1990 AMC 8 Problem 11

Attempt Problem 11 of the 1990 AMC 8 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 1990 AMC 8 solutions, or check the answer key.

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11.

The numbers on the faces of this cube are consecutive whole numbers. The sums of the two numbers on each of the three pairs of opposite faces are equal. The sum of the six numbers on this cube is
7575
7676
7878
8080
8181
Answer: E
Concepts:cube geometrycasework
Small hint:
Five of the faces must be 11,11, 12,12, 13,13, 14,14, 1515; the sixth is either 1010 or 1616
Big hint:
The three faces 11,11, 14,14, 1515 meet at one corner, so no two of them are opposite; this rules out one of the two possibilities
Solution:
The six consecutive numbers include 11,11, 14,14, 1515, so five of the faces are 11,11, 12,12, 13,13, 14,14, 1515 and the sixth is 1010 or 1616.
If the sixth were 1010, equal opposite sums would force the pairs (10,15),(10,15), (11,14),(11,14), (12,13)(12,13), making 1111 and 1414 opposite. But the figure shows 11,11, 14,14, 1515 meeting at one corner, so no two of them are opposite. Hence the sixth number is 1616, with pairs (11,16),(11,16), (12,15),(12,15), (13,14)(13,14), each summing to 2727.
The total is 3⋅27=813 \cdot 27 = 81.
Thus, the correct answer is E .
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