2020 AMC 12B Problems/Problem 2

Problem

What is the value of the following expression?

\[\frac{100^2-7^2}{70^2-11^2} \cdot \frac{(70-11)(70+11)}{(100-7)(100+7)}\]

$\textbf{(A) } 1 \qquad \textbf{(B) } \frac{9951}{9950} \qquad \textbf{(C) } \frac{4780}{4779} \qquad \textbf{(D) } \frac{108}{107} \qquad \textbf{(E) } \frac{81}{80}$

Solution

Using difference of squares to factor the left term, we get \[\frac{100^2-7^2}{70^2-11^2} \cdot \frac{(70-11)(70+11)}{(100-7)(100+7)} = \frac{(100-7)(100+7)}{(70-11)(70+11)} \cdot \frac{(70-11)(70+11)}{(100-7)(100+7)}.\] Cancelling all the terms, we get $\boxed{\textbf{(A) } 1}$ as the answer.

Video Solution (HOW TO CREATIVELY THINK!!!)

https://youtu.be/2z8MaCeqIKs

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Video Solution

https://youtu.be/WfTty8Fe5Fo

See Also

2020 AMC 12B (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 1
Followed by
Problem 3
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All AMC 12 Problems and Solutions

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