2012 AMC 8 Problem 13

Attempt Problem 13 of the 2012 AMC 8 below, then check your answer against the video solution and professionally curated solution from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2012 AMC 8 solutions, or check the answer key.

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

13.

Jamar bought some pencils costing more than a penny each at the school bookstore and paid $1.43.\$1.43. Sharona bought some of the same pencils and paid $1.87.\$1.87. How many more pencils did Sharona buy than Jamar?
2 2
3 3
4 4
5 5
6 6
Answer: C
Concepts:greatest common divisordivisibility
Small hint:
The pencil price in cents divides both 143143 and 187187.
Big hint:
Use the greatest common divisor of 143143 and 187187.
Video solution:
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Written solution:
Let cc be the price of one pencil in cents. Then cc divides both 143143 and 187187, and c>1c\gt1.
Since 143=11⋅13143=11\cdot13 and 187=11⋅17187=11\cdot17, the greatest common divisor is 1111. Thus each pencil costs 1111 cents.
Sharona paid 187−143=44187-143=44 cents more, so she bought 4411=4\frac{44}{11}=4 more pencils. Thus, the answer is C .
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