2001 AMC 12 Problem 10

Below is the professionally curated solution for Problem 10 of the 2001 AMC 12, from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2001 AMC 12 solutions, or check the answer key.

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Concepts:tilingareapercentage

Difficulty rating: 1480

10.

The plane is tiled by congruent squares and congruent pentagons as indicated. The percent of the plane that is enclosed by the pentagons is closest to

5050

5252

5454

5656

5858

Solution:

The pattern repeats over a 3×33 \times 3 block of nine unit squares. Four of these nine squares are not covered by pentagons; the rest of the area belongs to the pentagons.

So the pentagons enclose 149=59=55.55%, 1 - \dfrac{4}{9} = \dfrac{5}{9} = 55.5\overline{5}\%, which is closest to 56.56.

Thus, the correct answer is D.

Problem 10 in Other Years