2017 AMC 12A Problem 1

Below is the professionally curated solution for Problem 1 of the 2017 AMC 12A, from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2017 AMC 12A solutions, or check the answer key.

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Concepts:optimization rate

Difficulty rating: 890

Pablo buys popsicles for his friends. The store sells single popsicles for $\$1$ each, $3$ -popsicle boxes for $\$2,$ and $5$ -popsicle boxes for $\$3.$ What is the greatest number of popsicles that Pablo can buy with $\$8?$

$8$

$11$

$12$

$13$

$15$

Solution:

The cheapest popsicles come from the $5$ -popsicle box, at $\dfrac{\$3}{5}=\$0.60$ each. Even at that rate, $14$ popsicles would cost $14\cdot\$0.60=\$8.40,$ more than $\$8.$

So Pablo can buy at most $13,$ and he achieves this with two $5$ -boxes for $\$6$ and one $3$ -box for $\$2,$ giving $2\cdot5+3=13$ popsicles.

Thus, the correct answer is D.

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