2004 AMC 8 Problem 18

Attempt Problem 18 of the 2004 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 2004 AMC 8 solutions, or check the answer key.

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

18.

Five friends compete in a dart-throwing contest. Each one has two darts to throw at the same circular target, and each individual’s score is the sum of the scores in the target regions that are hit. The scores for the target regions are the whole numbers 11 through 10.10. Each throw hits the target in a region with a different value. The scores are: Alice 1616 points, Ben 44 points, Cindy 77 points, Dave 1111 points, and Ellen 1717 points. Who hits the region worth 66 points?
Alice
Ben
Cindy
Dave
Ellen
Answer: A
Concepts:logical deductioncasework
Small hint:
Ben’s score of 44 has only one possible pair of distinct positive scores.
Big hint:
Use each forced pair to eliminate numbers from the remaining scores.
Solution:
The only way to get Ben’s score of 44 is with a 11 and 33 since he can’t hit 22 twice.
Cindy can achieve her score with 1+6,2+5,3+4. 1 + 6,\quad 2 + 5,\quad 3 + 4. Ben already hit 11 and 3,3, so Cindy must have hit 22 and 5.5.
Similarly, Dave must have hit 44 and 7.7. Finally, since 77 is already used, Alice is forced to have hit 66 and 1010 with Ellen hitting 88 and 9.9.
Thus, A is the correct answer.
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