2016 AMC 8 Problems/Problem 3

Problem

Four students take an exam. Three of their scores are $70, 80,$ and $90$. If the average of their four scores is $70$, then what is the remaining score?

$\textbf{(A) }40\qquad\textbf{(B) }50\qquad\textbf{(C) }55\qquad\textbf{(D) }60\qquad \textbf{(E) }70$

Solutions

Solution 1

Let $r$ be the remaining student's score. We know that the average, 70, is equal to $\frac{70 + 80 + 90 + r}{4}$. We can use basic algebra to solve for $r$: \[\frac{70 + 80 + 90 + r}{4} = 70\] \[\frac{240 + r}{4} = 70\] \[240 + r = 280\] \[r = 40\] giving us the answer of $\boxed{\textbf{(A)}\ 40}$.

Solution 2

Since $90$ is $20$ more than $70$, and $80$ is $10$ more than $70$, for $70$ to be the average, the other number must be $30$ less than $70$, or $\boxed{\textbf{(A)}\ 40}$.

Video Solution (THINKING CREATIVELY!!!)

https://youtu.be/jRPgMzBXYLc

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Video Solution

https://youtu.be/EuAzkusSbpY

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Video Solution by OmegaLearn

https://youtu.be/51K3uCzntWs?t=772

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See Also

2016 AMC 8 (ProblemsAnswer KeyResources)
Preceded by
Problem 2
Followed by
Problem 4
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
All AJHSME/AMC 8 Problems and Solutions

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