2006 AMC 12B Problem 9

Attempt Problem 9 of the 2006 AMC 12B 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 2006 AMC 12B solutions, or check the answer key.

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9.

How many even three-digit integers have the property that their digits, read left to right, are in strictly increasing order?

2121

3434

5151

7272

150150

Answer: B
Concepts:digitscombinationscasework
Difficulty rating: 1390
Solution:

Let the digits be a<b<ca \lt b \lt c with cc even. Since a1,a \geq 1, no digit is zero, and c2c \neq 2 (there is no room for two smaller nonzero digits).

Once the units digit cc is fixed, any two distinct digits below it can be arranged in increasing order in exactly one way. So the count for each cc is (c12).\binom{c-1}{2}.

For c=4,6,8c = 4, 6, 8 this gives (32)+(52)+(72)=3+10+21=34. \begin{aligned} &\binom{3}{2} + \binom{5}{2} \\ &\quad {}+ \binom{7}{2} = 3 + 10 + 21 \\ &\quad = 34. \end{aligned}

Thus, the correct answer is B.

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