2009 AMC 12B Problem 5

Attempt Problem 5 of the 2009 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 2009 AMC 12B solutions, or check the answer key.

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

5.

Kiana has two older twin brothers. The product of their three ages is 128.128. What is the sum of their three ages?

1010

1212

1616

1818

2424

Answer: D
Concepts:prime factorizationpower of 2
Difficulty rating: 1080
Solution:

Since 128=27,128 = 2^7, each age is a power of 2.2. The twins share an age t,t, so Kiana's age is 128t2.\dfrac{128}{t^2}.

Taking t=8t = 8 gives Kiana 12864=2,\dfrac{128}{64} = 2, who is younger than the twins. (Smaller twins would make Kiana older, which is not allowed.) The sum is 8+8+2=18.8 + 8 + 2 = 18.

Thus, the correct answer is D.

← Problem 4#4
Full Exam

Problem 5 in Other Years