1986 AJHSME Problems/Problem 25
Problem 25
Which of the following sets of whole numbers has the largest average?
Solution
Solution 1
From to there are (see floor function) multiples of , and their average is
Similarly, we can find that the average of the multiples of between and is , the average of the multiples of is , the average of the multiples of is , and the average of the multiples of is , so the one with the largest average is
Solution 2
The multiples of any number in any range form an arithmetic sequence. It can be proven that the average of the numbers in an arithmetic sequence is simply the average of their highest and lowest entries, so you can just add the first term and the last term, and see which one is the largest (since the sum of the 2 entries is twice the average of whole sequence). , , , , . Therefore, the answer is because it has the largest number.
Video Solution
~savannahsolver
See Also
1986 AJHSME (Problems • Answer Key • Resources) | ||
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