

Let the sides be abca\le b\le c with a+b+c=7.a+b+c=7. The triangle inequality requires c<a+b,c\lt a+b, so c<3.5,c\lt3.5, forcing c=3.c=3.

Then a+b=4a+b=4 with ab3,a\le b\le3, giving the triangles 1-3-31\text{-}3\text{-}3 and 2-2-3.2\text{-}2\text{-}3.

Thus, the correct answer is B.

Problem 7 in Other Years