2019 AMC 12B Problem 5

Attempt Problem 5 of the 2019 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 2019 AMC 12B solutions, or check the answer key.

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

5.

Each piece of candy in a store costs a whole number of cents. Casper has exactly enough money to buy either 1212 pieces of red candy, 1414 pieces of green candy, 1515 pieces of blue candy, or nn pieces of purple candy. A piece of purple candy costs 2020 cents. What is the smallest possible value of n?n?
1818
2121
2424
2525
2828
Answer: B
Concepts:least common multipledivisibility
Small hint:
Casper’s total money must be divisible by each candy count
Big hint:
The total is a multiple of lcm⁡(12,14,15)\operatorname{lcm}(12,14,15)
Solution:
Let MM be Casper’s money in cents. Since he can exactly buy 12,12, 14,14, or 1515 whole-cent pieces, MM is a multiple of lcm⁡(12,14,15)=420.\operatorname{lcm}(12,14,15)=420.
Purple candy costs 2020 cents, so n=M20.n=\dfrac{M}{20}. The smallest MM is 420,420, giving n=42020=21.n=\dfrac{420}{20}=21.
Thus, B is the correct answer.
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