1996 AMC 8 Problem 7

Attempt Problem 7 of the 1996 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 1996 AMC 8 solutions, or check the answer key.

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

7.

Brent has goldfish that quadruple (become four times as many) every month, and Gretel has goldfish that double every month. If Brent has 44 goldfish at the same time that Gretel has 128128 goldfish, then in how many months from that time will they have the same number of goldfish?
44
55
66
77
88
Answer: B
Concepts:geometric sequenceexponent
Small hint:
Each month Brent’s count multiplies by 44 and Gretel’s by 22
Big hint:
The ratio of Gretel’s to Brent’s count starts at 128:4=32128 : 4 = 32 and halves each month
Solution:
Brent’s counts are 4,4, 16,16, 64,64, 256,256, 1024,1024, 4096,4096, and Gretel’s are 128,128, 256,256, 512,512, 1024,1024, 2048,2048, 4096.4096.
They are equal after 55 months, when both have 4096.4096.
Thus, the correct answer is B .
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