2009 AMC 8 Problem 21

Below is the professionally curated solution for Problem 21 of the 2009 AMC 8, from LIVE by Po-Shen Loh. You can also try the full timed exam, view all 2009 AMC 8 solutions, or check the answer key.

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Concepts:double countingmean

Difficulty rating: 1340

21.

Andy and Bethany have a rectangular array of numbers with 4040 rows and 7575 columns. Andy adds the numbers in each row. The average of his 4040 sums is A.A. Bethany adds the numbers in each column. The average of her 7575 sums is B.B. What is the value of AB?\dfrac{A}{B}?

64225\dfrac{64}{225}

815\dfrac{8}{15}

11

158\dfrac{15}{8}

22564\dfrac{225}{64}

Solution:

Let SS be the sum of all numbers in the array.

Andy's 4040 row sums also add to SS, so their average is A=S40A=\dfrac{S}{40}. Bethany's 7575 column sums also add to SS, so their average is B=S75B=\dfrac{S}{75}.

Therefore AB=S/40S/75=7540=158\dfrac{A}{B}=\dfrac{S/40}{S/75}=\dfrac{75}{40}=\dfrac{15}{8}.

Thus, D is the correct answer.

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