2012 AMC 12A Problem 7

Attempt Problem 7 of the 2012 AMC 12A 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 2012 AMC 12A solutions, or check the answer key.

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

7.

Mary divides a circle into 1212 sectors. The central angles of these sectors, measured in degrees, are all integers and they form an arithmetic sequence. What is the degree measure of the smallest possible sector angle?
55
66
88
1010
1212
Answer: C
Concepts:arithmetic sequenceoptimization
Small hint:
The twelve angles sum to 360∘360^\circ
Big hint:
With first term aa and common difference d,d, 12a+66d=360,12a + 66d = 360, so 2a+11d=602a + 11d = 60
Solution:
Let aa be the smallest angle and d≥0d \ge 0 the common difference. The sum of the angles is 12a+66d=360,12a + 66d = 360, so 2a+11d=60.2a + 11d = 60.
To make aa small, take dd large. Since 11d11d must be even, dd is even, and d=4d = 4 gives 2a=60−44=16,2a = 60 - 44 = 16, so a=8.a = 8. A larger even dd makes aa non-positive.
Thus, the correct answer is C.
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