1992 AMC 8 Problem 1

Attempt Problem 1 of the 1992 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 1992 AMC 8 solutions, or check the answer key.

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

1.

What is the value of the following expression?
10−9+8−7+6−5+4−3+2−11−2+3−4+5−6+7−8+9\scriptsize \dfrac{10 - 9 + 8 - 7 + 6 - 5 + 4 - 3 + 2 - 1}{1 - 2 + 3 - 4 + 5 - 6 + 7 - 8 + 9}
−1-1
11
55
99
1010
Answer: B
Concepts:order of operationspairing and grouping
Small hint:
Group the numerator into pairs (10−9),(10-9), (8−7),(8-7), …\ldots, and do the same for the denominator
Big hint:
Each numerator pair equals 11; in the denominator group (1−2),(1-2), (3−4),(3-4), …\ldots, where each pair is −1-1, with a +9+9 left over
Solution:
Grouping the numerator in pairs gives (10−9)(10-9) +(8−7)+ (8-7) +(6−5)+ (6-5) +(4−3)+ (4-3) +(2−1)=5.+ (2-1) = 5.
Grouping the denominator as (1−2)(1-2) +(3−4)+ (3-4) +(5−6)+ (5-6) +(7−8)+ (7-8) +9+ 9 gives four pairs of −1-1 plus 99, which is 5.5.
So the expression is 55=1.\dfrac{5}{5} = 1.
Thus, the correct answer is B .
LIVE by Po-Shen Loh
Programs

LIVE Classes

Self-Paced Classes

Stars

Scholarship

About Us

Who Is Po-Shen Loh?

Email Contact

Newsletter

Jobs

Become a Star

For a more Thought Full world.

© 2026 Expii, Inc.