2010 AMC 8 Problem 21

Attempt Problem 21 of the 2010 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 2010 AMC 8 solutions, or check the answer key.

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

21.

Hui is an avid reader. She bought a copy of the bestseller Math is Beautiful. On the first day, Hui read 15\frac{1}{5} of the pages plus 1212 more, and on the second day she read 14\frac{1}{4} of the remaining pages plus 1515 pages. On the third day she read 13\frac{1}{3} of the remaining pages plus 1818 pages. She then realized that there were only 6262 pages left to read, which she read the next day. How many pages are in this book?
 120 \ 120
 180 \ 180
 240 \ 240
 300 \ 300
 360 \ 360
Answer: C
Concepts:fractionwork backwards
Small hint:
Undo the extra pages first, then undo the fraction read each day.
Big hint:
Work backward from the 6262 pages left after the third day.
Solution:
The pages left after the third day is 62.62. Before reading the last 1818 pages, she had 8080 pages left. This is 23\dfrac 23 of the pages remaining, so she had 120120 pages left before the third day.
Before reading the 1515 pages, she had 120+15=135120+15=135 pages left. This is 34\dfrac 34 of the pages remaining, so she had 180180 pages left before the second day.
Before reading the 1212 pages, she had 180+12=192180+12=192 pages left. This is 45\dfrac 45 of the pages remaining, so she had 240240 pages left before the first day, making the book 240240 pages.
Thus, the answer is C .
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