1999 AIME Problem 1

Below is the professionally curated solution for Problem 1 of the 1999 AIME, from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 1999 AIME solutions, or check the answer key.

All of the real AMC 8, AMC 10, AMC 12, and AIME problems in our complete solution collection are used with official legal permission of the Mathematical Association of America (MAA).

Concepts:primearithmetic sequencedivisibility

Difficulty rating: 1890

1.

Find the smallest prime that is the fifth term of an increasing arithmetic sequence, all four preceding terms also being prime.

Solution:

Let the terms be p,p, p+d,p + d, ,\ldots, p+4d.p + 4d. If dd were odd, consecutive terms would have opposite parity, so some term other than the first would be even and greater than 22 — impossible. If dd were not a multiple of 3,3, then p,p, p+d,p + d, p+2dp + 2d would cover all residues mod 3,3, so some term would be divisible by 3;3; that term would have to be 33 itself, forcing p=3,p = 3, but then p+3d=3(1+d)p + 3d = 3(1 + d) is composite. Hence 6d.6 \mid d.

With d6d \ge 6 the fifth term is at least p+24.p + 24. Trying p=5p = 5 and d=6d = 6 gives 5,11,17,23,29,5, 11, 17, 23, 29, all prime, and no smaller fifth term is possible since p5p \ge 5 (the starts p=2p = 2 and p=3p = 3 fail as above). The answer is 29.29.

Full ExamProblem 2

Problem 1 in Other Years