2011 AMC 8 Problems/Problem 22

Problem

What is the tens digit of $7^{2011}$?

$\textbf{(A) }0\qquad\textbf{(B) }1\qquad\textbf{(C) }3\qquad\textbf{(D) }4\qquad\textbf{(E) }7$

Solution 1

Since we want the tens digit, we can find the last two digits of $7^{2011}$. We can do this by using modular arithmetic. \[7^1\equiv 07 \pmod{100}.\] \[7^2\equiv 49 \pmod{100}.\] \[7^3\equiv 43 \pmod{100}.\] \[7^4\equiv 01 \pmod{100}.\] We can write $7^{2011}$ as $(7^4)^{502}\times 7^3$. Using this, we can say: \[7^{2011}\equiv (7^4)^{502}\times 7^3\equiv 7^3\equiv 343\equiv 43\pmod{100}.\] From the above, we can conclude that the last two digits of $7^{2011}$ are 43. Since they have asked us to find the tens digit, our answer is $\boxed{\textbf{(D)}\ 4}$.

-Ilovefruits

Video Solution by OmegaLearn

https://youtu.be/7an5wU9Q5hk?t=1710

Video Solution

https://youtu.be/lxtYmUzQQ8w ~David

See Also

2011 AMC 8 (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 21
Followed by
Problem 23
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All AJHSME/AMC 8 Problems and Solutions

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