2009 AMC 8 Problem 21

Attempt Problem 21 of the 2009 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 2009 AMC 8 solutions, or check the answer key.

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

21.

Andy and Bethany have a rectangular array of numbers with 4040 rows and 7575 columns. Andy adds the numbers in each row. The average of his 4040 sums is A.A. Bethany adds the numbers in each column. The average of her 7575 sums is B.B. What is the value of AB?\dfrac{A}{B}?
64225\dfrac{64}{225}
815\dfrac{8}{15}
11
158\dfrac{15}{8}
22564\dfrac{225}{64}
Answer: D
Concepts:double countingmean
Small hint:
Let SS be the sum of all entries in the array.
Big hint:
Andy has average row sum S40,\frac{S}{40}, while Bethany has average column sum S75.\frac{S}{75}.
Solution:
Let SS be the sum of all numbers in the array.
Andy’s 4040 row sums also add to S,S, so their average is A=S40.A=\dfrac{S}{40}. Bethany’s 7575 column sums also add to S,S, so their average is B=S75.B=\dfrac{S}{75}.
Therefore AB=S40S75=7540=158.\dfrac{A}{B}=\dfrac{\frac{S}{40}}{\frac{S}{75}}=\dfrac{75}{40}=\dfrac{15}{8}.
Thus, D is the correct answer.
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