2001 AMC 8 Problem 20

Attempt Problem 20 of the 2001 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 2001 AMC 8 solutions, or check the answer key.

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

20.

Kaleana shows her test score to Quay, Marty and Shana, but the others keep theirs hidden. Quay thinks, “At least two of us have the same score.” Marty thinks, “I didn’t get the lowest score.” Shana thinks, “I didn’t get the highest score.” List the scores from lowest to highest for Marty (M\text{M}), Quay (Q\text{Q}) and Shana (S\text{S}).
S,Q,M\text{S,Q,M}
Q,M,S\text{Q,M,S}
Q,S,M\text{Q,S,M}
M,S,Q\text{M,S,Q}
S,M,Q\text{S,M,Q}
Answer: A
Concepts:logical deductioninequality
Small hint:
Quay only sees Kaleana’s score
Big hint:
Use each hidden-score statement relative to Kaleana
Solution:
Since Quay only knows Kaleana’s score, we get that Quay and Kaleana have the same score, so K=Q.\text{K} = \text{Q}.
Marty knows that his score is higher than Kaleana’s, so M>K.\text{M} \gt \text{K}. Shana knows that her score is lower than Kaleana’s, so S<K.\text{S} \lt \text{K}.
Substituting Q\text{Q} for K,\text{K}, we get the following inequality: S<Q<M.\text{S} \lt \text{Q} \lt \text{M}.
Thus, A is the correct answer.
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