Solutions 2005 56th AMC 12 A 2

1. (D) It is given that 0.1x = 2 and 0.2y = 2, so x = 20 and y = 10. Thus

x − y = 10.
2. (B) Since 2x + 7 = 3 we have x = −2. Hence
−2 = bx − 10 = −2b − 10, so 2b = −8, and b = −4.

3. (B) Let w be the width of the rectangle. Then the length is 2w, and
x2 = w2 + (2w)2 = 5w2 .
The area is consequently w(2w) = 2w2 = 25 x2 .
4. (A) If Dave buys seven windows separately he will purchase six and receive one
free, for a cost of $600. If Doug buys eight windows separately, he will purchase
seven and receive one free, for a total cost of $700. The total cost to Dave
and Doug purchasing separately will be $1300. If they purchase fifteen windows
together, they will need to purchase only 12 windows, for a cost of $1200, and
will receive 3 free. This will result in a savings of $100.
5. (B) The sum of the 50 numbers is 20 · 30 + 30 · 20 = 1200. Their average is
1200/50 = 24.
6. (B) Because (rate)(time) = (distance), the distance Josh rode was (4/5)(2) =
8/5 of the distance that Mike rode. Let m be the number of miles that Mike
had ridden when they met. Then the number of miles between their houses is
8 13
13 = m + m = m.
5 5
Thus m = 5.
7. (C) The symmetry of the figure implies that 4ABH, 4BCE, 4CDF , and
4DAG are congruent right triangles. So
p √
BH = CE = BC 2 − BE 2 = 50 − 1 = 7,
and EH = BH − BE = 7 − 1 = 6. Hence the square EF GH has area 62 = 36.
OR
As in the first solution, BH = 7. Now note that 4ABH, 4BCE, 4CDF , and
4DAG are congruent right triangles, so
¡ ¢
Area(EF GH) = Area(ABCD) − 4Area(4ABH) = 50 − 4 21 · 1 · 7 = 36.

8. (D) Since A, M, and C are digits we have

0 ≤ A + M + C ≤ 9 + 9 + 9 = 27.
The prime factorization of 2005 is 2005 = 5 · 401, so
100A + 10M + C = 401 and A + M + C = 5.
Hence A = 4, M = 0, and C = 1.
 Solutions 2005 56th AMC 12 A 3

9. (A) The quadratic formula yields

p
−(a + 8) ± (a + 8)2 − 4 · 4 · 9
x= .
2·4
The equation has only one solution precisely when the value of the discriminant,
(a + 8)2 − 144, is 0. This implies that a = −20 or a = 4, and the sum is −16.
OR
The equation has one solution √ if and only if the polynomial is the√square of
a binomial with linear term ± 4x2 = ±2x and constant term ± 9 = ±3.
Because (2x ± 3)2 has a linear term ±12x, it follows that a + 8 = ±12. Thus a
is either −20 or 4, and the sum of those values is −16.
10. (B) The unit cubes have a total of 6n3 faces, of which 6n2 are red. Therefore

1 6n2 1
= 3 = , so n = 4.
4 6n n

11. (E) The first and last digits must be both odd or both even for their average to
be an integer. There are 5 · 5 = 25 odd-odd combinations for the first and last
digits. There are 4 · 5 = 20 even-even combinations that do not use zero as the
first digit. Hence the total is 45.
12. (D) The slope of the line is
1000 − 1 111
= ,
100 − 1 11
so all points on the line have the form (1+11t, 1+111t). Such a point has integer
coordinates if and only if t is an integer, and the point is strictly between A and
B if and only if 0 < t < 9. Thus there are 8 points with the required property.
13. (D) Each number appears in two sums, so the sum of the sequence is

2(3 + 5 + 6 + 7 + 9) = 60.

The middle term of a five-term arithmetic sequence is the mean of its terms, so
60/5 = 12 is the middle term.
The figure shows an arrangement of the five numbers that meets the requirement.
7

5 14 9
10 13
11 12

3 6
 Solutions 2005 56th AMC 12 A 4

14. (D) A standard die has a total of 21 dots. For 1 ≤ n ≤ 6, a dot is removed from
the face with n dots with probability n/21. Thus the face that originally has n
dots is left with an odd number of dots with probability n/21 if n is even and
1 − n/21 if n is odd. Each face is the top face with probability 1/6. Therefore
the top face has an odd number of dots with probability
µµ ¶ µ ¶ µ ¶ ¶ µ ¶
1 1 2 3 4 5 6 1 3
1− + + 1− + + 1− + = 3+
6 21 21 21 21 21 21 6 21
1 66 11
= · = .
6 21 21

OR
The probability that the top face is odd is 1/3 if a dot is removed from an odd
face, and the probability that the top face is odd is 2/3 if a dot is removed from
an even face. Because each dot has the probability 1/21 of being removed, the
top face is odd with probability
µ ¶µ ¶ µ ¶µ ¶
1 1+3+5 2 2+4+6 33 11
+ = = .
3 21 3 21 63 21

15. (C) Let O be the center of the circle. Each of 4DCE and 4ABD has a
diameter of the circle as a side. Thus the ratio of their areas is the ratio of the
two altitudes to the diameters. These altitudes are DC and the altitude from
C to DO in 4DCE. Let F be the foot of this second altitude. Since 4CF O is
similar to 4DCO,

1 1
CF CO AO − AC 2 AB − 3 AB 1
= = = 1 = ,
DC DO DO 2 AB
3
which is the desired ratio.
D

F
O
A C B

E
OR
Because AC = AB/3 and AO = AB/2, we have CO = AB/6. Triangles DCO
and DAB have a common altitude to AB so the area of 4DCO is 16 the area of
4ADB. Triangles DCO and ECO have equal areas since they have a common
 Solutions 2005 56th AMC 12 A 5

base CO and their altitudes are equal. Thus the ratio of the area of 4DCE to
the area of 4ABD is 1/3.
16. (D) Consider a right triangle as shown. By the Pythagorean Theorem,

(r + s)2 = (r − 3s)2 + (r − s)2

so
r2 + 2rs + s2 = r2 − 6rs + 9s2 + r2 − 2rs + s2
and
0 = r2 − 10rs + 9s2 = (r − 9s)(r − s).
But r 6= s, so r = 9s and r/s = 9.

r−s

r − 3s r
r+s

3s
s
OR
Because the ratio r/s is independent of the value of s, assume that s = 1 and
proceed as in the previous solution.
17. (A) The piece that contains W is shown. It is a pyramid with vertices V, W, X, Y ,
and Z. Its base W XY Z is a square with sides of length 1/2 and its altitude
V W is 1. Hence the volume of this pyramid is
µ ¶2
1 1 1
(1) = .
3 2 12

Y Z
W
Y Z
X
W
X

V
 Solutions 2005 56th AMC 12 A 6

18. (A) Of the numbers less than 1000, 499 of them are divisible by two, 333 are
divisible by 3, and 199 are divisible by 5. There are 166 multiples of 6, 99
multiples of 10, and 66 multiples of 15. And there are 33 numbers that are
divisible by 30. So by the Inclusion-Exclusion Principle there are

499 + 333 + 199 − 166 − 99 − 66 + 33 = 733

numbers that are divisible by at least one of 2, 3, or 5. Of the remaining

999 − 733 = 266 numbers, 165 are primes other than 2, 3, or 5. Note that 1 is
neither prime nor composite. This leaves exactly 100 prime-looking numbers.
19. (B) Because the odometer uses only 9 digits, it records mileage in base-9 nu-
merals, except that its digits 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 represent the base-9 digits 4, 5, 6,
7, and 8. Therefore the mileage is

2004base 9 = 2 · 93 + 4 = 2 · 729 + 4 = 1462.

OR

The number of miles traveled is the same as the number of integers between 1
and 2005, inclusive, that do not contain the digit 4. First consider the integers
less than 2000. There are two choices for the first digit, including 0, and 9
choices for each of the other three. Because one combination of choices is 0000,
there are 2 · 93 − 1 = 1457 positive integers less than 2000 that do not contain
the digit 4. There are 5 integers between 2000 and 2005, inclusive, that do not
have a 4 as a digit, so the car traveled 1457 + 5 = 1462 miles.
20. (E) The graphs of y = f (x) and y = f [2] (x) are shown below. For n ≥ 2 we
have (
f [n−1] (2x), if 0 ≤ x ≤ 12 ,
f [n] (x) = f [n−1] (f (x)) =
f [n−1] (2 − 2x) , if 12 ≤ x ≤ 1.

Let g(n) be the number of values of x in [0, 1] for which f [n] (x) = 1/2. Then
f [n] (x) = 1/2 for g(n−1) values of x in [0, 1/2] and g(n−1) values of x in [1/2, 1].
Furthermore f [n] (1/2) = f [n−1] (1) = 0 6= 1/2 for n ≥ 2. Hence g(n) = 2g(n − 1)
for each n ≥ 2. Because g(1) = 2, it follows that g(2005) = 22005 .

1 1

1/2 1/2

1/2 1 1/4 1/2 3/4 1

 Solutions 2005 56th AMC 12 A 7
2005
21. (C) The two equations are equivalent to b = a(c )
and c = 2005 − b − a, so
2005
c = 2005 − a(c )
− a.

If c > 1, then
2005
b ≥ 2(2 )
> 2005 > 2005 − a − c = b,
which is a contradiction. For c = 0 and for c = 1, the only solutions are the
ordered triples (2004, 1, 0) and (1002, 1002, 1), respectively. Thus the number of
solutions is 2.
22. (B) Let the dimensions of P be x, y, and z. The sum of the lengths of the edges
of P is 4(x + y + z), and the surface area of P is 2xy + 2yz + 2xz, so

x + y + z = 28 and 2xy + 2yz + 2xz = 384.

Each internal diagonal of P is a diameter of the sphere, so

(2r)2 = (x2 + y 2 + z 2 ) = (x + y + z)2 − (2xy + 2xz + 2yz) = 282 − 384 = 400.

So 2r = 20 and r = 10.
Note: There are infinitely many positive solutions of the system x + y + z = 28,
2xy +2yz +2xz = 384, so there are infinitely many non-congruent boxes meeting
the given conditions, but each can be inscribed in a sphere of radius 10.
23. (B) Let a = 2j and b = 2k . Then

log 2k k log 2 k
loga b = log2j 2k = j
= = ,
log 2 j log 2 j
so loga b is an integer if and only if k is an integer multiple
j k of j. For each j, the
number of integer multiples of j that are at most 25 is 25 j . Because j 6= k, the
j k
number of possible values of k for each j is 25 j − 1. Hence the total number of
ordered pairs (a, b) is
25 µ¹
X º ¶
25
−1 = 24 + 11 + 7 + 5 + 4 + 3 + 2(2) + 4(1) = 62.
j=1
j

Since the total number of possibilities for a and b is 25 · 24, the probability that
loga b is an integer is
62 31
= .
25 · 24 300
24. (B) The polynomial P (x) · R(x) has degree 6, so Q(x) must have degree 2.
Therefore Q is uniquely determined by the ordered triple (Q(1), Q(2), Q(3)).
When x = 1, 2, or 3, we have 0 = P (x) · R(x) = P (Q(x)). It follows that
(Q(1), Q(2), Q(3)) is one of the 27 ordered triples (i, j, k), where i, j, and k can
 Solutions 2005 56th AMC 12 A 8

be chosen from the set {1, 2, 3}. However, the choices (1, 1, 1), (2, 2, 2), (3, 3, 3),
(1, 2, 3), and (3, 2, 1) lead to polynomials Q(x) defined by Q(x) = 1, 2, 3, x, and
4 − x, respectively, all of which have degree less than 2. The other 22 choices for
(Q(1), Q(2), Q(3)) yield non-collinear points, so in each case Q(x) is a quadratic
polynomial.
25. (C) Let A(x1 , y1 , z1 ), B(x2 , y2 , z2 ), and C(x3 , y3 , z3 ) be the vertices of such a
triangle. Let

(∆xk , ∆yk , ∆zk ) = (xk+1 − xk , yk+1 − yk , zk+1 − zk ), for 1 ≤ k ≤ 3,

where (x4 , y4 , z4 ) = (x1 , y1 , z1 ). Then (|∆xk | , |∆yk | , |∆zk |) is a permutation of

one of the ordered triples (0, 0, 1), (0, 0, 2), (0, 1, 1), (0, 1, 2), (0, 2, 2), (1, 1, 1),
(1, 1, 2), (1, 2, 2), or (2, 2, 2). Since 4ABC is equilateral, AB, BC, and CA
correspond to permutations of the same ordered triple (a, b, c). Because
3
X 3
X 3
X
∆xk = ∆yk = ∆zk = 0,
k=1 k=1 k=1

the sums
3
X 3
X 3
X
|∆xk |, |∆yk |, and |∆zk |
k=1 k=1 k=1

are all even. Therefore (|∆xk | , |∆yk | , |∆zk |) is a permutation of one of the
triples (0, 0, 2), (0, 1, 1), (0, 2, 2), (1, 1, 2), or (2, 2, 2).
If (a, b, c) = (0, 0, 2), each side of 4ABC is parallel to one of the coordinate
axes, which is impossible.
If (a, b, c) = (2, 2, 2), each side of 4ABC is an interior diagonal of the 2 × 2 × 2
cube that contains S, which is also impossible.
If (a, b, c) = (0, 2, 2), each side of 4ABC is a face diagonal of the 2 × 2 × 2
cube that contains S. The three faces that join at any vertex determine such a
triangle, so the triple (0, 2, 2) produces a total of 8 triangles.
If (a, b, c) = (0, 1, 1), each side of 4ABC is a face diagonal of a unit cube within
the larger cube that contains S. There are 8 such unit cubes producing a total
of 8 · 8 = 64 triangles.
There are two types of line segments for which (a, b, c) = (1, 1, 2). One type
joins the center of the face of the 2 × 2 × 2 cube to a vertex on the opposite face.
The other type joins the midpoint of one edge of the cube to the midpoint of
another edge. Only the second type of segment can be a side of 4ABC. The
midpoint of each of the 12 edges is a vertex of two suitable triangles, so there
are 12 · 2/3 = 8 such triangles.
The total number of triangles is 8 + 64 + 8 = 80.