2005 AMC 8 Problem 21

Attempt Problem 21 of the 2005 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 2005 AMC 8 solutions, or check the answer key.

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

21.

How many distinct triangles can be drawn using three of the dots below as vertices?
99
1212
1818
2020
2424
Answer: C
Concepts:combinationscomplementary counting
Small hint:
There are 66 dots total.
Big hint:
Subtract the choices of three collinear dots from all 33-dot choices.
Solution:
Notice that choosing any of these 33 dots forms a triangle, except for the 22 triples that form a straight line.
There are (63)=20\binom{6}{3} = 20 ways to choose the points, and then we subtract 22 to get 20−2=18.20 - 2 = 18.
Thus, C is the correct answer.
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