1988 AMC 8 Exam Solutions
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All of the real AMC 8, AMC 10, AMC 12, and AIME problems in our complete solution collection are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).
1.
The diagram shows part of a scale of a measuring device. The arrow indicates an approximate reading of
Difficulty rating: 370
Solution:
The scale is divided into fourths between and so the interior tick marks fall at and
The arrow points just past the mark, so the reading is between and Of the choices, only lies in that range.
Thus, the correct answer is D .
2.
3.
What is the value of the following expression?
Difficulty rating: 450
Solution:
Each fraction equals since
So the sum is
Thus, the correct answer is D .
4.
The figure consists of alternating light and dark squares. The number of dark squares exceeds the number of light squares by
Difficulty rating: 560
Solution:
In each horizontal row the squares alternate dark, light, dark, and so on, beginning and ending with a dark square. So every row has exactly one more dark square than light square.
The figure has rows, so the dark squares exceed the light squares by
Thus, the correct answer is B .
5.
If is a right angle, then this protractor indicates that the measure of is approximately
Difficulty rating: 800
Solution:
Reading the protractor, ray is at about and ray is at about
Because is a right angle, ray is at
Therefore
Thus, the correct answer is C .
6.
7.
The expression is closest to
Difficulty rating: 730
Solution:
Round each factor: and
The product is about
Thus, the correct answer is B .
8.
Betty used a calculator to find the product She forgot to enter the decimal points. The calculator showed If Betty had entered the decimal points correctly, the answer would have been
Difficulty rating: 800
Solution:
The factors and have and decimal places, for a total of
Placing the decimal point digits from the right of gives
Thus, the correct answer is B .
9.
An isosceles triangle is a triangle with two sides of equal length. How many of the five triangles on the square grid below are isosceles?
Difficulty rating: 960
Solution:
Read each triangle's side lengths from the grid. A horizontal or vertical side is counted directly, and a slanted side spanning units across and units up has length
Top-left triangle: its two slanted sides each span across and up, so each has length with a base of length Two equal sides, so it is isosceles.
Top-middle triangle: it has a vertical side of length and a horizontal side of length (its third side is the slant ). Two equal sides, so it is isosceles.
Top-right triangle: its sides are and which are all different, so it is not isosceles.
Bottom-left (wide, flat) triangle: its two slanted sides each span across and up, so each has length Two equal sides, so it is isosceles.
Bottom-right triangle: two of its sides each span and (giving length ), while the third is Two equal sides, so it is isosceles.
Four of the five triangles are isosceles.
Thus, the correct answer is D .
10.
Chris' birthday is on a Thursday this year. What day of the week will it be days after her birthday?
Monday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Saturday
Difficulty rating: 820
Solution:
Days of the week repeat every days. Since the day days later is days after Thursday.
Counting forward from Thursday: Friday, Saturday, Sunday, Monday. So it is a Monday.
Thus, the correct answer is A .
11.
The value of is
less than
between and
between and
between and
Difficulty rating: 660
Solution:
Since and and the value lies between and
Thus, the correct answer is E .
12.
Suppose the estimated billion dollar cost to send a person to the planet Mars is shared equally by the million people in the U.S. Then each person's share is
$40
$50
$80
$100
$125
Difficulty rating: 730
Solution:
Each person's share is
This equals
Thus, the correct answer is C .
13.
If rose bushes are spaced about foot apart, approximately how many bushes are needed to surround a circular patio whose radius is feet?
Difficulty rating: 860
Solution:
The bushes surround the circular edge, so their number is about the circumference
Using this is about feet, so roughly bushes are needed.
Thus, the correct answer is D .
14.
If and are whole numbers and the largest possible value of is
Difficulty rating: 730
Solution:
The factor pairs of are and
The sum is largest for the most spread-out pair,
Thus, the correct answer is E .
15.
What is the reciprocal of
Difficulty rating: 660
Solution:
Adding,
The reciprocal of is
Thus, the correct answer is C .
16.
Placing no more than one X in each small square, what is the greatest number of X's that can be put on a grid without getting three X's in a row vertically, horizontally, or diagonally?
Difficulty rating: 1120
Solution:
A placement of X's works: leave the three squares along one main diagonal empty and fill the other six. Then each row and each column is missing one square, the used diagonal has an empty square, and the other diagonal passes through the empty center, so no line of three is complete.
Seven X's is impossible: only two squares would be empty, and two empty squares can lie in at most two of the three rows, forcing the remaining row to be completely filled with three X's.
So the greatest number is
Thus, the correct answer is E .
17.
The shaded area is formed by two intersecting perpendicular rectangles, with dimensions as shown. Its area, in square units, is
unable to be determined from the information given
Difficulty rating: 960
Solution:
The horizontal rectangle has area and the vertical rectangle has area Their overlap, a rectangle, has area
Adding the two rectangles counts the overlap twice, so the shaded area is
Thus, the correct answer is B .
18.
The average weight of boys is pounds and the average weight of girls is pounds. The average weight of the children is
pounds
pounds
pounds
pounds
pounds
Difficulty rating: 860
Solution:
The total weight is pounds.
The average of the children is pounds.
Thus, the correct answer is C .
19.
What is the th number in the arithmetic sequence
Difficulty rating: 820
Solution:
The sequence starts at with common difference The th term is reached by adding to the first term times.
So the th term is
Thus, the correct answer is A .
20.
The glass gauge on a cylindrical coffee maker shows there are cups left when the coffee maker is full. How many cups of coffee does it hold when it is full?
Difficulty rating: 930
Solution:
Let be the full capacity. Then
Solving, cups.
Thus, the correct answer is C .
21.
A fifth number, is added to the set of numbers to make the mean of the set of five numbers equal to its median. The number of possible values for is
more than
Difficulty rating: 1260
Solution:
The five numbers have sum and mean The median is the middle value when sorted, which is or depending on the size of
If the median is : gives which is indeed less than If the median is : gives which is between and If the median is : gives which is indeed greater than
Each case yields a valid value, so can be or — three possible values.
Thus, the correct answer is C .
22.
Tom's Hat Shoppe increased all original prices by Now the shoppe is having a sale where all prices are off these increased prices. Which statement best describes the sale price of an item?
The sale price is higher than the original price.
The sale price is higher than the original price, but by less than
The sale price is higher than the original price, but by more than
The sale price is lower than the original price.
The sale price is the same as the original price.
Difficulty rating: 1060
Solution:
Increasing by multiplies the price by and then taking off multiplies by
The overall factor is so the sale price equals the original price.
Thus, the correct answer is E .
23.
Maria buys computer disks at a price of for $5 and sells them at a price of for $5. How many computer disks must she sell in order to make a profit of $100?
Difficulty rating: 1110
Solution:
Consider disks in dozens, since is a multiple of both and A dozen disks costs to buy and sells for for a profit of $5 per dozen.
To make $100 profit she needs dozen, which is disks.
Thus, the correct answer is D .
24.
The square in the first diagram "rolls" clockwise around the fixed regular hexagon until it reaches the bottom. In which position will the solid triangle be in diagram
Difficulty rating: 1510
Solution:
Each roll of the square over one edge of the hexagon turns it clockwise. (At the pivot corner the square turns through minus the square's own corner minus the hexagon's interior angle, which leaves )
From the top of the hexagon to the bottom is rolls, for a total of That is one complete revolution () plus an extra clockwise.
The triangle starts pointing straight up, so after the extra quarter turn clockwise it points to the right.
Thus, the correct answer is A .
25.
A palindrome is a whole number that reads the same forwards as backwards. If one neglects the colon, certain times displayed on a digital watch are palindromes. Three examples are 1:01, 4:44, and 12:21. How many times during a -hour period will be palindromes?
Difficulty rating: 1380
Solution:
For a single-digit hour (from to ), the display reads the same backwards when The tens digit can be or giving palindromes per hour, so
For the two-digit hours the display is a palindrome when and giving exactly 10:01, 11:11, and 12:21 — one each, for more.
The total is
Thus, the correct answer is A .